I have a 1996 Compac 16 with the Raven rig. Mine is a white hull with 2 port holes on each side of the cabin, just like other 16's. My question is whether or not there is a waterproof barrier between the cement in the keel and the cabin? If there was a hole in the keel, would the keel fill up with water and then overflow into the cabin? If I spilt water in the cabin, would it drain down into the keel? Living in Ohio, I would be concerned if water got in the keel and froze. I've read of people drilling a hole to drain the water and then patching the hole, but has anyone added a drain to their keel to be sure there is no water? If so, what type drain and where should it be located.
I have owned 3 Com-pacs and I love this forum. Sorry to hear news of Gerry and Richard Hutchins and Com-pac Yachts shutting down. They were always great support and they made great boats.
Hey Scott, not sure about how the CB arrangement is set up on your boat but the usual 16 keel construction is a molded in design with the ballast added after layup is complete. No seams but you can clearly damage the keel in a hard grounding or collision and provide access for water into the keel. It can also find its way in from above if not careful. Our Pacific Seacraft had a bolted on design but no seam was visible as it was fared over after bolting on. It had a lead keel so no chance of water absorption even if compromised. The external vs internal keel debate is almost as common as which anchor is best!
Quote from: Scott_S on June 04, 2025, 08:55:52 PMI have a 1996 Compac 16 with the Raven rig. Mine is a white hull with 2 port holes on each side of the cabin, just like other 16's. My question is whether or not there is a waterproof barrier between the cement in the keel and the cabin? If there was a hole in the keel, would the keel fill up with water and then overflow into the cabin? If I spilt water in the cabin, would it drain down into the keel? Living in Ohio, I would be concerned if water got in the keel and froze. I've read of people drilling a hole to drain the water and then patching the hole, but has anyone added a drain to their keel to be sure there is no water? If so, what type drain and where should it be located.
I have owned 3 Com-pacs and I love this forum. Sorry to hear news of Gerry and Richard Hutchins and Com-pac Yachts shutting down. They were always great support and they made great boats.
The keel is full of concrete and forms the floor of a Compac 16. Sometimes there is a carpet or similar covering and I've seen people put other floor covering over the concrete. It would seem that sealing the top of the concrete with a good outdoor concrete sealer might prevent water saturation from above. Below the waterline is a different story. I have read where people drill a small hole and see if any water runs out. You could then seal it up with an appropriate fiberglass patch or install a removable drain plug of some sort.
I've got a 16 in my shop currently, The floor carpet is covering a fiberglass pan that is on top of the concrete. after drying this one out as best I can and filling the holes in the keel I drilled in order to get more water out, a decision will have to be made as to what to do on the top.... Sadly I have not dug into where the water infiltrates the keel area. It definitely did somewhere on this boat from the inside.
I am unsure if it is worth chasing down the area of infiltration and I am also not sure what kind of space is inside that area where say would it be worth filling with epoxy or not.
I have a feeling that the tabbing that is allowing the water to penetrate that area is under and inside the side bunks, etc..... The water did come out when I set the boat to such a steep angle it was in rocket ship mode and water was coming out of the keel in that back well area inside the rear hatch access area.
Mac
Nearly 30 years ago I had a 1978 (?), hit an underwater breakwater, knocked through the fiberglass at the forward end of the keel, and within an hour I had water on the sole. I sold the boat to someone with more patience than I had and more guts to drill into the keel. The "concrete" is, or then was, extremely porous.