More problems and words to the wise. Re: soil ballast in a Compac 16

[Citroen/Dave]

All,

The ComPac 16 I have been considering buying survived another 2 inches of rain today sitting on the trailer. This time the scuppers were unobstructed and free flowing. I had recently pumped another three gallons out of the bilge.

I have not been able to figure how so much water was getting into the bilge, so I sat in the cabin during today's rain.  There were two Fiberglassed over holes that the first owner drilled to attach a radio in the cabin roof.  From the inside, earlier, I had noticed stains draining down the inside of the cabin, but I ignored them thinking that must be from an earlier history.  After all, they were now sealed on the topside. Today during the rain, water more than dripped out of the two outside sealed holes!

Words to the wise:  water was also dripping from almost every through the deck bolt.  No problem, just remove the hand rails and the hatch wood guides and reseal them. Good time to do the bright work any way. 

Here is the bottom line: The cabin-deck wood stiffener is also delaminating.  Water is traveling through the plywood underside of the deck above the cabin liner and leaking at the deck's perimeter at various places down the the hull into the bilge. This is in addition to the other leaks, just mentioned.

I keep getting that sinking feeling with this boat.  It was offered at $500.  But I have just about reached the point where the owner will have to pay me . . .

I can't think of an easy cure for this deck delamination problem, can you?

This problem could so easily have been prevented by pulling the wood tracks and hand grabs for sanding and refinishing - NORMAL MAINTENANCE!  One would automatically reseal the holes when reinstalling these pieces. 

Even if you are tired of you boat,  a little maintenance can prevent total distruction.

Dave 
 

[bimmerhead]

Dave,

Hang in there brother, these boats will provide loads of fun and loads of work, and at the end of the day you'll be a better sailor.

Two days after bringing my '77 CP16 home, I was cutting her saturated interior cabin headliner out due to the exact problem mentioned , water just gushed from the wound.. In retrospect I realized I missed some key indicators during the initial survey. My bad, first sailboat, lesson learned, any evidence of water infiltration is suspect, period...

At that point I didn't put any time constraints on my progress, every piece of hardware became suspect, and after a thorough tear down and re-bed, all is well..

At one point I felt just like you, it would be easier to abandon her and move on to something else, but that's when I realized there's not a better boat out there!

She's not even close to being finished, and she turns heads on the trailer, at the dock, and under sail, everyone has something nice to say about my classic CP-16.

[Citroen/Dave]

All,

A review of my earlier comments revealed one error:  Most of the water on the inside of the hull, especially my concern near the deck flange area, is from condensation, not leakage from the headliner.  However, the deck may be leaking through any bolt hole into the liner, especially those bolts that attach wood deck pieces. Wood deterioration, failing adhesion, and oxidation are the probable reasons for the reduction of a seal around the bolts.  I saw water under one jib sheet cam lock and I suspect leakage from the bow rail but I did not get that far forward.  Bedding under the non wood parts may be in much better condition.  All should be replaced in older boats.

"Bimmerhead",

When you cut out the headliner, how much headliner did you remove?  The deck to hull bond must depend on there being some wood left, if the wood extends to the joint.  I am hoping that there never was any wood at the flange.  Also, did you replace any of the headliner to strengthen the deck?  Can the deck support your weight without the liner?  Obviously, the mast post supports the mast and the adjacent deck; I suspect, not much problem in the immediate area of the mast.

Dave

[Salty19]

Dave..that boat sounds like a real basket case.

If you really want the projects to restore her (including the cost of doing so), I commend you for the willingness and effort to bring the boat back to her former glory. They are often worth it. Many folks have restored them with the type of damage you've described.    With that said, that boat is not an asset, it's  a liability.  He should be paying you to take it off his hands!!

[bimmerhead]

Hi Dave,

The fact that you're still asking questions is a good sign!

I cut the entire horizontal section out, from an inch or so forward of the compression post, to edge of the companion way, but leaving the outer fiberglass shell intact. The upper portion of the headliner is the only area that uses any plywood coring on my boat that I'm aware of..

To my knowledge, the hull to deck flange is solid fiberglass, no wood coring material at all. I resealed that area for peace of mind, but probably didn't need too.

At this point, I have not replaced the interior cabin headliner, although it's on my "to do" list this winter. So far it hasn't been an issue, I just don't step on it while rigging or de-rigging the boat, and always check the mast step area for new stress cracks before and after sailing, so far so good!

These boats, like anything else, have some issues, but it's not rocket science.. I approach every issue with the mind set that when each problem is solved, it will be better than original and last far longer than the 34 years she's been around so far..