# 14' Sunfish Custom



## erikb85 (Jun 13, 2014)

I like.


----------



## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

Post a video. What is the hull speed?


----------



## Blue Zone (Oct 22, 2011)

LowTideFly said:


> View media item 1180View media item 1179


What a great idea. I learned to sail on one of those; I haven't seen one in ages.


----------



## Pole Position (Apr 3, 2016)

Great project, and as others have mentioned would like to know what speed you are getting and what size motor. Also, a few details on how you formed the split-tail would be interesting.


----------



## krash (Jan 9, 2007)

Good job, Nice personal skiff, and very Solo like....


----------



## Pole Position (Apr 3, 2016)

Bump for additional info on horsepower / speed, cutting the
transom details, and hopefully some pics while running....


----------



## LowTideFly (Apr 8, 2016)

Pole Position said:


> Bump for additional info on horsepower / speed, cutting the
> transom details, and hopefully some pics while running....


Thanks everyone!

Stern was cut, and transom glassed in to mount the motor.

It's got a 3 hp 2stroke Yamaha on there now and she does 8-9mph.


Having a hard time posting a video of her on the move....


----------



## LowTideFly (Apr 8, 2016)

LowTideFly said:


> Thanks everyone!
> 
> Stern was cut, and transom glassed in to mount the motor.
> 
> ...



Looking for a 9.9hp to really let her rip! Lol


----------



## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

LowTideFly said:


> Looking for a 9.9hp to really let her rip! Lol



Its not a planing hull. A 9.9 will make it run like a hooked Tarpon.


----------



## bjtripp83 (Aug 10, 2015)

put an older johnson/evinrude 4.5-6 hp two cylinder 2 stroke on it. it will plane.


----------



## Pole Position (Apr 3, 2016)

Curtis: if I'm not mistaken ( and I frequently am ), I seem to remember from my sailing days some 50 years ago that a Sunfish was indeed quick to plane. ( ?? )

My question to the op: are you able to start the engine w/o having to get out of the boat to keep water from coming in?


----------



## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

CurtisWright said:


> Its not a planing hull. A 9.9 will make it run like a hooked Tarpon.


Had one of those on the other evening. Bout spooled me before it chewed off the leader.

Curtis, I see the wheels in yer head a turnin! Ha!

Krash, you'd flip that thang in one of the mangrove ponds and have to slog back to shore!


----------



## krash (Jan 9, 2007)

Good news is most places I go even with total catastrophic failure I can walk back...

It looks kind of like the cockpit might have been made larger, and I'm assuming the center-board slot was glassed over or water would come shooting up like a fountain (don't ask me how I know that).

I must say its a very creative and sweet looking DIY project.

Most guys with actual Solo's find the 3hp good and 6 overkill.


----------



## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

I wanted to try a sunfish 20+ years ago with my johnson 15hp. I bet it would have been a blast.


----------



## ceejkay (May 7, 2016)

thats awesome. ive seen a coupe of those old small blow boats done up and by far this is the nicest looking one. what kind of draft numbers are you getting with it?


----------



## GSSF (May 25, 2013)

CurtisWright said:


> Its not a planing hull. A 9.9 will make it run like a hooked Tarpon.


Incorrect. These hulls will plane under sail power in the right conditions. The Minisfish hulls (slightly smaller than the sunfish) are even quicker to plane. I got both.

OP, this is awesome. I bet an 8hp tohatsu/Nissan would be the best bet and it'd rip like a tater chip!

Curious about the transom build as well.


----------



## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

GSSF said:


> Incorrect. These hulls will plane under sail power in the right conditions. The Minisfish hulls (slightly smaller than the sunfish) are even quicker to plane. I got both.
> 
> OP, this is awesome. I bet an 8hp tohatsu/Nissan would be the best bet and it'd rip like a tater chip!
> 
> Curious about the transom build as well.


Your totally right. Every single person that has ever done this and posted about it on this site obviusesly did something wrong. Can't wait to see the video. Maybe you could find a 15 2 stroke. Actually just go ahead drop the cash on a brand new motor.


