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Well I finished my sailing class and now I'm ready to sail. My plan was to start a sunfish and move my way up eventually. I saw reading about sunfish and I'm wondering if I'm too big for a sunfish at 270lbs and 6ft. If you think I am to big what else would you recommend? I'm trying to keep it cheap like less than 1000$ and something. That can be found on Craigslist.
I don't think 270#s is too much for a Sunfish.
I help teach a sailing program for teens in the summer and we routinely put an adult and 2 or 3 teens on each Sunfish.
I have also sailed a Sunfish with 2 medium build adults on board with a combined weight over 300 #s and it works fine, especially if there is some wind. When the wind blows you need that extra ballast.
It depends on your agility. My brother is a beginner, 6 ft and about 250. He does pretty good but in puffs, he has been knocked down a couple times. Last week it happened twice. Once when he needed to let the sheet lose and his foot was on it. Another time during a sloppy tack with an unexpected gust and him moving to slowly to get over on the new windward rail.
I am 210 and routinely sail ours.
Recently had it out with myself and my two really tiny twenty something daughters.
Also, have been out with myself and just as big Brother in Law.
Have fun!
Might be more than you want to spend ? Try looking at an FJ a Flying Junior. You could sail with just the main. Then add crew and more sail. Still miss my Sunfish. Regards, Lou
Have you considered an Albacore or an American 14? They aren't the super planing hulls of the sunfish, but I suspect you'll get more comfort from them. How big do you want to go? My first boat was a Catalina 25 that I paid $1000 for. My 2nd boat was an Albacore (15') that I paid $100 for with a trailer.
I like the FJ idea but really a Sunfish gives you a planing hull, with appropriate wind and such little rigging to worry about.
The trick is to find a used one that does not take on water, easily.
The sunfish would be fine... but if I might recommend... start with a laser (a beat up one is fine). The sail controls are a little more "real." The boat is faster.
If you want to sit IN not ON... move up to a Precision 15, Capri 14.2, or Lido (tons others I can't think of right now)..
But NO there is nothing wrong with a sunfish, and they are pretty substantial board boats. A superfish or a force 5 works as well (or phantom).
I have had a Sunfish in my garage for the last decade. It goes on the roof of our minivan a couple times a year. I've had over 500 lbs in it and it did just fine. The darn thing has sailed in the Hudson river, Newport RI, Lake George. Had it out in 15 knots one time coming back in. That was interesting. They are amazing and fun to sail. I will never sell mine.
I'm a big fat middle aged guy. The boom is low and the foot well is small but I manage. After an hour on the Sunfish I want to come in. Not very comfy and you can't bring anything. But man- is it fun!
Yes, any winds 15 knots or more will make your Sunfish get up and plane on the surface of the water, even with 2 moderately sized adults on board. You will notice this when reaching or heading downwind and if you are not hiking out to balance the boat you may very well end up in the water! Great fun and great exercise for the gut.
If you can find a Phantom, that would be a good alternative. The cockpit cutout is larger and molded into the top, so it does not have the sharp metal edges like a Sunfish. You can plop your butt into the cockpit with your body transverse (legs hanging over the side) and be much more comfortable than in a Sunfish.
I got mine for $700 in sail-away condition with all rigging and trailer. So it's well within your budget if you can find one.
All my boats look newer after I have them a few years.
Phantom is similar to Sunfish, but the cockpit is significantly larger. The angle of the pic is deceptive. My wife and can I fit our butts side-by-side (athwartships) in the cockpit. Impossible on a Sunfish. And the contoured molding of the gunwales is very easier on the bottoms of you thighs than the rough edges of the Sunfish.
The overhanging lip around the cockpit of the Sunfish allows you to nestle your feet there so you can hike out all the way, knowing you will not fall overboard.
Is there a hiking strap on the Phantom instead?
I do like the moulded edge of the Phantom cockpit but the lip around the Sunfish cockpit provides a function.
The overhanging lip around the cockpit of the Sunfish allows you to nestle your feet there so you can hike out all the way, knowing you will not fall overboard.
Is there a hiking strap on the Phantom instead?
Yes, there is a 1.5' or 2" webbing strap down the center of the cockpit for exactly that purpose. I put my feet under it whenever I want to hike out.
