Com-Pac Yacht Owners Association

Ahoy!  As my inaugural posting to this fine forum I just thought I should introduce myself, before hammering you all with my incessant newbie questions.  I had only recently obtained a reasonably well-found Macgregor 26X (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDKfX6d4qHk) power-sailor last August--my first sailboat, though I've been tooling around various lakes and rivers in a '67 Amphicar (http://www.amphicar.com/) (i.e., the Devil's own stinkpot: basically an amphibious clown car) for decades.  Having attended to some necessary "Heavy TLC" like sanding and painting her bottom and trailer and much power-washing and waxing and whatnot right in my front yard, I finally put her into Virginia's Leesylvania State Park (http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/leesylvania#general_information) Boat Storage Lot right on the Potomac in October, from which she can make her way mast up right on down to the pair of lovely triple-wide launch ramps just a few hundred feet away...The next best thing to a slip (maybe even better in some respects, certainly maintenance-wise, and since I sincerely doubt I might sleep nearly as well if a storm were a'brewing were she in the drink!).  So anyhow, since then I've been in that boat lot most weekends rain or shine tinkering with this or that (especially with the strange and wonderful half-installed electrical work of her previous owner...No wiring diagrams natch. After all: documentation's for sissies!).  Now, every time I left the lot I'd pass by a sad-looking and obviously long neglected but still rather pretty little sailboat who'd clearly fallen on hard times: companionway hatch broken and missing, cabin wide open to the elements and critters, sails strewn through the cockpit, vines beginning their march up her hull, a registration sticker that had expired 7 years ago...All the hallmarks of an abandoned or at least sorely neglected boat on her way to the landfill soon, if she wasn't rescued.  Another season or two as she was, wide open to the elements, and she'd be a goner for sure.  Pacing out her length and from the still-visible logo I discovered that she was a Com-Pac 16.  So, using the registration number, and thanks to the good folks at Virginia's Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries who gave me the owner's address, satisfied I was on the up and up, I wrote to the owner a couple of weeks ago, sending him some pictures of the boat's sorry state and offering to either take her off his hands for some token amount or just do my small bit to help stave off the worst by gathering and stowing the sails, sealing back up the hatch and clearing away the vines until such time as the owner could attend to her once again.  To my surprise, a week later I got an email kindly offering me the boat and trailer for $1.  Needless to say, she's already back on her way to a full recovery: sails cleaned and stored properly, hatch sealed, tires holding air again, hubs greased, vines hacked back.  Her cabin woodwork, from what I can tell, remarkably looks pretty much still OK, and my hunch (though it's really still only that) is that I caught her well in time, and all she really might need is a really thorough cleaning, a little light carpentry around the companionway hatch and some fresh rope here and there.  Even the sails seem semi-decent.  Apparently, she also comes with a motor, some sort of genoa or "big spinnaker-like sail" (according to the previous owner) and a bunch of other nautical gear that's safely in his shed that I'll be picking up this weekend, most likely.

So, while I didn't really want her so much as felt sorry for her, now that she's mine I'm pretty damned happy about it.  Once she's all bathed and powdered and presentable again, my kids or friends can have some fun with her, and maybe I'll also rent her out through a decent service like Boatbound just enough to help her pay her own way.  After all, I'm led to understand that these little Com-Pacs really are superb boats to learn to sail properly in.

Well, that's my tale. Thanks for having me aboard!  While I rummage through your forum's archives, if anyone might be kind enough to point me to the "Great Fat Newbie Archive of Frequently Rehashed Questions" or to any definitive posts concerning stuff like parts sources, service tips, manuals and other stuff new owners might need, I'd really appreciate it. 

