Ahoy! From a Newly-Minted Com-Pac 16 Owner...

[Mas]

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.

[Saluki86]

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

[Bilgemaster]

[...]

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", 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, 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?

[Duckie]

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

[Mas]

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!

[Bilgemaster]

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 big oscillating fan, and me "sponge diving" like one of those silly bobbing "drinky birds", 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 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 & After 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 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.

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:

[Bilgemaster]

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.

[captronr]

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

[Bilgemaster]

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 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.  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, 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.

The Bilgemaster as seen in his "Darker Guise"

[captronr]

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

[Bilgemaster]

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 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.

Fortunately, last week I had a bit of luck on eBay getting another beefier 2,500 watt generator called a Ramsond Sinemate 2500 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 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...

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(Update: You can witness that woodworking, additional headscratching and other progress, and even her triumphal return to the waves in April 2017 right here).