BoatsAlcort Sailfish

Alcort Sailfish

Lateen · Daggerboard · 1945–1962

The original 1945 plywood kit boat that launched Alcort and sparked a recreational sailing boom

Designed by Alexander Bryan & Cortland Heyniger.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Hull type
Daggerboard

See her sail

The Alcort Sailfish, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from kentblairl

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

TrailerableBeam 0.80 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 37 kg of hull, so roughly 650 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 37 kg of hull, with a keel that raises or a draught shallow enough to float off a trailer — she can go back on the trailer at the ramp, not only into the water.Shoal draughtDraws 0.10 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
CoastalBluewater

At 2.42 she sits above the 2.0 line — beamy for her weight, and happiest coastal.

Capsize screening 2.42
EasygoingPowered-up

55.1 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 55.1

Powered-up and quick to accelerate — this one likes to sail.

  • Lighter than ~95% of boats her size on file
  • Draws less than ~77% of boats her size on file
  • Narrower than ~100% of boats her size on file

Compared with 278 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Alcort Sailfish, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Alcort Sailfish is a 3.5-meter lateen-rigged sailboat designed by Alexander Bryan and Cortland Heyniger, built by Alcort from 1945 to 1962. It features a daggerboard hull, a 0.8-meter beam, a 0.7-meter draft, and displaces 37 kg. Initially constructed from plywood and available as a kit, demand for the Sailfish surged after a *Life* magazine article, leading to increased production. Later variants included the wood Super Sailfish and the fiberglass Super Sailfish MKII.0:26 Aboard kentblairl, an Alcort Super Sailfish hull was repaired by sealing internal seams and filling structural voids with Total Boat Thixo epoxy, particularly along the mast step, daggerboard trunk, and interior deck edge.1:05 The oak keel's rot-damaged areas and old screw holes were filled with epoxy to maintain structural integrity.2:29 Kent Blair also installed a new white pine rub rail on an Alcort Sailfish named Jaja using silicone bronze wood screws, drilling pilot holes with a Fuller combination countersink and pilot bit.watch Another Super Sailfish, Zsa Zsa, received a new rub rail and toe rail made from primed pine trim, secured with silicone bronze screws and thickened epoxy.0:43 Replacement handrails for a Super Sailfish were fabricated from cypress stock, with old fastener holes in the deck filled with thickened epoxy before new ones were drilled.0:02 Identifying replacement parts for vintage Sailfish models requires distinguishing between hardware generations, as early wooden models use a three-inch vertical latch plate for rudders, while later fiberglass versions require a seven-inch plate.1:56

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen 5 times across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Alcort Sailfish on video

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Rig & sail area
Rig
Lateen
Ratios
SA / displacement
55.1
Capsize screening
2.42
Hull
Hull type
Daggerboard
Construction
Plywood
Production
Years built
1945–1962
Designer
Alexander Bryan, Cortland Heyniger
Builder
Alcort

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

RS Tera2.87 mSame hull family0.7 m shorterA Paul Handley-designed cat-rigged dinghy featuring a lightweight 39kg hull and high power-to-weight ratio for youth racing
Topper International Topper3.40 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthAn Ian Proctor-designed polypropylene dinghy featuring an unstayed cat rig and three versatile sail-area configurations
Byte Boats Inc. Byte3.66 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthAn Ian Bruce-designed unstayed cat-rigged dinghy that weighs just 45 kilograms for rapid acceleration and easy handling
Europe (International)3.35 mSame hull family0.2 m shorterA former Olympic women's single-hander that evolved from the Moth development rule into a nimble one-design dinghy
McDougall Waszp3.35 mSame hull family0.2 m shorterA one-design foiling dinghy featuring wings and an unstayed rig, built in the thousands for high-performance racing
Butler Boats Streaker3.88 mSame hull family0.3 m longerA 3.88-metre cat-rigged dinghy featuring a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio and a fibreglass option introduced in 1998

The family

Boats like this

Nearby designs by size, type, and era — worth a look alongside her.

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

Search what's been said about the Alcort Sailfish, or ask a specific question — the answer comes back written out, with links to the moments it draws on.

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