First off....a Canoe is not a Sunfish. A Sunfish is a wide and stable platform for the Sunfish rig. That's the way it was designed. However, It IS feasible to install a
Complete Sunfish rig in a canoe. The first problem is how far Aft....OR ..Foreward... in the boat ..relative to the leeboard location..(fore and aft)...will the free standing Sunfish mast be placed in the canoe. This will have to be trial and error. The boats sail area wants to be
balanced fore and aft against the leeboards..centerboard, resistance, etc..
The lee boards...fore and aft location will be balanced against the sail area. If not, the boat will want to veer off to one side..beyond your reasonable control.
More importantly..Erecting a
free standing mast in any boat needs a solid
socket for the butt of the mast.....because there is no other rigging to hold the mast up.
Another Delema is...the Sunfish sail is full bodied (sloppy..deep draft) and as such will likely overpower a canoe (narrow beam) with the draft of the sail. The second problem is the Sunfish sail AREA may be too much for a canoe. The canoe does not have the beam that a Sunfish has to support the lateral force the wind will apply through a deep draft sail.
Deep draft sails provide good power in light winds. When the wind picks up you want to reduce the draft to reduce the power. A Sunfish sail really doesn't provide this flexibility. Higher winds and higher boat speeds want a sail with much less "draft"....ie
FLAT. BOTTOM Line: You will have to experiment.
If you are serious about sailing canoes..Google "Rob Roy Canoes".
It can be done but it will take some experimenting and patience to get it right.
NB