Bilge:
   Please allow me to be the first to welcome you aboard! Very well written first post and I must congratulate you on a wonderful find. We'd all have done the same thing you did and brought that old girl back from her way to the grave. Very good!
   You have found the right place for all and any info you may have. As far as the "Great Fat Newbie Archive of Frequesntly Rehashed Questions", you came to the right place. Just poke around a bit on the 16 section or feel free to ask any question you want. Here, we specialize in both kinds of answers: correct and not so much!
   Tell us where you sail, more info, photos...
Welcome again!
Bob23 and Koinonia, a 1985 23/2 in NJ

Bob23:
Thanks for the hearty welcome!  Like I said, I'm pretty much new to sailing as such, apart from brief stints back in the Carter Administration as a "rigger's apprentice" aboard the museum-bound tall ship Balclutha (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balclutha_%281886%29) (which mostly involved my just scuttling around the ratlines with a pot of pine tar where she was docked) and a spot earned by the diligent slathering of the sticky goo thereby as the spritsail man aboard the Golden Hinde II (http://www.goldenhinde.com/) around San Francisco Harbor.  Apart from that and a few day sails now and then aboard others' craft, I'm an utter newbie to sailing...at least of my own boat.  That said, I'm on the Potomac River and nicely poised for journeys from it down and around the Chesapeake, maybe later the ICW. 

As for the Com-Pac 16, here she is "as found" (sorry about the mammoth image size):

(http://bukmop.com/ComPac16/IMG_20160116_145127.jpg)

...with more readily viewable pix of her and one of her "mother ship," my Mac 26X and her faithful Durango V8 tow beast (which is what $1,500 will get you nowadays if you're lucky) found online in the directory http://bukmop.com/ComPac16/ (http://bukmop.com/ComPac16/).  Needless to say, the little Com-Pac already looks much much better than these shots.  Thankfully, I also noticed only a couple of days ago that there's another, very nicely kept, Com-Pac 16 also in the lot, mast up.  She'll doubtless prove helpful later as a handy reference for how things "ought" to be.

Thanks again for the kind welcome as I come to rights with my little sailed "foundling."

Holy Cow!  She came pretty well equipped.  Not only that but she is a newer model with bow sprit and forward hatch, life lines, bimini, and who knows what all.  Yes she is set up with a genoa track, so she should have a big head sail.  Don't be surprised if you find yourself falling in love with this one the more you learn about sailing. 

Al

Ahoy there as well Bilge!  We learned to sail on a CP16. They are wonderful little yachts with sea kindly characteristics and a forgiving nature. Got excited when reading your post that maybe our old 16 had been found, but the bowsprit, lifeline and etc say newer model. Having the extra sail area will be wonderful! Do you know the year of manufacture? it is part of the hull ID number. Some of the later 16's had a CB. This was done in an attempt to improve their less than stellar performance going to the wind. The shoal draft keel which makes her such a great craft for the waters where you are, also if heeled over much moves into the shadow of the hull and then the ability to point well is diminished. Sail her as flat as possible is my recollection. A wonderful classic little boat.

Just got to go aboard a Macgregor 26 that belongs to a couple overwintering at our marina. They are not staying on the boat but are in an apartment there. Interesting craft. When i saw the trailer for it i would never have placed money on the fact it was for a sailboat! Then I saw the boat and learned about the water ballast. interesting!

Oh if it not too much trouble try to get the hull number off of the other 16 there. We are still hoping to find our first boat from 25 years ago!

Welcome to the group.  I had a MacGregor 19 back in the day.  My CP16 is more fun to sail, stays more upright for the grandchildren, is much stiffer, takes less maintenance, looks more classic and is less expensive to operate and store.  I restored my 16 just like you will have to.  Great project.

Gerry

Welcome to the group.  Compacs are good boats and they are a lot of fun.

Welcome, Bilgemaster!
Kudos and good karma on your rescue and renovation!

