A new addition to the FREE fleet

Yep that's right, this summers project is another free boat! Tis one is courtesy of a posting on Graigslist. I check the free listing, ya never know what you'll find, and saw an add for a free sailboat. The guy didn't list a return email, just a phone number. After a brief moment of doubt, I gave a call. As luck would have it, I was the first that called, and I won! I really didn't believe it so I asked the guy twice, kind of embarrassing. So I made arrangements to pick it up.

Saturday morning I got the trailer ready, which means moving the canoe and kayaks off of it, and roused the sleeping teenager(who had stayed up till God knows when) and off we went. The boat was sitting on a trailer. Well it was once a trailer, but now the tires where flat and off the rims, and it was rusted. Really rusted. Rusted to the point that the rails where perforated. So using that was out.

We got to the place at the appointed time, and the guy wasn't home. I gave him a call, and he was there in five minutes. Since he was giving me a free boat, how could I complain? I checked it out in the mean time. It had more than the indicated hole in the hull, it had two in the hull, and two in the deck. And of course, it needed more than a good scrubbing. Well I knew it needed work.

He help us load it onto my trailer, it was heavy. And as we where jostling it about, water poured out of one of the holes, I wasn't surprised about this.

I also expected to have to make some replacement parts, he said he had the rudder, but didn't mention the dagger board. So I figured I'd have to make at least that. But not only did he have the rudder, he had the mast, booms, and sail. And the dagger board. It was looking like I would have to make very few parts, if any. The biggest part missing is a 6 inch pin that holds the rudder on. Not too bad for free.

Well, I guess you want to know what kind of boat it is, don't you?

It's a Super Porpoise, it's a sailboat, like a Sunfish, only bigger. I did some searches,and found that there is a great wealth of knowledge can be found about the boats on a web forum. Aptly named The Sunfish Forum. There is lots of stuff to be minded there, and some good guys willing to answer questions.

Of course it need some work, from the forum I surmised that there it water in the hull, the water was also a clue. But not just water, but the flotation foam is probably water logged, and needs to dry out. So the first ting I did when I got it home was to drill a 1/4 hole in the stern, and tilted it to let the bulk of the water run out, and it did run out.

That was the first thing to get it ready to sail, but there is lots more work to be done.

I also have to give the canoe some attention, cleaning and oiling the rails, and other wood parts.

So I guess you want to see it, warts and all, here she is;