Description
The Sailfish 12 (or Alcort Sailfish, often just called the Sailfish) is a classic American plywood daysailer/board boat from the post-WWII era, introduced in 1945 by Alcort Inc. (founded by Alex Bryan and Cortlandt "Cort" Heniger). It's the direct predecessor to the iconic Sunfish—essentially the boat that started the modern sit-on-top, lightweight sailing phenomenon in the US. The original Sailfish was a flat-decked, hollow-hulled "sit-on" design (no cockpit well initially), ultra-simple, affordable, and marketed as the "world's wettest, sportiest boat" in LIFE magazine features. It was available as a kit or built boat, with plywood construction, wood spars, and a lateen rig for easy setup and fun on lakes, ponds, or calm coastal waters.
The Deluxe versions (from around 1951) added features like a dri-deck coaming (raised edges for less water ingress), colored sails, and better hardware, while a 14-foot variant was introduced later. By the early 1960s, Alcort evolved it into the Sunfish (adding a small cockpit footwell for comfort and widening the beam slightly for stability). The Sailfish is lighter and more minimalist—pure splashy fun for 1–2 people, car-toppable, and virtually unsinkable due to enclosed air volume.