Please keep us updated!
Chuck (CP16 on Washington's Olympic Peninsula)

Quote from: No Mas on February 24, 2016, 09:31:03 AM
Ahoy there as well Bilge!  We learned to sail on a CP16. They are wonderful little yachts with sea kindly characteristics and a forgiving nature. Got excited when reading your post that maybe our old 16 had been found, but the bowsprit, lifeline and etc say newer model. Having the extra sail area will be wonderful! Do you know the year of manufacture? it is part of the hull ID number. Some of the later 16's had a CB. This was done in an attempt to improve their less than stellar performance going to the wind. The shoal draft keel which makes her such a great craft for the waters where you are, also if heeled over much moves into the shadow of the hull and then the ability to point well is diminished. Sail her as flat as possible is my recollection. A wonderful classic little boat.

Just got to go aboard a Macgregor 26 that belongs to a couple overwintering at our marina. They are not staying on the boat but are in an apartment there. Interesting craft. When i saw the trailer for it i would never have placed money on the fact it was for a sailboat! Then I saw the boat and learned about the water ballast. interesting!

Oh if it not too much trouble try to get the hull number off of the other 16 there. We are still hoping to find our first boat from 25 years ago!

No mas:  I believe mine is a '93.  As for the other CP16 in the lot, I'll be happy to jot down her Hull ID when I'm next in the lot, which should be this weekend.

Bilge:
   Tell me about this other 16 on the lot. Although I love my 23, I've been on the lookout for a homeless 16. If she's for sale, can you let me know here or via personal message? Thanks...
Bob23

Yeah, Bob23, where are the notes demanding the initiation fee?  Is your cousin Vinny getting soft, or has the jealously of missing out on this deal distracted you?  Seems like the technique is to drive around marinas and send Vinny to the PO's house asking for the title ;)

Bilgemaster, welcome aboard.  Oddly, I have yet to actually sail my CP-16 (bought at end of last season), but I've read great things about them.  Happy to hear you are saving one.

Wonderful story.  Glad to learn about your finding her.  Keep'is posted and Welcome!

Quote from: Bob23 on February 24, 2016, 06:01:26 PM
Bilge:
  Tell me about this other 16 on the lot. Although I love my 23, I've been on the lookout for a homeless 16. If she's for sale, can you let me know here or via personal message? Thanks...
Bob23

I didn't really examine that other CP16 in the boat lot all that closely, having frankly only just recently even noticed her, now that I am becoming more fully attuned to all things "Com-Pac 16ish."  I can only say that my general impression was just of a rather clean and reasonably "well-found" boat that I thought I might well be able to use later as a sort of living guide as to how things ought to look to help me perhaps get my own rather grubby foundling back up to snuff.  

Rest assured that although there indeed are a few semi-shabby looking craft in that lot, the one I got really took the prize for obvious neglect, which is what made her really stand out in the first place.  (That, and I sort of liked the little round portholes, though my aesthetic tastes tend sort of "old school" that way...Hell, I'd like to see a few belaying pins (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belaying_pin) here or there!)  Still, I hope you understand: It's just a State Park boat lot.  It's not like that lot's some sort of mystical Eldorado where unwanted or lost Com-Pac 16s lurk off en masse to moulder, like some sort of mythical Elephant Graveyard kind of place for old pocket cruising day-sailers.  From what I can see online with a search of "Compac 16 for sale (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=compac+16+for+sale)", it doesn't seem like there's any shortage of Com-Pac 16s readily available for purchase out there, and if you're gonna buy a boat, a motorcycle or a surfboard, then mid-winter's the ticket.  Sure, January might have been better, but late February is still likely to work out WAY better for a buyer than April or May haggle-wise.  So, if you're gonna pull the trigger, right now might not be the worst time to do so.  Just saying.

