New CP16 Owner

[jdo]

Hello Everyone,

I am the proud owner of a new to me 1976 CP-16.  I believe everything with the boat is original, the last year it was registered was '85.  This website has been a great resource over the past couple of weeks as I was getting the boat ready for the water.  I have a few upgrades I am saving for winter(I really wanted to get it out on the water).  This is my first sailboat and I am looking forward to enjoying it with my wife and daughter.

I also found the book by Robert Burgess, Handbook of Trailer Sailing to very helpful.  This boat hadn't been set up in years and came with sails, but didn't have any of the running rigging or any other instructions for that matter.  I got to learn the boat as I set everything up and have had it out over this past weekend.  The boat has exceeded my expectations so far.
 
I look forward giving back a little to other new owners as I figure things out and enjoy the boat.

Thanks,
Jay
New Bern, NC

[Bob23]

Jay:
   Let me be the first to welcome you here! Congrats on your new boat..photo looks great! Sails look to be in very good shape for an older boat..bet they were replaced at some time.
   We look forward to your contributions. I think there are other guys here from the New Bern area so you should be hearing from them.
   Again, congrats and welcome!
bob23 from NJ

[MacGyver]

Jay,

Is that a British Seagull I spot on that boat?
Welcome, this group is a great bunch on here and very responsive. One of the best forums i have been on.
Congrats on the ComPac, great boats, i got my 19 this year and it is my first boat. A real eye catcher and conversation starter for sure even amongst the big boys.

Mac

[Shawn]

Welcome aboard, boat looks great!

Shawn

[jdo]

Thanks for the comments,

I am using a 77' British Seagull Forty Featherweight that I had restored a few years ago, but hadn't actually used.  I can already see a long shaft motor in my future, but I can't help but be impressed by the old seagull.  It runs better than I would have thought and pushes the boat at about 3.75 knots at half throttle.  I am using Penzzoil's synthetic 2-stroke oil and it really doesn't smoke at all.

[kickingbug1]

   north carolina, thats close enough for you to pack up the car and boat and head on over to illinois for clr 2012, "the year without a carpenter"

[Shawn]

Thought the skeg was a Featherweight, I'd love to pick one of them up sometime to add to my flock. I have a '79 Forty Plus (electronic ignition and clutch), a '69 Silver Century Plus w/clutch. I have to fix the gearbox on the Silver Century though.

Have you converted the Featherweight to 25:1? It is easy to do, takes about 5 minutes once you have the new needle.

Shawn

[Pacman]

Welcome!

I sail a C-16 sail number 217 so our boats are very closely related.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine.

Your choice of Pennzoil synthetic is a good one.  Old motors really like that stuff because you can run it rich without smoking or plug fouling.  It will provide excellent protection for your British Seagull.

Your boat looks really nice.

I think you will find that the Com-Pac community here is very special and a good source of information and support.

Cheers,

Dave
C-16 #217

[Spartan]

Nice Picture - Boat looks great.

Welcome to the group.  I had lived in Wake Forest NC for several years, back in Pittsburgh now.  Always thought a trip from Oriental or Cedar Island to Okracoke would be fund.


Cheers

[Salty19]

Welcome!   And posting a pic on your first post!  Will have to give you some Karma for that!

[jdo]

The British Seagull has a Bing carburetor and I believe I read that it could run on 25:1 without a new needle or modification.  This was on one of the british seagull websites, and I may be wrong, but I have been using a 25:1 mix(I think it was the Villers carburetor  that need the modification?).  This motor will get me through this season, but I am thinking a 4-stroke long shaft for next year.  However, if this seagull keeps running the way it has been who knows...

As far as the boat is concerned, I am waiting for the Tillerlock from Cansail to come in and I have some cam cleats to replace before I take the boat out this weekend.  That "should" have me set for the rest of the season, but we all know how that goes.

I am looking forward to some trips here in the inner and outer banks of NC.  When I bought the boat I repainted the cabin.  Someone on the forum suggested using Kilz primer, which was a great idea.  So I put one coat of primer over the original grey interior and then used Interlux topside Hatteras Off-White, which came out nice.

Hopefully, this weekend I can get some more time on the water with her...

[Shawn]

Yup, the Bing is supposed to work fine without any mods. The Villers needs a needle and the Amal carb needs a different jet to get to 25:1. The Seagull will probably keep running the way it has been.

The Tillerlock is very nice, it is what I use on my 23.

Have fun!

Shawn

[mikew]

Jay, welcome to the Compac family. I have owned two Cp-16's in the past 30 years and they are great boats. I used to run a 1978 Seagull OB
on my first Cp-16, and still have the manual. It says use a 10:1 gas/oil mixture. ? but maybe with today's syn. oil you can run with less oil.
Another great resource for Compac boats is The Sailboat Co. in Richlands, NC. They are a Compac dealer and also do major mods to the boat's-
adding pilot houses and converting to motor sailors, etc. There is alot of info on the question/answer part of their website too.  See: http://www.ipass.net/sailboat/

Mike

[JTMeissner]

Welcome aboard, Jay.  This site is fantastic for the discussion, and greatly missed when away or while under maintenance.

I have found the CP-16 a great fit for my small family, and a good choice for teaching both my wife and daughter some aspects of sailing.  Mostly though, they get to relax while the Captain does the work (should it dared considered work).

Glad someone recognized the motor, I was wondering what it was...  I'd concur with your assessment of the sail age, they look very similar to the sails I had.  If you didn't have the topping lift, I'm guessing the boom would sag towards the stern.  BTW, where did you attach the TL at the mast head?  Off a bolt from the wind indicator?  I put an eyebolt through a hole at the top of the mast, so my TL stays on the port side, and must be unhooked from the boom to allow proper shape and to not interfere with the sail. 

Looks like you could get a few more inches off the main halyard, which would give more boom clearance in the cockpit (another reason for my port topping lift attachment, to get as much height on the sail as possible).  Also, it looks like you run the jib sheets outside the shrouds.  I have tried that rigging, but find running them inside give me the ability to sheet tighter.  And you have cleats on the outside of the cockpit coaming, looks like on the vertical surface vice the horizontal like one mine (by your knee in the photo).  We've had some discussion about those cleats.

Where were the cam cleats you need to replace?  Also, is that a rudder line running to the top of the tiller?  Always trying to compare what has worked and not worked for others.

Fair winds,
Justin

[jdo]

Justin,

Thanks for the suggestions.  I should point out that my sailing experience consisted of a class 15 years ago until I bought the CP-16, so I am rapidly learning all of the terminology as well as how to sail.  I have always had a power boat, so I am comfortable as well as at home on the water.  The boat has 2 cam cleats on each side of the cabin and one on the stern.  I have been using the two outside cam cleats for the jib sheets.  I like your idea of having the jib on the inside of the shrouds, that makes more sense to me.

On the tiller there is a jam cleat with a rope so you can raise and lower the rudder(when the bolts/nuts are loose of course).  This has been a nice feature during launching, since you can have the rudder half way between up and down.

On the top lift line, I just connected it to a hole on top of the cover of the mast that was angled down about 45 degrees.  I added the wind direction indicator, which I have appreciated being new at all this.  I will try pull the main halyard up a bit more the next time I get out on the water(hopefully tomorrow).

It will be fun to get this boat set up just right as I learn what I like and don't like.

Thanks again for the info and pointers.

Jay