----------



## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

Pole Position said:


> Curtis: if I'm not mistaken ( and I frequently am ), I seem to remember from my sailing days some 50 years ago that a Sunfish was indeed quick to plane. ( ?? )
> 
> My question to the op: are you able to start the engine w/o having to get out of the boat to keep water from coming in?


They are quick to plane, but did you ever get one over 10kts?


----------



## Pole Position (Apr 3, 2016)

CurtisWright said:


> They are quick to plane, but did you ever get one over 10kts?


 Without a doubt......I know I have exceeded 15 knots easily in a 20 plus knot wind on a reach and running downhill ( granted, I probably weighed 100lbs less than I do now!! ). The only caveat may be how the split-tailing of the transom may effect the hulls' performance, but I can assure you that a standard Sunfish has no trouble getting on plane


----------



## GSSF (May 25, 2013)

Bottom line is that this boat posted by the OP is friggin awesome and a cool option for those with some glass skills. The sunfish hulls are a quickly-planning and time-tested design and are still popular today for good reason. 

It's a shame that shedding some light on this topic and educating a reader on the qualities of these hulls makes someone throw his sucker in the dirt and stomp home. 

But anyway......As far as registering these boats, they have HINs like any other commercially produced vessel, and depending on who made the hull (AMF, Alcort, or Vanguard) and some of the HINs are actually on the side of the boat, not the transom. My neighbor has a sunfish that he put a trolling motor on (yuck), and to make it legal, he took a photo and a pencil rubbing of the HIN to the tag office, and they gave him a title/registration. Blam. Simple as that.


----------



## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

GSSF said:


> Bottom line is that this boat posted by the OP is friggin awesome and a cool option for those with some glass skills. The sunfish hulls are a quickly-planning and time-tested design and are still popular today for good reason.
> 
> It's a shame that shedding some light on this topic and educating a reader on the qualities of these hulls makes someone throw his sucker in the dirt and stomp home.
> 
> But anyway......As far as registering these boats, they have HINs like any other commercially produced vessel, and depending on who made the hull (AMF, Alcort, or Vanguard) and some of the HINs are actually on the side of the boat, not the transom. My neighbor has a sunfish that he put a trolling motor on (yuck), and to make it legal, he took a photo and a pencil rubbing of the HIN to the tag office, and they gave him a title/registration. Blam. Simple as that.



No, It would be a shame to spend $2K on a new motor only to find out it wont go any faster because the bottom of the boat has too much rocker. 

Find a video anywhere of a sunfish running 20Kts with an outboard and post it. This is not an original idea. It does not work. 

Stick with the 3.5hp and be content with 10Kts. They are sweet boats, but not a true planing hull.

This is what is wrong with America and especially the south. People view criticism as an insult and either bury their heads in the sand or lash out when presented with an idea that is different than their own. 

Evolution has clearly favored belief to reason. It is better to believe a threat exist and climb a tree, where at worst you look a fool, than to take time to reason the threat away and be wrong.


----------



## BrownBearSkiffing (Jan 31, 2017)

LowTideFly said:


> View media item 1180View media item 1179


Great custom Sunfish skiff, I'm after a similar idea myself. Picked up a Sunfish sailer in decent condition off of Craigslist for $100. Needs a little TLC but should do just find.

How stable are these to stand up on and can you share any pointers about the securing a solid transom?


----------



## Dave Moser (Jun 4, 2017)

LowTideFly said:


> View media item 1180View media item 1179


I'm looking to make a modification like this to my sunfish hull. Anything you can provide on specs and tips wold be greatly appreciated. [email protected]


----------



## Dave Moser (Jun 4, 2017)

LowTideFly said:


> View media item 1180View media item 1179


Do you have any pics of the before and during work?
What are the 3 round white containers?


----------



## Net 30 (Mar 24, 2012)

CurtisWright said:


> They are quick to plane, but did you ever get one over 10kts?


I have to agree. I've seen 3 of these done over the years and each time the project was abandoned/scrap'd shortly after it was finished.

Maybe the split tail will make a big difference - I hope so. It looks like you put a lot of hard work into it and the end result is real nice looking...congrats.


----------

