Sunfish (sailboat)

In 1945, Alex Bryan and Cortlandt Heyniger created the Alcort company to produce their first boat design, the Sailfish. Originally framing carpenters by trade, these two entrepreneurs began their sailcraft endeavors building iceboats as a sideline. A proposal to build a lifesaving paddleboard for the Red Cross came their way. They determined the concept unfeasible as it stood. An improved design sporting a sailing canoe sail rig did however strike a spark as a possible profit making venture. From that humble beginning the Sailfish was born and seven years later an improved design, the Sunfish.[9]

Sunfish (wooden; 1953)

The first Sailfish were offered in the form of detailed drawings for the backyard builder or as a finished, ready-to-sail boat, built by the Alcort shop. In the course of growing their business, Cortlandt and Alex had the revelation to kit the boat by supplying pre-cut pieces, all the necessary fittings, and inclusion of the sail thereby making backyard construction more appealing to an even wider range of would-be boat builders. Sunfish first appeared as either a DIY kit or a finished boat. Of the two designs, only the Sailfish was originally a blueprint plan boat.

• For the 1960 model year, Sunfish became available in a fiberglass version for the first time. Alcort shop-built wood boats were phased out around the same period, however, the Sunfish kit boat remained available through the late 1960s.[10]
• 1971 found a storage compartment added to the rear of the cockpit.
• 1972 model saw a revision of the rudder blade's shape, the rudder's gudgeon and pintle, a new shape daggerboard, and a switch to a Sunfish designed cockpit bailer. This was a turning point for those pieces of equipment, thereafter referred as "New Style" by owners of Sunfish from that era.[11]
• Every few years, hardware and sometimes cosmetics and/or sail colors evolve, adding a piece or two of something more contemporary to replace outdated technology or style.[12]
• In 1969, when AMF took over Sunfish production from Alcort, Inc., one of the expansion strategies was to form the Sunfish (racing) Class Association[13] to help promote the boat through organized sailing competition.[lower-alpha 1]
• In 1989 the fused deck to hull joint was changed from a ½" flat lip protected by an aluminum trim strip to the increased surface area of a rounded gunwale, now more securely bonded using a methacrylate adhesive specially suited for fiberglass.[15]
• Sail geometry has changed on a couple of occasions, most significantly in 1989 when the "Racing Sail", still 75 ft² "sail area", but with deeper draft, was made available as an option.
• In 2010 the last of the Sunfish's wood attributes were superseded when first the rudder and now this year the tiller were changed from wood components to fiberglass and aluminum respectively.
• The Sunfish was inducted into the American Sailboat Hall of Fame in 1995.[16]
• Since its introduction in 1952, Sunfish has come under the stewardship of seven successive builders (see Sunfish Builder Chronology below).

Recreational, "friendly competition" played a key role in establishing the renowned popularity of the Alcort boat designs.[16][20] Events of past and present, such as the Connecticut River race,[21] Seattle's Duck Dodge,[22] and the Hampton Roads Sunfish Challenge & Dinghy Distance Race, now in its 10th year,[23] serve as examples of the sort of fun Sunfish sailors have without getting too serious.

Sunfish sailors who are more serious about sailing competitions, but who do not have the advantage of a nearby Sunfish fleet, can race their boat against nearly any other make and model of sailboat in "Open Class" events using a handicap system. Sunfish have a base-line Portsmouth handicap of 99.6.[24]

One Design racing uses nearly identical boats so the competition is based purely on sailing skill. One Design Classes are watched over by a governing body who assure conformity.[lower-alpha 1]

The International Sunfish Class Association – development[18]

• In 1969 AMF was instrumental in forming the Sunfish (racing) Class Association.
• In 1984 the Sunfish Class became recognized by the International Yacht Racing Union,

today known as the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

• A year later the Sunfish Class went independent as the International Sunfish Class Association (ISCA)[25]
• Sunfish gained Pan American Games status in 1999 and has maintained recognition in following years
• International Masters was held outside the United States, in the Netherlands, for the first time in 2005.
• There are three continental and nine national championships regularly.
• Sunfish fleets are active in 28 countries around the globe.

To celebrate 60 years of Sunfish, current builder Laser Performance designed a 60th Anniversary edition of the Sunfish to celebrate the diverse history of the boat and the sailors that love it. LaserPerformance also hosted a Sunfish 60th Anniversary Celebration at Noyes Pond in Massachusetts, the home of Sunfish designer Al Bryan, that gathered over 100 people sailing old and new Sunfish.[26]