Com-Pac 16 Pilot House?

[Bob23]

Thanks Bruce. I remember that. I might be able to find him on Sailfar. I like the 23 pilothouse but the visibility seems restricted. And like so many alterations, unless it's a first class job, it'll detract from an otherwise pretty boat.
Bob23

[mikew]

Defiant, that is a FANTASTIC build of a pilot house. Something I would like to do in the future. Some questions if you don't mind:
Where did you find the window gaskets.
Which parts are coosa and plywood.
How is it finished, paint type.
So would the boat now be used as a motor sailer or trawler, or is the house just for more comfort?

Thanks,
Mike

[bob lamb]

Yep, I'm still here!  Thanks for the kind words Bruce. Ya'll can see some more pics on the photo  link below

[BruceW]

Very cool, Bob; I remember liking your mast raising scheme also.

[Defiant]

I will try to answer some questions as best I can. The pilothouse was constructed as follows:

I created a frameless pattern mock-up using coroplast. I like coroplast over cardboard because its more rigid, quick and easy to trim and cut, and holds up during the pattern making process better than cardboard. It closely approximates what wood or composite panels might look and feel like during the mockup process. The pilothouse pattern consisted of two sides, a front, and a top. The two sides are basically mirror images of each other, although I noted some slight differences between one side of the boat and the other. Its not truly symmetrical. As a rule I started at 22" off the deck from the center height of the pilothouse. That was reduced to about 18" as things were trimed and I tried to get proper angles and curves. Where possible I tried to mimic the curve of the cabin roof and the form of the boat sides from the front deck moving aft. The key to the roof arch is the front windshield pattern. It took me more than one try at the patterns to get the right lines. I studied the photos on that website from NC. Although I asked, I was not able to get specific measurements from the company. I planned to save my patterns and offer them up for free or post them, but I cut up parts of the coroplast on other projects, so I may end up just posting rough measurements and a pattern diagram.  The patterns were transferred as follows:

The sides and front were made of 1/2" blue water coosa board. It took a single sheet of 4'x8' coosa board. A sheet will cost you approximately $200-250.
The top was made out of 3mm luan door skin, which I then covered with two layers of  6oz fiberglass fabric on top, and one layer on the underside. I would have done the whole thing out of coosa board but there's not enough room on a single 4x8' sheet and I didn't want to spend another $200. The pilothouse is rigid and light, but you cant stand on it obviously. Only the top is covered in fiberglass cloth because its plywood. Its approximately 50-60 pounds when completed. If I had to do it again I might cover the interior of the sides of the pilothouse with fiberglass cloth, but It would need to be done on the boat to get the proper curves.

Coosa Board: If you have never worked with coosa board its a great product. I have used it on another large boat project and its amazing stuff. Its water proof, rot proof, and bug proof. Its basically the same structural properties as plywood, but it weighs 30-40% less. Its not foam. It can be bent similar to plywood, and you can thermo mold it with a heat gun in some situations. Its like a composite board material. From a distance it looks like cement board, but its light like foam, rigid like plywood. It absorbs less than 1% moisture, so it needs no treatment, no need to seal edges. Its not UV resistant bare. Its can be glued structurally with 3m5200. It has a slightly porous looking surface, but when coated with a think coat of resin it can be sanded quite smooth and takes paint perfectly. It can be painted on its own if you don't mind the imperfect surface and it doesn't seem to absorb that much paint. It can be sculpted with a angle grinder and palm sander which is how I got a tight fit and nice rounded corners on the pilothouse. Its downside is its relatively expensive, nasty to work with, and does dull your blades. It literally vaporizes when you cut it or grind it so you have to have a respirator and safety clothes.

[Defiant]

The sides, front, and top were assembled in one session, on the boat, using the "screw and glue method." I screwed "cheater blocks" to the top cabin deck and the sides and front were bent around the blocks and screwed in place while the joints set. I glued the pieces together with fast cure 3m5200. Then I use dry wall screws to tighten up the joints until the 3m5200 set.  I removed the screws and laid in fiberglass fillets at the joint with thickened epoxy. I tabbed in the roof to the sides and the front panel with fiberglass cloth. Thicken epoxy filled all joint cracks and screw holes. The flange to bolt the pilothouse to the deck was created with coosa board strips, as was the hatch opening on the top. The trim edge around the underside of the top is actually 1/2" thick pvc square trim molding. I could have used 1/2" fiberglass bar from McMaster Carr but  its more expensive. The pvc trim was trim nailed and expoxied in place.

