A new Sunfish costs $3300, less sales tax; however, there are many perfectly-good Sunfish languishing in back yards and garages.
Be patient, as millions have learned how to enjoy sailing in this stable sailboat and there are hundreds of thousands of Sunfish around. For a freshwater boat, offer $500—and work from there. I'd skip the occasional Alcort-built
Mini-fish and
Super-Sunfish as discontinued "orphans". (Parts availability
).
Try a "Looking-for" advertisement
HERE at this forum.
1) Look for a genuine
Alcort Sunfish: There have been many "knock-offs" sold with the Sunfish logo copied on the sail.
Clonefish (though inexpensive) are just simply inferior designs and can discourage a beginning sailor. (Discouraging too, is improperly rigging this
very simple sail—note the "improper-rigging" photo at
Wikipedia.).
2) Many have seen abuse. A leaking hull will cause the interior to absorb water, making for a very heavy—and unresponsive—boat. Take along a bathroom scale: the hull should weigh close to its original 134 pounds.
If your son is handy, the boat can be dried-out by cutting a round port in the deck. Ports sell for about $10 each and, although not part of the original design, one or two ports in the hull is an indicator of a knowledgeable owner.
3) One caution: a NH "dealer" is a frequent
Craigslist advertiser, but charges about double the going rate for Sunfish—
and parts. If you're willing to travel, there are Sunfish for sale at
http://www.sunfishforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=131. The home page at
www.sunfishforums.com has decades of Sunfish experience to draw from, but answers can be gruff if the "Search" function isn't used.
(For such a basic boat, there are too many repetitive questions asked every day).
4) Parts: Sunfish manufactured since 1972 have a superior rudder system. The year can be "teased out" among the numbers at the transom's upper-right corner. If there are no numbers, the boat is old or has had a serious repair.
Rudders, sails and daggerboards cost about $150 each—if missing. (So if you find a complete Sunfish for $450, you've already got your money back.
)
A Sunfish with a five- or six-digit "race-number" on the sail has probably seen competition (and good care). A clear-vinyl "window" is a plus.
5) Inexpensive wood-built Sunfish are still around as original—or as "kit-built"; again, the maintenance required by wood construction requires some "handiness" on the part of the new owner.
6) Figure on $100 for a trailer if the boat doesn't come with one. (A new trailer is under $300). Some sellers are offering trailers that hold two or more Sunfish. (What
I would look for).
The Sunfish cockpit accommodates one adult OK, but can be cramped with two.
7) Parts are available from
APS. (
Annapolis
Performance
Sailing—
not ApS).
It's great fun to practice one's sailing skills (and race tactics) among identical boats.
After a 1½-mile race, the following photo shows a friend arriving at the dock—second to last.
