Boat condition:
I got hold of an Alcort Minifish, everything OEM, almost perfect except the halyard and the bridle line. (ropes; short, worn and weak from age... easy to deal with. Main sheet looks like a new one)
Yes, the OEM sail is in good condition. (which is really surprising for an appx 30 yr old sail)
I saw worse condition sails on Sunfish that were less than 3 yrs old when I was actively sailing.
Very minor surface scratches on the hull. Looks like they'd buff out.
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Noting differences in the rigging vs late model Sunfish I'd kind of like to make the changes, but considering this is already a somewhat uncommon hull would that be a mistake?
Main issues being:
It doesn't use the ratcheting block/pully for sail control, just a cast sort of hook bolted to the front of the cockpit
No hole in the daggerboard for an eye bolt to affix a bungee.
Secondary is the placement of a cleat on the Mini where the Sunfish had a fairlead and then there's no cleat behind the mast on the mini.
This makes tying the Halyard a real pain because the cleat is small (like I'd expect for 1/8 line on a flagstaff...) and the halyard line is 5/8 (maybe OEM halyard was smaller...)
Also some later Sunfish had a cleat on the mast which really helped with raising the sail and securing the halyard.
So, do I go for ease of operation, changing hardware (drilling as little as I can) or leave it OEM?
I got hold of an Alcort Minifish, everything OEM, almost perfect except the halyard and the bridle line. (ropes; short, worn and weak from age... easy to deal with. Main sheet looks like a new one)
Yes, the OEM sail is in good condition. (which is really surprising for an appx 30 yr old sail)
I saw worse condition sails on Sunfish that were less than 3 yrs old when I was actively sailing.
Very minor surface scratches on the hull. Looks like they'd buff out.
************
Noting differences in the rigging vs late model Sunfish I'd kind of like to make the changes, but considering this is already a somewhat uncommon hull would that be a mistake?
Main issues being:
It doesn't use the ratcheting block/pully for sail control, just a cast sort of hook bolted to the front of the cockpit
No hole in the daggerboard for an eye bolt to affix a bungee.
Secondary is the placement of a cleat on the Mini where the Sunfish had a fairlead and then there's no cleat behind the mast on the mini.
This makes tying the Halyard a real pain because the cleat is small (like I'd expect for 1/8 line on a flagstaff...) and the halyard line is 5/8 (maybe OEM halyard was smaller...)
Also some later Sunfish had a cleat on the mast which really helped with raising the sail and securing the halyard.
So, do I go for ease of operation, changing hardware (drilling as little as I can) or leave it OEM?