Newbie

[Bonnie Blue]

Greetings everyone from south Alabama! I've been lurking for a while, decided to join before I start asking a lot of technical questions, lol. My wife and I purchased a cp-19 last summer, I believe it's a 1982 from the serial #. I was surprised to find one for sale close by. We had planned to find a boat this year,but when I saw an ad on Craig's list last year I just had to go look at it and we all know the rest of the story.... Anyway, a little background. My wife and I are in our 40s and she knows I have always wanted a sailboat,so last year she said we need to get one. After years of looking and dreaming I had decided a compac 19 would be the perfect boat and I think I was right! We went sailing several times last year and really enjoyed it. She was in shape to sail when we got her and the only issues were cosmetic. She still has her original sails,but until I'm good enough to need new sails we will just use what we have. The only problems we've had are with outboards and we'll be curing those with a new tohatsu sailpro soon, haven't decided if it will be the 20" or 25" yet- leaning towards the 25"-any input appreciated. We renamed her before we went sailing, with all the necessary deference to Neptune and a proper ceremony (hey,so far so,so good). Right now she is sitting in our yard undergoing some refitting. Just some of those things we want to do,need to do,but I don't know if they'll all get done before we go sailing again (I doubt it-too much fun!)Anyway, just wanted to say hi before I started asking all those newbie questions.

[Bob23]

  Greetings and welcome from north of the Mason Dixon line- NJ! Happy you have joined and boy, are you in luck because today is Initiation Free Sunday! I only run these occasionally and you are the lucky winners which means you are exempt from the usual $5000.00 fee payable to me! 
  I'm sure you will love your 19. I've sailed aboard a few of them and found them to be comfortable and well behaved. As far as your outboard question, I'd go with the 25" shaft. You'll eliminate greatly the chance of cavitation in rough water and it's not going to hurt anything having a longer shaft. I have that very motor on my 1985 23 and I love it. It actually pushes my boat (3000 lbs) faster than my old Nissan 8hp 2 cylinder.
   As far as the newbie questions go, we treat them just like any other question. We spin a wheel, come up with a good guess, and then doctor it up with fancy schmancy techno boat lingo to make it seem like we know what we're talking about! Seriously, you will find many knowledgable and experienced sailors here ( as well as some first class crackpots) who will be happy to offer answers and opinions.
  Again, welcome!
Bob23 and "Koinonia" 1985 23/2 in Surf City, NJ

[brackish]

Welcome! Certainly it is understandable that one might lurk for an extended period rather than throw in with this group of sailing misfits.

That relationship between the quality of your sails and how good a sailor you are is a chicken and egg thing.  So as budget permits..........

You're leaning in the right direction with regard to the motor, however it depends on your mount type and height.  On my 23 the mount has three positions.  With a 25" shaft I'm in the water and operating at the middle position with my controls high and comfortable, but I still have one more position down if I'm in swells and heavy following seas to avoid cavitation.  It is comforting.

Ask away, the one thing we seem to have is an endless supply of is opinions.  Sometimes they are backed up with knowledge and experience.

When Bob23 attempts to shake you down for the hefty initiation fee with threats of visits by Vinnie, Rocco, and other members of the Jersey family, just ignore it.  I'm in North Mississippi, and I have most of the area below the Mason Dixon line protected.

[Mas]

Welcome and compliments on your good taste in boats! There is much knowledge here, much good natured humor, and most importantly a beginning of many fond memories sailing and good friends you haven't even met yet! The folks here are the best.

Our boat, a Compac 23d came from Mobile to her new home on the Chesapeake. Ya'll come visit some time. She's got a trailer right?! We're still south of the Mason Dixon line but can sail well north of it with out anyone even knowing!

[Bonnie Blue]

Thank' s for the welcome ,y'all! Bob,glad to hear about the initiation fee holiday(I'll stop payment on the check I mailed).Brackish,I appreciate you looking out for me(the check is in the mail).No Mas,been following your posts with interest.We've got a few more weeks before we get back on the water-the Admiral said she wouldn't go out again until we had a new motor.She's not worried about not having a motor,she just doesn't want to listen to me"losing my religion"again when the inevitable breakdown occurs.She's seen it too many times(like hanging off the bow sculling a twenty-something foot Wellcraft half-way across St.Andrews bay).She's taken pity on the crew and authorized new propulsion,so I'm going with the long shaft tohatsu,seems to be a popular choice,thanks for the input.While we're on the hard I've got plenty of projects.First up,three of the four stern rail posts have cracks where they bolt to the transom,one so bad I can see blue sky from the inside.I'll be filling those in and trying to figure out what caused them-either a collision or too much pressure from a boom crutch along with a lot of use.This will be my first fibreglass repair of any kind so wish me luck!I'll be posting pics of the beautiful job the Admiral did on the interior once I figure out how.I'm sure y'all will be hearing from me pretty soon.

[HeaveToo]

Welcome aboard!  There is a lot of good information and knowledge on here.

[bigpackdaddy]

Hello Newbie from another newbie with the same boat (19) and same situation. We are giving the current outboard 1 more chance this weekend to prove its reliability...otherwise was wondering about the 25" or 20" Tohatsu sailpro also.

Would love to hear how it goes and where you might get that engine.

Take care,
Bigpackdaddy