Compac 16 maiden Voyage today

[dgholmes]

I am a first time compac 16 owner.  Had mine for a few weeks, and I finally was able to take it out today with 10 to 15 winds here in Texas.

I have owned many sailboats with the smallest cabin boat being a Vagabond 17.  In fact, I was wanting a boat similar to the Vagabond and was the reason I picked the CP16.

I wanted a small trailerable cabin boat that was easy to setup and takedown.  I also wanted good ballast to be safe even when the kids have the helm.  It must also be big enough to hold at least 4 adults in the cockpit.  It looked like the CP16 fit the bill, but if not I would just sell it and look for a Vagabond or Holder 17.

What a boat!  I had her ready to back into the water in just less than 10 minutes after getting to the boat ramp.  I actually timed it.  This was a very important requirement for me, because the wife and kids get real grumpy in the hot Texas sun waiting for me to setup and takedown the boat.   I stepped the mast with one hand and my wife pinned the forestay.  Could have done it myself, but I dont mind the help.  The 10 minutes included putting on the boom and sails.

I was a bit concerned that with the shoal draft keel, that I would not be able to back far enough in the water to launch.  Well, I was wrong.  Didnt have to back much farther than when launching my bass boat.   Used my outboard to back the boat off the trailer and motored to the dock.  Everything was wonderful so far.

After my wife parked the trailer and got into the boat, we motored out a bit before hoisting the sails and off we went.  The boat sailed similarly to the Vagabond 17.  It was very stable and heeled over just a little as she got in her groove.  Sailing on a broad reach to a run, the wind gusts just made her go faster.  She actually stood up quite straight with little heel in these winds.

Sailing back to the dock, we sailed mostly close hauled.  The boat pointed very well in my opinion.    I think she pointed very similar to the swing keel boats I have owned.  Did not really notice much difference.  While on close haul, the wind gusts helped me point higher and she would heel a little more and overall I really liked the way she handled.  The only thing I did not like, is the jib could not be trimmed in enough for proper trim.  Had to pull jib in towards the boat centerline with the opposite sheet to trim it better.  Also, no big deal.

What I really liked was not having to mess with winching a weighted keel.  My Vagabond had a 350 lb. keel that was winched up and down in the cockpit.  It would swing back in forth in waves and made a terrible noise.  The cable would also hum.  The compac was perfectly silent.

Many people have commented on the weather helm.  This boat is a 1983 CP16/1 with the 3/4 jib.  I did not really notice the weather helm being that bad.  Again, it felt the same as the Vagabond.  I personally like weather helm and consider it a safety feature, so maybe I am not a good judge.  I did not mind the aluminum rudder either.  It did not feel much different than foiled rudders with my other boats I have owned.  I would probably have to install a foil ruddder to really make a good comparison.  Considering todays sail, changing rudders will not be at the top of my list.  Not to say I may not do it later.

I loaded the boat on the trailer by using the outboard.  This worked pretty well by locking the outboard, setting the throttle and using the rudder to steer the boat on the trailer.  Boat went on the trailer as easy as my bass boat.  Hooked the winch cable to the bow eye and cranked it as much as I could from bow of the boat (water still too cold to be wading in).

Had my wife pull the boat completely out of the water so I could crank the boat completely on the trailer.  Wasnt sure if this was going to work.  Boats usually dont crank up very well out of the water.  Not so for the Compac.  The boat cranked right up to the bow roller.  Think this is because most of the weight of the boat rests on the keel rollers instead of bunk boards.  Not sure, dont care, worked great.

Taking the CP16 down was just as easy as setting her up and I probably did it in about the same time.  Removed the sails and boom and lowered the mast with one hand down to crutch.  I use an actual childs crutch as my mast crutch.  I am hoping it will be a goodconversational piece among other sailors I run across.  

Lowering and raising the mast with one hand is one of the most important features of the CP16.  Less work before and after sailing results and going sailing more often.  If it is too much work, sometimes you will talk yourself out of going because you dont feel like messing with all that stuff.

