The Sunfish Sailboat – Fortune Magazine’s Top 25 Best Designed Products

Picture it: a warm afternoon on the water, a flash of colorful sail skimming across the waves. Chances are, it’s a Sunfish, the little boat that became a global phenomenon. By 1977, a year after OpSail in NYC honoring America’s Bicentennial, Fortune magazine declared the AMF Alcort Sunfish sailboat one of the “25 Best-Designed Products” of the age, ranking it beside the Porsche 911 S Targa, the Trimline Touch-Tone phone, and Adidas running shoes. Not bad for a plywood experiment born in a lumberyard loft.

Since its launch in 1952, more than half a million Sunfish have been built—making it the most popular sailboat of all time, outselling its nearest competitor nearly two to one. The unlikely success can be traced back to Alcort Inc. and its founders, Alexander Bryan and Cortlandt “Bud” Heyniger. Fresh from World War II, the two friends, “Al” and “Cort,” set up shop in Waterbury, Connecticut, and started tinkering. What they built would change recreational sailing forever.

Sunfish in My Life at the Pocono Boathouse

Just before the stone gates of the entrance to the Pocono Crest off old Route 940 on State Street, the Pocono Crest Stables welcomed riders to a forested retreat where pine trails and gentle horses offered the perfect escape. Once part of Camp Beaverbrook and Lutherland, the stables became a key feature of early life in the Pocono Crest community and a fun activity for those staying at The Crest. Then in 1967, after the horses were gone, Betz made to decision to start a new business, calling it the Pocono Boathouse.

As the Pocono Boathouse grew in reputation and reach, the Betzes expanded their vision beyond the Poconos. In 1972, the family acquired the Cranford Canoe Club in Cranford, New Jersey, a historic structure perched on the Rahway River with a legacy dating back to the 1880s. Recognizing the potential for a sister operation, Betz brought the same energy and expertise he had honed in the Poconos to the Canoe Club. What followed was a unique and synergistic connection between the two businesses.

Sunfish Sailboat History

“Riding the Wind: The Story of the Sunfish Sailboat”

In the early 1950s, on the quiet banks of a lake in Connecticut, two inventive minds, Alex Bryan and Cortlandt Heyniger, were about to change the course of recreational sailing forever. Their company, Alcort, Inc., had already made waves with a small wooden sailboat called the Sailfish, a bare-bones vessel that captured the spirit of postwar leisure. But it was a new idea—simple, sleek, and shaped like a fish—that would take them into sailing legend.

Inspired by the joy of gliding effortlessly across the water, they dreamed of a boat that was just as light-hearted as it was easy to use. They took the Sailfish concept, gave it a hollow fiberglass hull, added a cockpit, and refined the lines into something more graceful, more accessible. By 1952, the Sunfish was born.

From the moment it touched water, the Sunfish struck a chord. It was small—just under 14 feet long, and delightfully nimble. Its lateen sail, a triangular rig borrowed from ancient seafaring designs, made setup a breeze and let sailors catch the wind from nearly any angle. Weighing only about 120 pounds, it could be hauled onto a beach by hand or strapped to the top of a station wagon, ready for a weekend escape.

As the 1960s and 70s rolled in, the Sunfish rode a wave of popularity. Families took them to lakeside cottages. Summer camps filled with kids learning to sail found in the Sunfish the perfect teacher, stable enough for beginners, but lively enough to thrill. Even as racing culture took hold, the little boat that started as a backyard experiment evolved into a serious contender. Regattas sprang up across the country. The Sunfish Class Association was formed, uniting thousands of sailors under a standard sail.

What was your Sunfish sail color?
Here’s a sample of top Sunfish sail colors over the decades.

By the 1980s, the Sunfish had become the best-selling sailboat in the world. Over half a million of them dotted coastlines and lakesides from the Jersey Shore to the Caribbean. Although companies like AMF, Vanguard, and eventually LaserPerformance would take turns steering the brand, the spirit of the boat remained unchanged.

Through decades of change, new materials, new manufacturers, and new sailing trends, the Sunfish endured. It wasn’t just a boat; it was a rite of passage, a floating memory, a passport to freedom for anyone who dared to take the tiller. And while other boats came and went, the Sunfish remained, its simple silhouette carving lazy S-curves across summer afternoons.

Today, over 70 years after its first splash, the Sunfish is still being built. Its bright sail flashes like a beacon to new sailors and seasoned racers alike. Whether you’re skimming over a calm lake or battling wind and spray in open water, when you’re on a Sunfish, you’re riding a piece of sailing history—a little boat that changed the game, one gust at a time.

Since April 2025, the new brand-name Sunfish has been built by SERO Innovation in Michigan. The class‑legal Sunfish (required for official regatta competition) is built by Zim Sailing in Rhode Island, with production ramping up through summer 2025. The Sailboat Shop (Glen Gardner, NJ), Hance & Smythe in Manahawkin, NJ.

