Phoenix

Well after a full restoration of the deck, a full replacement of the running rigging, full replacement of the deck hardware, and refinishing both the tiller & the centerboard; the sunfish has suffered two dismastings in four times at sea. With the addition of a stout new aluminum mast that was fabricated locally for less than half the cost of a factory mast I now christen the vessel the Phoenix for her ability to repatedly rise from the ashes.

another one bites the dust

Well after two outings the modified windsurfer mast proved insufficient for the task of carrying a Sunfish sail. During the first, light wind, outing the mast bend was alarming. On the second, windy day outing, the stress proved too much for the fiberglass mast. Back to the drawing board.

If at first you don't succeed

Well with the demise of the original aluminum mast the Sunfish was yet again a yard ornament. A quick online search revealed that a new mast from the factory was out of the budget. What to do? Well it is a good thing that many of our staff refuse to discard, well, anything. Digging around our various nooks here on Sunset Island I came across a old fiberglass windsurfer mast. the diameter was too small, but by cutting a healthy section of the old sunfish mast and slipping it over the fiberglass mast I was able to adapt the mast to the Sunfish. A couple coats of epoxy to secure the aluminum section and seal the old fiberglass mast and the Sunfish is yet again on the water.

A day of firsts

After about an hour of upwind beats to Bear Island and downwind runs back to the docks at Sunset Island, my first day of sailing a sunfish became a day of multiple firsts. With a loud crack heard 200 yards away by staff sitting on the front steps of the lodge; the aluminum mast of the sunfish snapped... my first dismasting! Fortunately the only causality was the mast. I was able to gather the rigging and swim the boat back to the island. So after three years of slowly chipping away at repairs, we had approximately 90 minutes of sailing time and now we are back to repairs. Such is sailing.

TheSunfish lauch

Well we launched the Sunfish on a day with 20 knot winds the Josh Allen and I traded out on trips back and forth between Sunset Island and Bear Island. The downwind legs back to Sunset Island were a blast and the hull would plane out and skim across the water. Tacking back wind ward was definitely a learning experience. I flipped the boat once during this time.

A side project on the Sunset Island Sunfish

Above are some before and after shots of the restoration project on the Sunset Island Sunfish. The hull repairs are completed. Now I need to spend a little time on rigging repairs and then it will be time to head out for a sail on Chokoloskee Bay.

One project down thanks to help from friends.

Thanks to some assistance from Bernie with installing the unit and from Bart in adjusting the throttle and shift levers C'est la Vie's new shift/throttle control (the black lever in the bottom, left of the image) is ready for service.

On to the next project... replace the defunct engine room blower.

Stormy evening here in Everglades City

In the name of full disclosure this picture was taken in 2008, but the conditions here this evening are not too dissimilar. Due to work obligation and foul weather, I've not made much progress on installing the new shift/throttle controll.

I did take the time yesterday to remove some of the balsa core around the hole for the shift lever and fill the void with epoxy to inhibit water damage.

Hopefully over the weekend I will be able to complete the installation.