Belaying pins. Funny you'd mention that.  A few years ago I had the bright idea of installing them on my 23. Never got around to it. It's now on the "if I ever retire" list.
Bob23

When I first started toying with the idea of getting a sailboat a couple of years ago...you know: lurking through the boats for sale listings and craigslistings and so forth like any guy about a decade out from retirement might do, I kept coming back to an old 42 foot Luders Cheoy Lee Clipper Ketch just about an hour south of me like this one (http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1973/Cheoy-Lee-Clipper-42-Ketch-2391229/Stavoren/Netherlands#.Vs7pe0BcqUY).  I watched as her asking price slid ever lower and lower and lower still, until I might have been able to buy her, if I maybe sold a kidney or two. She was a big sprucey teakey sleek beast of a ship that really spoke to the 20 year old still inside me that once slid down the shrouds of the Balclutha (http://www.nps.gov/safr/learn/historyculture/balclutha.htm) to go get a huge hot roast beef sandwich at the Eagle Cafe (http://sfinfilm.com/2015/12/13/the-eagle-cafe/), when it was still where it belonged.  It was those damned belaying pins at the masts that really got to me.  Like Cindy Crawford's mole.  But I knew it was too much boat too soon.  The right boat at the wrong time.  A six foot draft on the Cheasapeake?  I'd have the BoatUS towing folks on speed dial.  Just the slip fees alone, even way down where it was on the Bay would be like carrying the note on a small Mercedes.  No...definitely not the right boat for right now...but those pins...those pins...

Bilge,

As you are aware, or will soon be, our boats area referred to in the feminine for good reason. They are easy to fall in love with, pretty to look at, sad when neglected, will remind you when you don't handle her right, and ohhhhh the accessories$$$!!!

Thanks much for looking into the hull number other 16 on the lot. Our old 16 is out there somewhere. Kinda like a kid you gave up for adoption, just wanna know she ended up in a good home. If not then I know of an abandoned girl adoption agency out there from New Jersey, interestingly run by Bob23, that I am sure could find her a better home. :)

Bilge!

Welcome!  You will find a ton of useful info here.

Can't wait to see more pics of the little lady once she gets back from the spa.

Sal

Quote from: No Mas on February 24, 2016, 09:31:03 AM

[...]

Oh if it not too much trouble try to get the hull number off of the other 16 there. We are still hoping to find our first boat from 25 years ago!

No Mas: So, I had a good look at that other Com-Pac 16 in the boat yard named "Eroica (http://www.beethovenseroica.com/)", and its Hull Identification Number appears to be ABV01773V82.  That 2nd "V" seems a bit odd to me in an HIN, but basically it seems we have hull number 1773 made some time in 1982.  Which one are you looking for, exactly?  I imagine folks on this forum must come across other Com-Pac 16s all the time out there, and might be kind enough to scribble it down somewhere handy for ready reference for such close encounters.

A closer look at her merely confirmed my vague initial impression of a rather "well-found" and tidy craft.  Here she is:


As for my own boat, I treated her to a little bit of a tentative scrubdown, and as you can see she cleans up real nice:


I'm a little concerned by the several inches of standing water left in the cabin by the recent fairly hellacious storms we had hereabouts, despite my best provisional efforts to seal that open hatch last weekend with a taped up garbage bag.  Sure, I pumped nearly all of it out with a bilge pump and a length of old garden hose I had on hand, jury-rigged with jumper cables to the car battery, but that certainly won't have been the first time that has happened in the decade or so she's been languishing  there unattended--without even an old garbage bag for comfort--before I got her, and I'm a little worried about what effects that standing water and dampness may have had within and especially below (like on any keel bolts, mast support, etc.). It now strikes me that the phrase "without even an old garbage bag for comfort" may well be one of the bleakest ever written.  On the bright side, I am now quite sure that my just-the-right-sort-of-weak-and-crappy-for-the-job Harbor Freight power washer's really gonna make that old girl gleam again, at least on the outside.  