Sunfish (Alcort) and Brochures & Advertisements over the Decades and Some Copycats

More Memories

Among those who elevated Sunfish sailing to a science was Derek “DC” Clay, a master of the craft and the author of Sail It Flat, a revered manual among racing enthusiasts. Clay’s approach emphasized the boat’s balance and simplicity—his philosophy was as straightforward as it was effective: keep the boat flat, and you’ll keep the speed. His book became a cornerstone of the Sunfish racing community, guiding both novice sailors and seasoned racers with practical advice and racing strategies explicitly tailored to the Sunfish’s unique design.

The Sunfish sailboat has maintained its iconic shape and rig for over 70 years, but it has undergone several significant design and construction changes over time. While not every year brought a substantial change, here’s a chronological breakdown of the most notable year-by-year or period-specific changes in the Sunfish’s development and design.

Side Story:
Sunfish Design Changes Over the Years

1952 – Introduction

• First Sunfish prototype built by Alcort, Inc.
• Constructed with a wooden hull (marine plywood)
• Lateen sail rig adopted for simplicity
• Boat had a flat deck with no cockpit; sailors sat on top like a surfboard (similar to Sailfish)

1959 – Fiberglass Hull Introduced

• Transition from wooden hull to fiberglass construction
• Improved durability and lowered maintenance
• Introduced molded-in cockpit for sitting inside the hull—a major improvement in comfort

1960s – Mass Production Era

• Sunfish becomes one of the most popular sailboats in America
• Continued refinement of fiberglass molding and sailcloth materials
• Alcort’s boats used wooden daggerboards and rudders with metal fittings

1969 – AMF Acquisition

• Alcort, Inc. sold to AMF Corp.
• AMF begins large-scale production and marketing globally
• Some minor deck/hull tweaks for manufacturing efficiency
• Logo changed to “AMF Alcort Sunfish”

Early 1970s – Foam Flotation Added

• Hull design modified to include closed-cell foam flotation for added safety and buoyancy
• Improved deck drainage

1972 – New Rudder and Tiller Assembly

• Switch from the earlier clunky brass rudder hardware to a more streamlined “gooseneck” style rudder bracket (pivot-mounted design)

1974–75 – Aluminum Spars Standardized

• Replaced early wooden spars with aluminum spars (mast and boom) for improved strength and longevity

Late 1970s – Plastic Foils Introduced

• Introduction of plastic daggerboards and rudders as an option over wood
• Easier maintenance but heavier and less favored by racers

1984 – LaserPerformance Era (Vanguard Purchases Rights)

• Vanguard Sailboats acquires the Sunfish rights from AMF
• Focus on one-design racing standardization and international class growth

1990s – Updated Deck Non-Skid & Construction

• Addition of molded-in non-skid texture on deck for better footing
• Internal structure improved with stiffer foam cores for rigidity

1999 – Racing-Grade Foils and Rigging Upgrades

• High-performance “race package” offered
  • Upgraded fiberglass daggerboard and rudder
  • Adjustable outhaul and Cunningham
  • Racing sail with window and class insignia

2007 – LaserPerformance Becomes Primary Manufacturer

• Vanguard becomes part of LaserPerformance
• Changes in branding and production; class organization undergoes tensions with the manufacturer

2010s – Quality Control and Materials Issues

• Concerns raised about inconsistent hull weights and quality from LaserPerformance plants
• Sails are mass-produced overseas, and some racers opt for custom sails

2020–2022 – Legal and Class Conflicts

• Dispute between Sunfish Class Association and LaserPerformance over rights and class compliance
• New manufacturers like Sunfish Direct / Intensity Sails begin producing class-legal parts independently

2023–2024 – Modernization and Accessibility

• Rise of new aftermarket parts suppliers
• Introduction of carbon fiber spars for elite racing
• Online rigging tutorials and class compliance standards solidified

About the Author

Brooks founded Mr. Local History and the Mr. Local History project with his wife Jill. Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, and raised in Westfield, Brooks graduated from Westfield High School in 1980 and later from Bryant University. For over two decades, Brooks, along with his brother Brian and younger sister Cee Cee, spent their summers on Lake Naomi with their parents, Frank and Caryolyn Betz, who had lived on Canoe Brook Road since the mid-1960s.

He and his family owned the Pocono Boathouse (Pocono Pines, PA) and the Cranford Canoe Club in the 1960s through the 1990s.

There are likely many gaps in the history that I hope to fill, along with a return visit to Lake Naomi to reminisce and reflect on these stories. This story is part of a series dedicated to the history of Lake Naomi, Pocono Pines, and the memories of my family spending time together. Thanks for reading.

My Lake Naomi / Pocono Pines History Series

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