The only negative I could find today, would be that lack of room in the cabin for using a porta potty.  This was my wifes requirement for the boat.  It was to have a cabin and a porta potty.  She could use it, but there was not much headroom.  The important point was she used it.  So no problem.

Another negative is the mainsheet cam cleet.  As mentioned in various forums, you have to feed the mainsheet out by hand.  This is not safe and will be changed on my boat.  I will most likely change the jib cam cleats also.  I plan to use a Harken 144 swivel base with a Harken #19 ratchet block for the mainsheet.  I will also replace the jib cam cleats with Harken cam cleats.  The original equipment's padeye is too narrow and prevents the sheets from paying out easily.  The Harken equipment has a broader padeye and should allow the sheets to payout more smoothly.

Another negative would have been cold water in the cockpit from the floor drains.  But thanks to the compac forums, I had already bought two 1-1/4" rubber sink stoppers and plugged the holes beforehand.  So no problem there.

Overall the CP16 is a great boat.    I loved sailing her today.  Just exactly what I was looking for.  Sets up and takes down fast.  Launches and returns to trailer very easily.  Very stable and handles well with some whether helm which I like.  Lot of room in cockpit as well as in front of mast where  my wife likes to ride.  Nice to have cabin to store cooler and other odds and ends including porta potty.  However, not much headroom when using the porta potty.

I hope you do not mind me writing all of this.  I hope this information will be helpful to those considering a compac 16.  I had never even seen a compac in person until I bought this one and took a chance that it would meet my expectations.

What is nice is the large community of Compac owners.  That alone should tell you how great the boats are.  I have read so much on this site and the yahoo site and it has helped me tremendously.  I read them daily.  Thanks.

Darrell
CP16 #2019

[B.Hart]

Hi Darrell, welcome to the com-pac family      I'm sure you will have many years of enjoyment from your boat, Good luck and great sailing!

[dgholmes]

Thanks for the welcome.  I love reading all the great information on this site.   Great sailing to you.

[Ralph Erickson]

Darrell, welcome to the wonderful world of the Com Pac 16.  I'm pretty much a new owner myself, just buying my '85 CP 16 last October.  I was only able to have her out on the water one time before winter sent in here in Pennsylvania, but man, was it ever sweet sailing her.  I'll be doing much of my sailing solo, so one of my main concerns was getting her on and off the trailer.  Well, I couldn't believe how easy it was.  No effort at all.  It took me a bit longer to step the mast and rig her, but only about 25 minutes.  I'm sure as I do it more, it will take less time.  

Can't wait till it gets a bit warmer in these parts so I can take her out again.  

Again, welcome aboard!

Ralph
CP 16 #2245
"Patricia Lee"

[dgholmes]

Ralph,
I have owned many boats over the years and gotten pretty particular about my choice in boats.  I am different than most because I started with a larger boat and went smaller.  I started with a hunter 22 and been as small as a Super Sunfish.  I prefer a boat that I can trailer and single hand as you are doing.  I think you could not have done any better than the Com-Pac 16.  Any bigger and the mast gets longer and heavier making the setup a pain in the butt.

How are you launching the boat by yourself?  Keep in mind, I have only been out once and that was with my wife.  I got in the boat and she backed me in.  Are you able to back the boat in yourself and climb into the boat okay?  The tongue is pretty long on my Hutchins trailer and therefore the boat is a distance from the truck.  Seems like it would be hard to get in the boat once it is in the water, without getting wet that is.  Getting wet wont be an issue when the water warms up.

