Sunfish Class issues alert for non-compliant hulls

The International Sunfish Class Association (ISCA), following their recent statement on problems occurring with the class builder LaserPerformance (LP), provides further detail regarding the builder’s failure to deliver legal boats:

(May 12, 2023) – ISCA is issuing an alert for Sunfish hulls with World Sailing plaques 103679 and higher or no World Sailing plaques. In early February 2023, ISCA found out that boats being delivered to dealers in the USA did not include the required World Sailing Plaque (sticker). Further investigation uncovered a much larger issue than expected.

What LaserPerformance (LP) was doing:
As stated, recent boats were supplied without World Sailing plaques. From approximately 2021 to the present, some boats came with plaques, but they were non-legal plaques. LP printed their own plaques. LP confirmed 560 Sunfish had been produced as of of March 2023 that either had no plaque or had a fake plaque. Since then LP has shipped some 80 additional boats with no plaques.

Why World Sailing plaques are important:
The Sunfish class gained international status in 1984. This plaque certifies that the boat has a World Sailing designation, and a fee has been paid to World Sailing. Without this plaque the boat is not World Sailing certified and not ISCA class, per the Sunfish class rules. All boats will be inspected for World Sailing Plaques at all ISCA events, including World Championships and Pan Am Games Qualifying events.

The name World Sailing was adopted in 2015, and that governing body has had different names over the years. World Sailing, International Sailing Federation (ISAF), and International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) are names of the organization since Sunfish became an international class.

Current Situation:
After multiple conference calls with World Sailing and LP to resolve the issues of 1) previously manufactured boats with no WS plaques or LP printed plaques, and 2) future plaque requirements for new boats, Laser Performance agreed to pay for all plaques. As of last week we finally received payment. Going forward, World Sailing is requiring LP to buy the plaques from ISCA and not from World Sailing.

Solution for World Sailing compliance:
1. If any of the criteria below are met, please CLICK HERE – WS Plaques for boats 2021-2023 to order a valid World Sailing plaque mailed to your current address for free:
• Owners of boats built in 2021 to present without a World Sailing plaque.
• Owners of boats with World Sailing plaques stickers greater than number 103678. All plaques above that number are LP non-legal plaques.

2. If any of the criteria below are met, please CLICK HERE – WS Plaques for boats before 2021 to purchase a valid World Sailing plaque for $15.00, which will be mailed directly to your current address:
• Owners of boats built before 2021 with NO WS (or ISAF or IYRU) Plaque.
• All boats require a plaque. The plaque (port side cockpit forward surface) may read World Sailing, ISAF or IYRU. If this was removed, covered with personal stickers, etc., it will need to be replaced with new WS Plaque. At the moment, WS is requiring all Sunfish, new or old, to have a plaque whether they originally came with one nor not. We are trying to change that rule so only boats built with a plaque need one.

**All new WS plaques will start with the letter A-105XXX to clearly show that it is a new plaque.
These will be available to ship in 2-3 weeks starting mid-May. How to tell year of your boat if 1973 or newer:

For questions: Sunfish Class Administrator, Martine Zurinskas – sunfishoff@gmail.com or 404-451-7743