CP16, first boat, beautifull hull and rigging, completely gutted... IDEAS?

[joshuadickey]

Just picked up an '88 CP16! She has had quite a past...
1st owner: sailed her infrequently for about 10 yrs, then sold her to...
2nd owner: let her sit till the trailer rotted out from under her, her insides rotted out, and the trailer punched a hole in her hull. She was salvaged by...
3rd owner: TOTALLY gutted the insides (removed everything), did a good job fiber glassing the hole. Immediately sold her to...
4th owner: Really nice guy with a couple other sailboats who sailed her infrequently over the last 5 yrs, took real good care of her and sold her to...
5th owner: (ME) drove over 1000 miles to bring her home to the Banana River in Cocoa Beach, FL!

She has not been sailed much, however she looks fantastic and her 'maiden' voyage will be saturday on Lake Thanotasassa.
Does anyone have any advice on the insides? The lack of 'bunks' and other accutrements does not bother me, however, I wonder if I should do anything to add back some more buoyancy? Any Ideas?

Josh

[Deb]

Congratulations Josh.......Enjoy her alot!!! She will give you a great ride!
I'm not able to give you much help but the smart folks here will I'm sure!
My 16 is real basic but has all she needs.....for now.
Have fun
Deb

[Paul]

Congrats Joshua!

Test her out on the maiden voyage and see what she needs.  You might want to check the standing rigging and running rigging to ensure all is well.  Check the bow eye for leaks, as well as the cockpit drains.  In addition, you might look for any flexing of the hull, especially under sail.  CP-16's have a good reputation for being built solid.  With that in mind, the bunks do add a bit of stiffness to the hull.  Will likely be OK as is, but just a thought.

Main thing is go have fun!!

[Sam in VA]

I'm not sure what you mean by "totally gutted", but you need to be sure that you have the compression post under the mast and the bulkhead that supports it... you might also want something beneath the cockpit.  In my '85 it was a huge hunk of styrofoam.

[joshuadickey]

Well, I got her in the water and she sailed beautifully. There was only light wind at the lake, however she performed far better than expected and We actually got some really good speed out of her! My dog enjoyed the cabin while my fiance and I fought over the tiller! Everything was great except for one major issue:
The U-bolt at the bow was leaking ever so slightly. This dod not overly concern me till I was winching the boat out of the water realized that I was actually pulling the u-bolt right out of the hull!

The bolt is still in place but barely... does anyone know how best I should go about a repair? As best I can tell, there is a piece of wood in the fiberglass at this point and it has rotted... probably from the same water that rotted out the bunks. The needs to be repaired ASAP!

I am pretty handy, but this is my first real boat so I'm a total noob...

[joshuadickey]

Additionally, the compression post for the mast is in good shape, but ALL the other wood is completely removed!

[Craig Weis]

So #5 owner, as she is gutted out already perhaps taking a day or two just to look and stare at the inside...now if I did that I believe that a complete one level, as low as possible to the keel would be a consideration. A guy could stretch out in the 16 and be about as comfortable as being in a tent. I know I would use any area under the soul of the cockpit for storage. Just something to think about. Cut one big cushion and have at it. Of course I can sit like an indian all day long. skip.

[Tom Ray]

does anyone know how best I should go about a repair? As best I can tell, there is a piece of wood in the fiberglass at this point and it has rotted... probably from the same water that rotted out the bunks. The needs to be repaired ASAP!

I am pretty handy, but this is my first real boat so I'm a total noob...

You need to cut/grind/sand out whatever remains of that piece of wood and put in a new one.

[joshuadickey]

once i remove and replace, how do i seal against leaks?

[newt]

Josh- Get "This Old Boat" which goes thru fiberglass repairs pretty well. The only thing I would change is I would use epoxy and glass to repair her. As for the insides- I have plenty of ideas but the best small boat insides I have seen were in Compacs (look what others have done to your 16) and Pacific Seacraft (see the layouts of the Flicka and others)
Good Luck!

[mrb]

Welcome Josh

Is there any thing left of the bunks that extend under the cockpit seats.

I kind of go along with skip when he says go with a big area and lounge around.  I have a 16 and can tell you the berths are so low that what they do is keep you out of any water that may have come inside the cabin. If I was to redo the interior ( which I'm not doing) I would make my berths and all area to bow one level. I would have it slightly elevated with a foot well just as you step down into cabin, big enough for bucket to slide under bridge deck and out into cabin area.   

Reason I would make platform berth area one level is so that when sleeping would not have to slide feet and legs so far under seats.

Good luck on rebuild and keep us posted.
melvin