[bro t]

Nice story, Darrell, and WELCOME!     I have learned a ton from the other sailors here, it's a friendly and informative bunch.  Some of us are envying your talk of sailing, but there ARE other things to do in winter in Maine, today we set about 20 taps around the yards, wading through about 2' to 3' of now-settled snow.  The sap was really running well, we should have 2 to 3 gallons of syrup finished by Monday if the forecast holds true.  Then I ended the day with a 5 mile ski (skate) because this much snow is just too good to waste!  We'll just have to wait another 10 or 12 weeks before launching the boat.  A saying some old-timers up here have, "...if you can't take the winter, you don't deserve the summer!".  They're all wintering in Florida campgrounds now, I think!  Regards, and fair winds,
bro t. from Upwest Maine

[dgholmes]

That sounds real cool getting your syrup.  We have to buy ours in the store.    And snow.  That is something we see seldom down here.  When we do get it, it is a big deal and only lasts a few days.

Went out sailing again today.  70 degrees,  cloudy and the air was light with only 5 to 10 mph winds and sometimes undetectable.  The boat does well in light air too.  I have read where people say that it slides sideways in light air.  I guess people are more particular that I am.  I thought the boat tracked pretty well.  The boat performed like it had a deeper keel.  Sometimes the wind was almost nothing, but the boat still made headway.  I was very impressed.

But putting it on the trailer this time was not very good.  I drove the boat on the trailer such that the keel went between the keel guide and the bunkboard.  Long story short, I almost dumped the boat on the boat ramp during all the mess and did drop off enough my outboard hit and broke the skeg.  Went ahead and waded in the cold water to get the boat back on the trailer correctly.  

Part of the problem was also that I have a 2 hp Suzuki that does not have a neutral.  I am going to buy a different outboard that I can switch into neutral when I need to.  Will give me a little more control when driving it on the trailer.

I am hoping that someone has posted a fix to this.  The keel guide must be modified such that the opening is widened so it will catch the keel and guide the boat onto the rollers.  I will make the modification before I go out again.  I was lucky this time that no real damage occured. Just a few scratches.

So if any of you reading this can help, PLEASE DO.

[Craig Weis]

DJ, It's a great boat. Congrats on a new member of the family  :lol:

Well driving on the trailer to me seems unadvisable, the C-P 19 that I launch only once a year and retrieve once a year is launched simply like this.

1~Lets say it's launch day. On the trailer. Rigged with fenders and dock lines at bow and stern. Trailer jack takes the weight while I push the boat back extending the tounge, drop in the pin. Crank up the jack, unhook the strap holding her to the trailer.

2~back her into the water till she floats off the trailer, pull her back, tie up and park the truck and trailer.

1a~Let's say we want to load her up. Sink the trailer. I put on my chest waders and hook the strap to the eye under the bow sprit, and start cranking her on to the trailer.

2a~I pull her up into the bow crutch just behind the winch. [hint: take a magic marker and draw the way the strap is to be routed right on the trailer. I can never remember]. Then let her settle over the trailer bunks.

I use two day-glow orange fiberglass rods mounted on the back of the trailer. Both touch each side of the hull when she is centered. When that happens I just drive out of the water letting the boat find her way onto the trailer.

[Hint: I have provided canvas straping between the bunks and keel boards plus the end of the trailer to prevent the keel from not finding it's way in proper. In other words...all the wrong ways are blocked and only the right way is open to the keel.

I would die if I put a scratch on my boat.

Skip.

[dgholmes]

Thanks Skip.  I have been searching the yahoo group and here and found a few things.  I really appreciate your step by step instructions.  I can see I need to buy chest waders.  I had not thought of that and they are inexpensive compared to the other things I have been considering.  It  would be easy to get the boat on the trailer that way.  

I also like the idea of guides to ensure the boat is centered.  I did consider that today.  Do you know what brand yours are and where you got them.  I think I would like to install them on my trailer also.

It really bothered me too to put a scratch on the boat.  I hated that I broke the skeg on the outboard too.

[Craig Weis]

Darrel, the guides are just Wal-Mart driveway markers about 48" long, fiberglass orange with white tips for the last 3-4 inches.

What I did was to buy a two pair of u-bolts so I could clamp/bolt these things on to a flat/square piece of aluminium. Drill a hole in the cornor of each plate and also in the trailer frame. With the boat on the trailer rotate the plate and rod untill it just touches the hull. Do the same on the other side. The straping is just 2"wide webbing for chairs
I think if you look at the pics I posted below in the http:// you might be able to see how this looks.

skip.