I'm not looking to create a Sunfish vs. Phantom debate. There is no debate that Sunfish was vastly more popular than the Phantom. Sunfish was the first one out of the blocks, and the benchmark against which all the imitators are compared, and the boat that you must have if you want to be in the one-design racing class. Vanguard/Laser has kept the Sunfish in production, and the Phantom is still made as the Pointer 14. So they're both good boats.
Most early Sunfishes have a little more headroom under the boom. The Phantom has a little more sail area, but it comes at the expense of a lower boom.
@TakeFive (from 3 weeks ago)
I'm not looking for a debate about Sunfish vs. similar models either. I do find the small differences interesting.
@alibaba
Roller furling on a Sunfish?
You could however set up a Sunfish type hull with other sailing rigs: gaff, gunther, Marconi/sloop (main sail only). Some of these might be easier to reef than the Lateen rig it is normally sailed with.
Sunfish, Sailfish, Snark are all fine boats and fun to sail. After a season or two you will want to move up to a larger boat, and they just keep getting more fun.
Q.. I noticed a sunfish in my neigborhood. Siiting outside upside down for about 10 years now. i met the owner, now a 30 ` motorboater, He maybe interested in getting rid of it,
There is no sail, no rudder, and no centerboard,,nothiing , Just a bare hull.. No trailrer..What should I offer this guy,
Where can I get parts, ..Sails, rudder, centerboard. I can make a trailor.
.
Being out in the sun for years, possibe deterioration of the Hull..
I am 170 lbs, 5`10' 62 years old, When I looked up sunfish, they clAim it will plane. I wanted to get another windsurfer, but dont enjoy standiing up All day just how fast is a subfish, Can I cross lake Erie safely (30 miles). Erie to Long point.?? (maybe) could I buy a custom Sail, maybe a roller furler to reef it down in heavy winds..
A sunfish hull without any hardware is worth almost nothing. If it's waterlogged, it may be worth less than nothing. (You can tell by its weight, but I don't know the weight spec for a Sunfish.) Your best opportunity to find a good set of used parts would probably be with another hull.
I'd suggest shopping around for a used one in sail-away condition before haggling with a neighbor over how much his yard waste is worth. If you get lucky and find a full set of hardware with no hull, then maybe you should talk to the guy about his hull.
Back in the day before I was able to drive I saved my pennies and bought a Super Sunfish rig. It was similar to a laser rig with Cunningham, outhaul, halyard.....
Unfortunately it was a dog compared to the lateen rig. So I cut a jib out of an old sail and rigged it up. Now it was as fast as a traditional sunfish.
There is no forum section for sunfish boats .. The largets class fleet in the world..
I think this sailfish hull is shot, out in the sun too long.. I wanted to get another Windsurfer, but dont want to stand up all day.. Any other brands of sit down windsurfers Available..??
Wind surfing must be fantastic. I would like to try it and a kite board. looks like it is for the young and the strong.
Try a force 5 or a laser ? Right now I have a 1967 FJ as my wet boat. I liked my sunfish or the force five better because when you capsize you can roll right back up an go. The boat is not full of water This means you are sailing not bailing. I have very little time in a laser so I can only say they look fun. The Laser has a large class.
The part about securing the mast is real good to think about. Also think about un cleating the main sheet when you capsize ! Not a big deal in a Sunfish because the main sheet has no cleat. Some boats can sail off in a hurry if you right them and the main sheet is cleated or caught up. Then you get to see how fast the boat is with less weight and how far you can swim.
I had the FJ out in some wind and waves last year. I found it is not a surf boat. The waves would wash over the swamped boat and fill it back up. The center board trunk is to close to the water line when the boat has a load of water in it.
Enjoy, lou
The part about securing the mast is real good to think about. Also think about un cleating the main sheet when you capsize ! Not a big deal in a Sunfish because the main sheet has no cleat. Some boats can sail off in a hurry if you right them and the main sheet is cleated or caught up. Then you get to see how fast the boat is with less weight and how far you can swim. Enjoy, lou
Windsurfing is great but it helps to be in pretty good shape to carry it off.
Capsized a rented Prindle 18' beach cat in St. Thomas a bunch of years ago. Watching the cat take off while still in the water once righted taught me this lesson. A long swim to reach it again.
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