tiller length for cp16 ???

[Railroad Greg]

I'm sure this topic has been discussed before, but i am having a hard time finding this simple answer.
How many inches long is the stock cp16 tiller. The boat is a 1978 model.   MY boat (Knee Deep) has a tiller that was shortened before I bought it.
I like the short tiller when I'm sitting aft and have main sheet and tiller handy but I'm thinking of going back to stock length for the next shack down cruise around the lake.
                                       Thanks greg

[JTMeissner]

Greg, I believe mine to be an original, off a 1975 CP-16.  Length is 42-1/2" according to my loose measurements.






HTH,
Justin

[JBC]

So happens I'm revarnishing my tiller, and can confirm 42 1/2 ". 
Jett

[ChuckO]

Ahoy,

Carpe Diem, my 1987 ComPac 16-2, hull number 2387 has a tiller that measures 46 inches. 

I am the 2nd owner of the boat, but to the best of my knowledge the tiller is the original.

ChuckO'
Charleston, SC

[Railroad Greg]

Thank you so much!
The pictures always help.
As always I Knew I could count on y'all

[nies]

Went up to the garage (5 degrees above zero) and my 1978 tiller is also 42 1/2...........................know you got answer but thought you could use three confirmations...............nies

[tmw]

Mine is also at 42.5 inches, just to add a fourth confirmation.

[MHardy]

Because more information is always better (or not!), RudderCraft's CP16 tiller is 44". My 16 is 2 hours away, so I can't measure at the moment.

[Railroad Greg]

I'm making the tiller cut Thursday and going out for a shake down cruise Friday. The temp will be 27 degrees at 0700 and 41 degrees by noon so Neis, thanks for the input. Your temp input made me feel better about the mildly cold temp here. If i break anything it will be in mild winds and I will be able to use trolling motor to get back to slip. Last week I moved in and out of marina testing trolling motor and doing all the text book stuff to check to see how a boat handles in tight space, forward, backward, sideways drift. The truth is that I'm stoked about going from a confident Sunfish sailor to a beginner CP16 sailor. I Loved the sunfish but even using  a wet suit I just wanted a winter boat that I could stay dry while sailing in 40 degree temp.
If something don't break then, I feel confident that I'll be fine.
Thanks for all the info!

[Pacman]

I replaced my stock tiller with one from A Catalina 22.

The length is 43 1/2" so it isn't much longer than a stock tiller but it is thicker with a nice bend so I prefer it over the stock tiller.

I have found that my boat sails much better when the weight is distributed fore and aft so the boat sails on her lines with no "stern squat".

If I am alone, the boat sails fastest with me sitting next to the companionway steering with an adjustable tiller extension like a dinghy racer.

If I have passengers (movable ballast), I sit further aft and have the "ballast" move as needed to trim the boat

[Railroad Greg]

I cut the tiller and installed it Thursday. I took the boat out Friday in very light winds. I did several tacks to stay within a few hundred yards of the marina. After about an hour the wind started to pickup so I made several more tacks and made a broad reach back to the marina. I dropped the sails just as the wind shifted and 15-20 mph gusts coming straight out of the marina made the boat drift over a small underwater island near the marina inlet.  It looked like a one man circus on the water. Lift rudder out of mud, pry boat free with oar, engage trolling motor, reverse/forward/reverse,forward, free at last and headed to marina.  I made the mistake of slowing down just before entering the marina and a 20 mph gust stopped me dead in my tracks. I was at the docks so I made up a stern and bow line to dock, tied off, to give me time to remove the sails and put them in the cabin. I knew from the last time out that any amount of windage in my boat is critical with a trolling motor.  Once I had everything below I made a mad dash for my slip between gusts.  No slowing down until I was only a boat length from my slip. The boat stopped just close enough for me to step off.
    I had a blast and learned a lot about my boat.  The only time that I thought about getting wet was when I grounded my boat named "Knee Deep".  Evidently the water was less then knee deep at that spot on Lake Guntersville.  I hope this info about my experience helps to inform all new boat owners that anyone with dumb luck can sail a boat.  I had a plan until Mother Nature changed the plan. Really, the plan was to learn about the handling of Knee Deep outside the marina under sail. Running aground was a bonus to the learning experience.