[bro t]

Hi Darrell, as far as launch/retrieve skills go, I'm no real expert, but I do know it's critical that the boat be carried by the keel rollers, and not hardly any weight on the bunks.  The reverse will make the process exceedingly difficult, and should warrant some fixing up.  I have a Magictilt trailer, and use the tilt feature unless the ramp is really steep or I don't mind getting the rear tires in more than an inch or two of water.  The tilt requires about 50 lbs. of lift force, but is shoulder high (use the knees OK).  For retrieving, I use a long line and push her away from the dock, walk her into the trailer, then hook the winch line from on the trailer (this IS a feet wet op. usually).  The trailer tilt really does its job now, as cranking her in, the rear end of the bunks contact the hull and drop down, raising the tilt-tongue.  But a previous owner must have modified the guides, they're not pretty, but installed on mine are two 1-1/2" PVC pipes bent out like a 'j' to guide onto the keel rollers, they've been slid against some, but being plastic, and on the bottom paint, don't affect the cosmetics of the boat.  
   As far as cold goes, I have used hip boots a few times when retrieving from the mooring in Oct. (50-ish water), they're thigh-high and plenty of boot for a cp16 trailer without tongue extension.  
   I did have another interesting experience with cold this fall, though:  we had a nice extension to the season in mid-October, t-shirt weather and the most awesome fall colors.  I planned on taking a last sail and retrieving over the weekend, well you know about plans and family, some things just don't happen, and forecasts for the first half of the week were not dismal.  Monday am, on the road across state, I heard radio reports for high winds with gusts over 50 mph, this over inland Maine.  NW high.  I fell into a sort of mild panic, as my boat moors off a SE shore, and I didn't trust the mooring to take that, and landing on the rocks so close would have broken my heart as well as boat.  With all day driving to plan the counterattack, I arrived home with waning sunlight and a frenetic plan, noone home to help.  Quick slide into that wetsuit I picked up at a yard sale and hadn't found time to use (bodyglove type, short legs & sleeves), grab an anchor rescued from a dead stinkpot, 100' of line for it, and a PFD vest.  Drive like a Mainiac (that's what we are in Maine, you see), arriving before sundown, but with 2' whitecaps and 30 knot winds already crashing down the hills and a mile of water and over the dock, wow, I should have taken a pic, it was a sight!  No time for that, but swam out with anchor and line (ever try to canoe even 40 feet in those conditions, alone?-not an option), climbed with some difficulty up the ever rising/falling/swaying ladder, got out my two onboard anchors, tied them together on the boat's anchor rode & put on the foredeck within reach from the water, then cleated the anchor line from home through the bow and set it up on the foredeck, also.  By this time the sun had set, it falls fast in mid-October.  Then I jumped in, swam to the bow, grabbed my first line and anchors, swam them all the way to the end of their line and let them drop, did the same with the one from home, to the end of its line (already cleated).  I know it's not a recommended practice to have separate lines coming through the bow roller, but I did it anyway, they were offset one NE, one NW.  Returning Wednesday to haul for the winter, a rare tee-shirt day for 13th Oct., the anchors hauled without trouble, and maybe only a couple turns in the anchor lines (the mooring line was in there, too), but all with plenty of slack so that no problems ensued.  The lessons here?  
1. Autumn highs can pack a punch, we did get gusts over 50 that night, and steady 40 plus winds the next day;
2. the body glove wetsuit is incredible!  My feet and hands were really cold by the time I was done, but my core was very cozy, adrenaline probably helped here, but probably everyone who has drowned in hypothermic water also had high adrenaline levels, with no help;
3. last, WEAR A PFD!  I never could have done that exerting a swim in that kind of whitecap, carrying 12# of anchor, without the extra flotation.  Every year on our beautiful lakes, several people drown in boating accidents, even (and usually) on the calmest of days, and in comfortable water.  Everyone on my boat wears one unless they're swimming on purpose or the air is lighter than 8 or 10.  
   Well, that's my sailing adventure story of 2004, and I wasn't even at the helm!
bro t. from Upwest Maine

[Craig&Lisa]

Hello Darrell, and everyone else in this forum!

