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GRAVITY VS. SUNFISH SAILBOAT – WEST SYSTEM® TO THE RESCUE
Bay Ray McCarthy
I love to sail when I can, but my Sunfish spends most of its days suspended from my very busy garage ceiling. Last year, I rebuilt Shenanigans, a 1980 Sunfish. Having ricocheted off a few too many rocks in her day, she deserved a better patch job and a new coat of paint. (See “Patching up Shenanigans,” Epoxyworks 58).
So, being a handyman with a stubborn streak, I hoist the boat up and down from the rafters of my garage as the season demands. Things went well with storing the hull there for the winter. Unfortunately, this spring gravity showed its strength as I tried to single-hand the boat back down to its trailer. The ratchets became overwhelmed, the boat twisted on its axis, and the front chrome handle ripped out of the deck. I learned the hard way that this particular boat had no backing plate for the front handle.
I righted the hull and assessed the damage. My solution was to take a 3″ hole saw and cut two holes in the bow. This gave me enough room to thread a 1″x2″x12″ piece of mahogany through. Buttered with thickened WEST SYSTEM Epoxy, I attached it under the deck for a backing plate. Once the epoxy had cured, I used more 105 Epoxy Resin®/206 Slow Hardener® to epoxy in the two 3″ disks from my hole saw. I applied two layers of 10 oz. fiberglass cloth over the entire zone to tie the area together.
After several rounds of random orbital sanding, the repair area was fair. I prepared the area for primer and sealed it with two coats of Rustoleum® Top Coat white paint.
The handle is now firmly attached with stainless steel screws. My grandson and I have taken it to Great Pond in Eastham on Cape Cod for many great sails.
Lesson Learned: I’m 71, it’s time to ask for help when fighting gravity!