Lastly, here's a "Pro Tip":  Don Casey's book, Sailboat Hull and Deck Repair (http://www.amazon.com/Sailboat-Hull-Deck-Repair-Library/dp/0070133697), specifically recommends a cup of Wisk brand laundry detergent in a bucket of water for giving that exterior a good scrubbing, and you know what?  The man's right.  So, from now on you can skip that aisle of ultra-extravagant cleansing wonder potions at We$t Marin€ (Motto: "You'll think our prices are in some wA¢k¥ foreign currency!"), and just raid the laundry room from now on, OK there Mr. Clean?

From what I have seen on this board, you might want to get a good look under the floor boards in the cabin to see how bad the water intrusion is in the keel area.  It just might be that if the area is wet and not flooded, you will need to keep any more water from getting in there and let it naturally dry out.  That could take all summer without any accelerant, like a fan.  If she hasn't frozen solid at all the concrete should be intact and you wouldn't have to do any more than dry it.  I bet that your restoration project will be not too tough, but well worth whatever you end having to do.

Al

Hey Bilge, sorry for the late reply. Thanx so much for checking. Our CP16 was hull number 1270. Actually started a thread on this forum hoping to track her down. Not in the data base here for the 16's.

when you refer to open hatch do you mean companionway? The sliding hatch there, drop boards?

Try rigging a tarp over the entire cabin till repaired. If it is the sliding hatch then Hutchins can hook you up with another, if the drop board/s then you could make one or also order one. Good luck, she's looking happier already!

Just an update on the "Dollar Com-Pac 16" Rescue Effort:  What with last week's spate of unseasonably dry warm weather, judicious repeated use of a jury-rigged 12V electric bilge pump and cheapo Harbor Freight 2-stroker-generator-powered (http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=generator) big oscillating fan, and me "sponge diving" like one of those silly bobbing "drinky birds (http://www.eoht.info/page/Drinking+bird)", the cabin's now pretty much dry...Sure, the carpet's still a bit damp, but with her newly-fashioned plywood companionway hatch cover and a few Dollar Tree DampRid knockoffs (https://www.dollartree.com/household/cleaning/all-purpose-cleaning/The-Home-Store-Charcoal-Moisture-Eliminators-9-8-oz-Tubs/500c501c502p332039/index.pro?method=search) placed here and there, and her steady diet of Ikea orange and apple scented candles, she should be sweet-smelling and bone dry in a week or two. Surprisingly, the formerly completely sodden cushions, which were like wrestling a pair of pythons to get out of the cabin and overboard, and which I'd first imagined were probably write-offs, after a week of sunbathing in the back yard surprisingly now look quite salvageable...certainly their zippered covers, at least. I might give them the "Wisk Treatment" too...really a wonder fluid.  Speaking of which, here are Before (http://bukmop.com/ComPac16/IMG_20160116_145018.jpg) & After (http://bukmop.com/ComPac16/IMG_20160313_144515.jpg) shots of the starboard side, that is, before and after a quick Wisk scrubdown. No pressure washing as of yet. Just a sponge, a scrub brush, two bucketfuls of water and some Wisk. Gentlemen and Lady Mariners, I'm telling you again straight: Next time she's looking a little dingy, go raid the laundry room!.

Oh yeah, I picked up the engine from the previous owner, which turns out to be a nice little Tohatsu 2.5 hp 2-stroker,  The very same type that some Japanese Madman used to cross the Atlantic (http://www.tohatsu.com/news/seiko.html) in his homebuilt yellow lozenge.  I'm led to understand that simply removing a little restrictor plate between the carb and the engine will magically transform it into a 3.5 hp.  Apparently, they just put that plate in to power it down to meet max power restrictions on inflatable dinghies and the like. I tinkered with her a bit, got her kicking, and it looks like she just needs a new lanyard and kill switch, which is already on its way from waaaay yonder (http://www.ebay.com/itm/281867227210?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT).

In view of how much bang I seem to be getting for the buck, I figured I really ought to give the man a REAL buck, so it just seemed fitting and proper to pay the previous owner with one of these:

Quote from: No Mas on March 03, 2016, 01:37:27 PM
Hey Bilge, sorry for the late reply. Thanx so much for checking. Our CP16 was hull number 1270. Actually started a thread on this forum hoping to track her down. Not in the data base here for the 16's.

when you refer to open hatch do you mean companionway? The sliding hatch there, drop boards?

Try rigging a tarp over the entire cabin till repaired. If it is the sliding hatch then Hutchins can hook you up with another, if the drop board/s then you could make one or also order one. Good luck, she's looking happier already!

Hull "1270"...Roger that.  It is now inscribed for later ready reference in my little Ship's Log of Restoration Costs, thus far totaling $98.28 (includes a pair of gleaming new trailer wheels and a 2" hitch coupler).  As for the "hatch", as mentioned previously, I did indeed mean the companionway.  I happened to have a nice sanded and triple-varnished hunk of plywood handy from an earlier project, and having located the remains of the original hatch on the ground nearby for a partial template, I just cut a new one with a little electric jigsaw,  So, she's all buttoned up now.

Welcome Bildgemaster!

Sorry I'm late in noticing............. We also have a 26X and we bought a 2012 Eclipse in Nov.   Have only splashed it one time so far.   

This weekend, we're splashing our Mac and putting it in the slip.   We'll sell the Mac, but for now, it's kinda like having a big SUV and a sportscar!  The Mac definitely is more for cruising as you well know.

Best wishes,
Ron

Quote from: captronr on March 16, 2016, 09:42:49 AM
Welcome Bildgemaster!

Sorry I'm late in noticing............. We also have a 26X and we bought a 2012 Eclipse in Nov.   Have only splashed it one time so far.  

This weekend, we're splashing our Mac and putting it in the slip.   We'll sell the Mac, but for now, it's kinda like having a big SUV and a sportscar!  The Mac definitely is more for cruising as you well know.

Best wishes,
Ron

Ron,

Actually, at this point I'm still a couple of weekends away from "knowing" the Mac in anything like the biblical sense, if you know what I mean (Knock! Knock! Say no more!), having only been tinkering with this and that since I trailered her home in August.  You know: a good thorough cleaning, bottom paint, sorting out the rat's nest of half-installed electrics, etc., et cetera, &c.  Now I'm on my final push to get her "splashed in April," according to plan. Though in truth, I guess I could have just tossed the batteries back into her this afternoon and headed off to the boat ramp.  Still, I've got the pressure water system and a rather nice Lowrance chartplotter/depth sounder unit (http://marine-electronics-reviews.com/lowrance-lms525c.html) that came with the boat still to hook up to keep me out of trouble until the weather's just a tad more springy.

Say, that Eclipse is a fine looking boat, ain't she?  As it happens, the very first boat I noticed as being clearly "pick of the litter" in the boat yard I'm in is very similar...might even be an Eclipse or some earlier rendition of the same svelte lines.  She's a real head turner.  Turns out it was a Com-Pac, though I had no idea of this when I first spotted her, having not yet gotten my own little Com-Pac 16 as a "rescue" only many months later.  I met the owner, Jeff, in the lot a couple of weeks ago.  Like me, he was just pottering around with this and that. Great guy. Hope to see him "out there."  Jeff was kind enough to let me have a looksee at the cabin, which is obviously quite a bit more "commodious" than a 16's...far more "cruisery" than "floating pup tenty".  Still, if I were out for more than a night or two on the Bay with the wife and certainly the kids, I'd far rather it be in the Macgregor 26X "Waterbago."  For those unfamiliar with the breed, click here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDKfX6d4qHk).  Some "Salty Sailor Joe" types with bowlines in their pubes don't like them much, what with their being hybrids with big 50+ horsepower motors dangling off their transoms, but I'm OK with that, being a hybrid kinda guy.  After all, I'm a decades-long Amphicar owner (http://www.amphicar.com), which they'd likely see as the Devil's own garish circus stinkpot clown car-boat. So, for right now let's just celebrate the fact that I found a couple of sails to tug me along too, OK?  I mean, that's a pretty big step away from the Dark Side, ain't it Obi Wan?  Besides...I've got an indisputably REAL sailboat in the Com-Pac 16 now, don't I.