I've been following your string of messages from your first posting with gathering excitement.  We have just bought our first ever boat, and it's a Compac-16.  Pick up and trailer home this Wednesday (3/23).  So reading about your first outing in your boat, and your launching fun and games has been raising my levels of anticiapation as the great day arrives!  Ours is a series I version, about '78, with a Magictilt trailer.  It's sat in a barn near Lancaster, PA for the last six years, and is need of a cosmetic clean up, otherwise all appears good to go.  Hoping to be out sailing her on Marsh Creek Lake, the little lake near our home, in April.

Any tips and advice for first launch/sail would be welomed.  I'm a novice sailor, so am going to be posting all kinds of dumb messages on here.  Hope you'll all be patient with me!  I've got the Burgess book, and am devouring that page by page..... I only have original sails, main and jib.  I've read here and elsewhere I need a genoa for light winds..... thoughts?

Craig

[Craig Weis]

Welcome Craig and Lisa.

I just love the way these 16's look. What with the shear [the amount of curve the deck has between stem and sterm] and all. Very 'salty' looking.
Learn to be safe, don't scare any crew, look past the bow and learn to sense what is coming next toward you, a gust of wind, a shallow area, a fouled line, going into irons, whatever. Relax, can't make a mistake. When docking, go slow, even stop and drift 'cause these boats continue to move with a spooky tenacity. You can always speed up but you can't always stop. Not sure? Go around again.

A lot of sailors claim Com-pacs don't point. In talking to Rich Hutchins at the All Sailboat Show, Navy Pier, Chicago he says not to worry other sailors having centerboard usually, "pinch to close to the wind and are forced to fall-off a bit, or throw in another tack".  
Just sail her the way you feel you ought to.
Craig [skip] Weis

[Craig&Lisa]

Hello Skip,

Thanks for the great advice.  Safety is to the fore of our planning.  We've just been reading Bob Burgess' advice about safe trailering, so we are prepared for the tow back home of our CP-16 on Wednesday.

I totally agree about what you say about how she looks.  What an attractive little boat.  

Craig

[curtis]

... trimmed ...

Went out sailing again today.  70 degrees,  [...]

Sounds nice.  Rain/sleet today.  At least its not freezing.

Sometimes the wind was almost nothing, but the boat still made headway.  I was very impressed.

I never could figure out what all the fuss was about compac light air performance.  My CP23 not particularly fast in light air.  Nothing is but compac less so.  But she gets you where you're going and its quite relaxing if you can be at all patient about it.

But putting it on the trailer this time was not very good.  I drove the boat on the trailer such that the keel went between the keel guide and the bunkboard.  Long story short, I almost dumped the boat on the boat ramp during all the mess and did drop off enough my outboard hit and broke the skeg.  Went ahead and waded in the cold water to get the boat back on the trailer correctly.  

Part of the problem was also that I have a 2 hp Suzuki that does not have a neutral.  I am going to buy a different outboard that I can switch into neutral when I need to.  Will give me a little more control when driving it on the trailer.

I am hoping that someone has posted a fix to this.  The keel guide must be modified such that the opening is widened so it will catch the keel and guide the boat onto the rollers.  I will make the modification before I go out again.  I was lucky this time that no real damage occured. Just a few scratches.

So if any of you reading this can help, PLEASE DO.

What I did on my CP23 trailer is replaced the 2x4 keel guides with 2x10.  I don't bother with the motor, just tether the boat on the side so she lines up and pull a line while standing on the trailer tongue.  Last I tried it she glided right on, no motor and single handing it with just two line.  Before that I had trouble getting her on the rollers properly.

Here is a picture: