boat to achieve a speed greater than theoretical hull speed based on length at waterline (LWL). Having a down-wind performance advantage helps the Sunfish to achieve a planing attitude at lower wind speeds than its high-aspect ratio sail plan counterparts. Designed as a water-tight, hollow-body pontoon, a hull like the Sunfish has is sometimes referred to as "self-rescuing" because the boat can be capsized and its cockpit swamped without threat of the boat sinking. History Beginnings of Alcort, Inc. 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. 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. The kit boat niche 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. Waypoints 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. 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. Every few years, hardware and sometimes cosmetics and/or sail