Ron,
We had a great sail today in the Mac.   Was about 40* when we shoved off, but got up to maybe 50 and moderate winds. 

Hadn't been to or on our Mac since Nov and motored started right off.  We put it in our slip on Thursday, putzed with it Fri, and spent 3-4 hours sailing it today.  Only saw one other sailboat out.  Lot of bass fishermen--tournament on the lake. 

Nice that everything worked on our boat.  I've been following Macs since 1999, and only got our 2002 model in 2007.   We haven't done many mods to ours.  You could really go crazy redoing the wiring (yes, it's poorly done from the factory), the water system is lousy, etc.   But for a lot of summers, we'd wave and drive by guys working on their boats in the club yard, while we toss the lines and went sailing! 

Unless we are in a hurry for some reason, we rarely run our motor over 2K RPM.   If we are out for a week, I'll kick the RPMs up just to keep it running well.  The extra HP is nice at times--I towed a 30 ft boat that died.   Couldn't believe how hard it was to tow--until I found out it weighed 10,000 pounds, or more than double the Mac.............

Have fun,
The other Ron

It's been another fine but chilly morning in the boat lot, having moved the Com-Pac 16 to her new spot, right next to her big sister the Mac 26X, and where she won't be re-engulfed by the thorny weeds, creepers and vines that have been her only companions for the past decade or so.  It quite literally took a machete to get her free of their grip. On the way, we swung by the lot faucet for a splendid little scrubdown with promiscuously running water...not miserly buckets hauled from 100 yards off.  She's looking better and better, especially the decks, but a good power washing, particularly of the cockpit area, would still do her the power of good.  My cheapo 900 watt Harbor Freight 2-stroker genset (http://www.harborfreight.com/engines-generators/gas-engine-generators/900-peak700-running-watts-2-hp-63cc-2-cycle-gas-generator-epacarb-60338.html) may be super handy for this or that power tool or for shore power charging of the Mac's batteries, but probably wouldn't have nearly enough oomph to comfortably handle my little 1,600 watt power washer (http://www.harborfreight.com/1650-psi-125-gpm-electric-pressure-washer-69488.html).

Fortunately, last week I had a bit of luck on eBay getting another beefier 2,500 watt generator called a Ramsond Sinemate 2500 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/361508917535?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT) that's a lot chunkier at 70 lbs., but still reasonably compact and portable.  I'd been wanting a nice quiet 4-stroker for on-the-go away-from-shore shore power, but that Honda EU2000i most cruisers like is a bit rich for my blood, so I'd been waiting on that Harbor Freight knockoff (http://www.harborfreight.com/2500-peak2200-running-watts-47-hp-125cc-portable-inverter-generator-61169.html) to go on sale again for under four bills...when I just happened to notice the Ramsond unit, which I picked up for just $404 with free shipping.  I guess most folks haven't heard of them yet.  I hadn't, but what reviews I could find all looked tip-top.  Of course, what really appealed to me about it is the fact that it has a 30 Amp shore power style outlet, as well as a normal 15 Amp wall socket style one, and a 12 volt DC 8.3 amp "\ /" style socket with jumper cables.  It also has an electric start.  So I'm psyched for it to arrive.

Now, lest you think this whole "Dollar Com-Pac 16" enterprise is all beer and skittles, have a look at the now (mostly) dry cabin, why doncha:


I see woodworking in my future...

=================================================

(Update: You can witness that woodworking, additional headscratching and other progress, and even her triumphal return to the waves in April 2017 right here (https://cpyoa.com/forum/index.php?topic=9865.0)).