Please post ideas/pics for area beneath companionway

[Cevin c Taylor]

I am hoping to have some time in the next weeks to work on my '83 CP16.  I've been tracking down leaks and fixing them, and taking care of some of the more obvious problems.  I would like to start working on a storage cabinet for the area beneath the companionway. 

I would like to be able to store a "luggable loo" there (5 gal pail with toilet lid), as well as the battery, and maybe have room to store a few other items.  Does anyone have plans for a storage structure there that best takes advantage of the space?  I've seen some pics where the switch panel was mounted there as well, but it seems like you would end up kicking it as you got in and out. 

Any pics to give ideas would be appreciated as well.

[Saluki86]

What kind of 'luggable loo' do you have in mind?

[Cevin c Taylor]

This is the thing I was talking about:  http://www.rei.com/product/679029/reliance-luggable-loo

[Salty19]

For that area, you want to place lightweight items to avoid the stern squatting too much, which will make the boat sail poorly.  The 16's are susecptible to this.

Put the battery at the very least all the way forward to help balance out the potti under the stairs.  Things like lifejackets, sails, towels, etc would be a good fit for under the companionway.  If you do put the potty there, you'll want to put somewhat close to the same weight well forward (such as an anchor, 16 feet of chain, etc) to balance out the boat.  

My brother put an 80lb bag of concrete pre-mix well forward to balance out the boat as he has the potty there and some other items of heft.

[Cevin c Taylor]

If the battery is in the front, is it relatively easy to still hook up the switch panel so it's accessible near the companionway?

As for the potty, it weighs almost nothing - the weight of a 5 lb pail that's almost always empty, so I don't see that as a problem. 

[Salty19]

Wolverine--If the potty is light, then by all means put it there..no balance issues will occur. I assumed it carried 5 gallons of water..well, you know what happens when you assume! 

I'm not sure about wiring hassles.  My old CP16 has no electrics whatsoever, never tried to install a battery.  A clean install would probably require running the wires under the berth and forepeak.  I know it's been done, but don't recall reading how it was done.

Regardless, I think it's an excellent idea to use that room for anything lightweight and bulky.  Take some pics and let us know how it turns out!

[JBC]

Though I put my own battery up front, near my elec. control panel which is on the starboard forward bulkhead, I do remember that Robert Burgess in his book Handbook of Trailer Sailing (essentially a book about ComPac 16s and 19s), recommended having a battery (he advised that, among other purposes, even an automobile battery would deliver up to two weeks of Chopin concerts, an essential for him!) and putting it somewhere amidships because of its weight.

I agree that the ComPac 16 is easy to "bog down" at the stern, with a cockpit full of people (read more than 2 adults), motor, etc.  So, I put my battery forward to help balance the load.  Burgess also advised that if sailing a lot in salt water, having electrical connections near the cabin hatch might be an invitation to corrosion problems.

You can listen to a whole lot more Chopin, or Charlie Parker for that matter, with a marine battery rather than an auto battery, wherever you choose to put it!

[NateD]

In my 16 the battery was up in the peak with the switch panel mounted up there too. I thought it would be irritating to have it mounted so far from the companionway, but it really wasn't. Even if you wanted to put the switches near the companionway, having the battery in the peak wouldn't complicate the wiring at all, just need longer leads for the battery.

I kept a small porti-potty under the companion way and used a bungee-net attached to eye hooks to keep it in place. The previous owner didn't use anything to hold it down, but when you're pounding through the waves it can shift around.

[Citroen/Dave]

I store two square throwable PFD's on top of the Portapoty with a small house cushion jammed on top.  Everything tight and accessible.  The throwables make a handy back rest for inside the cabin.  And the house cushion makes my pillow.