What are we dealing with here?

So. I have this boat with a few dings, scratches, cracks, and holes ready to teach me all about gelcoat and fiberglassing repair techniques before I try remembering my sailing roots as well as convince my husband that fun (sometimes sheer terror) can be had on a boat without a motor.
My husband and I muscled it into the shed after receiving it from my dad. Though 80 lbs isn't terribly difficult to maneuver, the awkwardness of 11'9" of 80 lbs is very much awkward. How on earth did Dad ever get it on top of the car way back when?

I'll be drawing plans for a trailer.

It was born in 1974, judging by the model number. The story on the damage is, if I remember right, the hull blew off the dock at a marina during a storm and visited each and every dangerous object it could find without the supervision of a human. Dad, feel free to correct me.
Or perhaps things dropped on it during storage. Maybe a combination of the two. It doesn't really matter, does it?

The results:













That's the worse of it. There's a few other places where only the gelcoat is damaged. The bow handle is gone. But everywhere on the hull that needs to be strong is alright (pending a look inside).

So. I had the hull, the dagger board, and the rudder. I inquired about the sails and Dad said his ex-wife had them. Well, dang. Rather than speak with her, I elected to search for sails. Unfortunately, I'd be better off playing the lotto. Only one person in the entire world makes the sail for the Minifish and it wasn't worth the cost. At least, not until I knew whether or not my ex-step-mother still had everything.
After a brief period of stalking her online, some help from my older brother, I find her current address and sent a letter asking about them. A month later, I gave up on a response. Another month later, and I get a letter back. She still has them and she's willing to meet with me to get them. Yessss!
I meet with her, get the sail, mast, everything else I need. I got to see my old horse and on the way back to my truck, ran into a low tree branch skinning my nose quite impressively. But she had left by then, so I drove home holding a paper towel on my nose to stop the bleeding. The pain and blood was insignificant. My boat was complete. Damaged, but complete! Step 1 accomplished. I can claim I bled over this boat, yes?

I had everything. At least all of the major items.
So I'm that much closer to my goal. Restoring "The Fish" (attn: family, that is her new nickname) to her former glory so that her red, white, and blue sail can proudly gather wind and blast across the lake...













...after I fix about 5 holes, numerous cracks in the gelcoat, replace some line, paint, and some spiffy stripes.
She'll be good again. I promised her.





[credit picture of flyer to the yahoo group, sunfish_sailor]

More to come...

Next >