 Class symbol | |
 | |
| Development | |
|---|---|
| Designer | Alcort, Inc. |
| Year | 1953 |
| Design | One-Design |
| Name | Sunfish |
| Boat | |
| Crew | 1–2 |
| Draft | 2 feet 11 inches (0.89 m) |
| Hull | |
| Type | Monohull |
| Construction | Fiberglass |
| Hull weight | 120 pounds (54 kg) |
| LOA | 13 feet 9 inches (4.19 m)[1] |
| Beam | 4 feet 1 inch (1.24 m) |
| Hull appendages | |
| Keel/board type | Daggerboard |
| Rig | |
| Rig type | Oceanic lateen (crab claw sail) |
| Sails | |
| Mainsail area | 75 square feet (7.0 m2) |
| Total sail area | 75 square feet (7.0 m2) |
| Racing | |
| D-PN | 99.6 |
TheSunfish is a personal-size, beach-launchedsailing dinghy. It features a very flat, boardlikehull carrying anOceanic lateen sail mounted to an un-stayedmast.
Sunfish was developed byAlcort, Inc. and first appeared around 1952 as the "next generation" improvement on their original boat, theSailfish. In contrast, the Sunfish has a widerbeam for more stability, increasedfreeboard and the addition of a foot-well for a more comfortable sailing position. Sunfish began as a wood hull design and progressed tofiberglass construction just a few years after its introduction.[2]
Having a lateen sail with its simple two linerigging makes a Sunfish simple to learn sailing on and to set up. Upgrades can be added to enhance sail control for competitive sailing,[3] making the boat attractive to both novice and experienced sailors alike.
Due to the broad appeal of the Sunfish, in 1995 it was commended by theAmerican Sailboat Hall of Fame for being "the most popular fiberglass boat ever designed, with a quarter million sold worldwide" (at that point in time).[4]
Early in 2016, manufacturer Laser Performance moved production from Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US[5] to China[6] and boats were supplied to the 2016 World Championships.
In 2017,Laser Performance (LP) announced the creation of a newgoverning body to manage the Sunfish Class, theInternational Sunfish Class Organization (ISCO), after theInternational Sunfish Class Association (ISCA), governing body since 1969, refused to sign atrademark agreement. In response the ISCA, still theWorld Sailing recognised Class Association, have announced rule changes which permit alternative suppliers to Laser Performance for some components.[7]
In 2024, ISCA approvedZim Sailing[8] as the new exclusive builder of class-approved boats.
Today, the Sunfishbrand-name has become so widely known it is often misappliedgenerically to refer to any brand of board-style boat sporting the characteristic crab claw sail.[9]
In February 2025 SERO Innovation officially became the exclusive global manufacturer of the Sunfish sailboat.
The distinctive low-aspect ratio lateen sail gives the Sunfish an anachronistic appearance compared with today's more familiar high-aspect ratioBermuda rig sailboats. However, thissail plan is not as old-world as it might first appear. Using a lateen rig for this style boat shifts the advantage toward better performance in lighter air (less than 4 on theBeaufort scale) and contributes to it having gooddown-wind characteristics.
The hull’s very mild "V" bottom andhard chine make Sunfish a most stable boat for its size, along with enabling it to sail on aplane (hydroplane). Planing allows the boat achieve a speed greater than theoreticalhull speed based on length at waterline (LWL). Having a down-wind performance advantage helps the Sunfish achieve a planing attitude at lower wind speeds than its high-aspect ratio sail plan counterparts.
Designed as a water-tight, hollow-bodypontoon, a hull like the Sunfish is sometimes referred to as "self-rescuing" because the boat can be capsized and its cockpit swamped without threat of the boat sinking.
In 1945, Alex Bryan and Cortlandt Heyniger created the Alcort company to produce their first boat design, theSailfish. Originallyframing carpenters by trade, these two entrepreneurs began their sailcraft endeavors buildingiceboats as a sideline. A proposal to build a lifesavingpaddleboard for the Red Cross came their way. They determined the concept unfeasible as it stood. An improved design sporting asailing canoe sail rig did however strike a spark as a possible profit making venture. From that humble beginning theSailfish was born. After Bryan's wife,Aileen Bryan, suggested a boat with a small cockpit where she could put her feet, the design was updated to the Sunfish.[10][11]
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 aDIY kit or a finished boat. Of the two designs, only the Sailfish was originally ablueprint plan boat.
| 1952–1969 | Alcort, Inc. (founded 1945) |
| 1969–1986 | AMF |
| 1986–1988 | Loveless & DeGarmo,dba,Alcort Sailboats Inc. |
| 1988–1991 | Pearson Yacht Co. |
| 1991–1997 | Sunfish/Laser, Inc. |
| 1997–2007 | Vanguard |
| 2007–2024 | Laser Performance[18] |
| 2024– | Zim Sailing (ISCA Builder Only)[19] |
| 2025 - | SERO Innovation[20] |
For mostOne-Design Class eligible boats, the number of boats built and the number of boats registered in the racing class are closely related. This makes the boat and the racingClass practically one and the same. The Sunfish is an anomaly to this more familiarsymbiotic relationship.
