Some ideas (good ones I hope!) that I've employed on CP16 Pegasus:
Early 16's didn't come with navigation lights (mine did, but the PO ripped out the
cabin wiring!), so, I purchased battery powered nav lights from Attwood as a temporary
fix until I rewire Pegasus (thank you Bob23). I attached the stern light to the
boarding ladder and the bowlight to the bowrail. Since they attach via a rather flimsy
screw thingee, Attwood thoughtfully provides a hole you can run a safety line
through... no lost nav lights!
Although not my idea (one from the ages), I installed a jib down-haul to avoid having
to go forward and stand in choppy/windy conditions and risk an unwelcome dip (see next
idea):
Since installing the tiller tamer (which works great!) I've become somewhat nervous
when single-handling should I take the aforementioned dip. Pegasus would just keep on
sailing a straight line... forever! So, digging through my ever growing junk pile, I
found a: an old winch strap & hook and b: a fanny pack thingee with a very convenient
loop. Voila! I hook the strap to a shroud and the other end to my hiney. Wouldn't keep
me from taking the dip, but at least I wouldn't have to swim far (or I could just hang on
and enjoy the ride!).
Last idea (for now): I was helping my son the contractor lay an engineered hardwood
floor and fell in love with the beautiful cherry finish. Being it's the "real" thing,
I figured that with a little prep (glue, filler and paint (on the backside), it would
make the almost perfect beautiful looking cabin hatch. One caveat - Pegasus is usually
on the hard, so I'm not too concerned about it not being marine grade plywood. On the
downside: I'll have to make the rest of the woodwork look as pretty! It'll be the
perfect place to mount my new bulkhead compass and cup-holders! Unfortunately, the
project is on hold since my son the contractor "forgot" that I needed a few pieces of
his scrap and he took 'em to the dump. ):
Hope you found the above entertaining and maybe even useful,
Marty K.
81 CP16 Pegasus
Before you invest a lot of energy in the engineered hardwood hatch cover (drop board?), spray a piece down with water and leave it outside for a couple of weeks and see what happens. Make sure to leave it standing on edge like it will be on the boat (if it is a drop board). There are a lot of different wood products out there, so it might work, but there is a good chance that it will swell or delaminate when exposed to water/weather over an extended period.
NateD - Good advice. I do have my "sample" scrap. I'll give it a bath (after a Thompson Water Seal treatment and a coat of Urethane) and see what happens. In the meantime, the compass still needs a home. I guess the existing beat-up drop board is gonna get a 3" hole. At least I'm not holing the boat proper!
Marty K.