The Sunfish Class Association reported in 2001 that Sunfish production had exceeded 300,000 boats.[21] The registrar for One Design sailing in the United States,US Sailing, reported in a 2004 survey that Sunfish Class membership numbered 1,573. This does not mean Sunfish isn’t a preferred race boat. On the contrary, at 1,573 Class members, Sunfish ranks in the upper percentile of boats involved with organized racing in the U.S.[22] It does, however, demonstrate the boat’s above average versatility to suit a broader range of sailing applications.
Recreational, "friendly competition" played a key role in establishing the renowned popularity of the Alcort boat designs.[17][23] Events of past and present, such as theConnecticut River race,[24]Seattle's Duck Dodge,[25] and the Hampton Roads Sunfish Challenge & Dinghy Distance Race, now[when?] in its 10th year,[26] 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 ahandicap system. Sunfish have a base-line Portsmouth handicap of 99.6.[27]
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.[a]
To celebrate 60 years of the Sunfish, current builderLaser Performance designed a 60th anniversary edition of the Sunfish to celebrate the diverse history of the boat and the sailors who love it. Laser Performance also hosted a Sunfish 60th anniversary celebration at Noyes Pond in Massachusetts, the home of Sunfish designer Al Bryan, which gathered over 100 people sailing old and new Sunfish.[28]
 Launching a Super Sunfish on Shinnecock Bay | |
| Development | |
|---|---|
| Designer | John Black Lee / AMF |
| Year | 1974 (production version) |
| Design | Development Class |
| Name | Super Sunfish |
| Boat | |
| Crew | 1–2 |
| Hull | |
| Type | Monohull |
| Construction | Fiberglass |
| Hull weight | 129 pounds (59 kg) |
| LOA | 13 feet 10 inches (4.22 m)[29] |
| Beam | 4 feet 1 inch (1.24 m) |
| Hull appendages | |
| Keel/board type | Daggerboard |
| Rig | |
| Rig type | Bermuda rig |
| Sails | |
| Mainsail area | 65 square feet (6.0 m2) |
| Racing | |
| D-PN | 100.7 |
In the 1960s, a member of the New Canaan, Conn. Sunfish Fleet, John Black Lee, independently experimented with a conventional sail rig for the Sunfish. He developed a high-aspect ratiosail that worked on the Sunfish hull and christened his design the Formula S. The high aspect ratio sail plan has betterupwind performance characteristics over the lateen sail, changing the boat's handling topoint more like otherBermuda rig sailboats in its size. With this configuration, complexity of sail control is elevated by the addition of dynamicouthaul,downhaul, andmainsheettraveller lines.
Lee's concept didn't interest Alcort, Inc. as a production model so he refit conversion boats independently and sparked organization of Formula S fleets. A few years after their 1969 purchase of Alcort, Inc.,AMF revisited the idea of a high aspect ratio rig for the Sunfish. AMF did not choose to adopt Lee's Formula S design, but they did develop their own variation, calling it the Super Sunfish. The existing Formula S fleet eventually became assimilated into the ranks of AMF Super Sunfish fleets.
The Super Sunfish was available from 1974 to 1984. AMF marketed this more conventional sail plan as a performance version of the Sunfish in an attempt to compete with, among others, the newly emergingLaser. Portsmouth handicap numbers, however, place the Laser slightly faster. With itshard chine hull, the Super Sunfish is the more stable boat, so it is a tradeoff between the two designs.
The Super Sunfish was offered as a complete package and as a kit to retrofit existing lateen rigged Sunfish. The literature points out the sail systems can be easily swapped on a single Sunfish hull to accommodate different sailors' preferences.[10]
| Centerboard class | USSA code | DPN | BN 0-1 | BN 2-3 | BN 4 | BN 5-9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunfish | SF | 99.6 | 102.9 | 100.3 | 97.7 | 95.6 |
| Super Sunfish | SSF | 100.7 | 102.4 | 102.3 | 99.3 | (95.8) |