I coated the bare coosa board with one coat epoxy resin, not to waterproof it (its already waterproof), but to create a smooth surface to accept paint. I also further used auto body glazing to fill other imperfections, especially at the exterior joints. I primed and painted the whole thing with Rustoleum Marine topside paint by roll and tip method, Oyster white. My boat was previously painted by the owner inside and out in Oyster white. The result is a seamless match that looks like it came from the factory. I would say my pilothouse finish is good to about the 1-2 foot rule. 1-2 feet away it looks perfect, which is perfect for a 30 year old boat.

[Defiant]

The windows are made of 1/4" thick plexiglass. The black window trim is rubber D gasket material called CRL AS1707, $150 from Amazon. It accepts 1/2" thick wall on one side and 1/4" glass on the other. There is a locking strip that you apply which locks the glass in place. You need the special tools to install it. The hardest part of the project was installing the windows. Its a two person job and very frustrating.

[Defiant]

The primary reason I built the pilothouse for the my compact 16 was not to get out of the weather, or create a covered helm position. I built the pilothouse to improve the accessibility of the cabin and make it more useful. I love the compact 16 and have sailed them for many years, but as an older large adult I simply could not get in and out of the cabin easily. It was uncomfortable to move around and very claustrophobic. The pilothouse took a tiny space and opened it up. Suggestions to put the pilothouse on the deck and not cut the deck open defeats this purpose, which is why I caution against it. Here's a photo of what the pilothouse looks like on the deck with the original companionway. Too much wasted space and it defeats the purpose of the pilothouse in my opinion. Once the deck is cut away, the cabin takes on a whole new usefulness.

I plan to use the my compact 16 pilothouse as a motorsailer, but I was immediately struck how the boat went from being just a sailboat to being a motorsailer and/or trawler/motor launch. Its now dual purpose. I currently have both a Honda 2hp and a Tohatsu 6hp sailpro. I will use the Honda for motorsailing, but I can see using the Tohatsu with no mast and just putter around. If I was Hutchins Co I would rethink the idea of the Compac 16 pilothouse hardtop as an after market item. Turn your one boat into two.

[mikew]

Thanks for the excellent detailed write up.
Mike

[Duckie]

I just came in from sitting in the companion way of my 16 imagining doing something similar but shorter in height.  I also would like to have a livable cabin on my boat that is friendly to an old man.  However, in my case I would only like sitting headroom.  Opening up the cabin to include the bridge deck clearly looks like the way to go also.  Because it gets so darn cold on the water up here, I would also enclose the back of the enlarged cabin with the original sliding hatch and drop boards.  It looks like there might be enough open space to install a vee berth in the bow, leaving the aft area for living space. 

Nice work,

Al

[Defiant]

Pilothouse is now finally mounted. My pilothouse was designed to be bolted to the boat cabin top by way of a 1" wide flange. The flange was created by placing the pilothouse on the cabin top and then cutting small 1" wide strips of 1/2" coosa board which were epoxied to the bottom of the pilothouse. By cutting the pieces small enough, the flange follows camber of the deck.

The pilothouse is bolted to the deck, via the flange, using some twenty-six 1/4" bolts and 3m4200 sealant laid into the deck-pilothouse joint. I chose 3m4200 because I wanted the pilothouse to be removable.













The interior edge and flange if the deck-pilothouse joint was finished with teak trim. The interior of the boat was simply finished with smooth painted surfaces, a reworked electrical system, and the addition of a forward anchor locker shelf. The electrical system makes use of red/white LED lights, one in the forward cabin and one in the pilothouse, retrofitted LED navigation lights, a simple GPS/sonar, Heli-fan, and simple battery monitor. The house electrical bank is a single 12v 55ah AGM battery which can be expanded at a later date to a two battery system.






The lifelines are a DIY special. The terminals are stainless steel fittings purchased at Harbor Freight for $5-7 each. The wire came from Defender purchased at $1.00+ a foot. The snap shackles acting as pelican hooks were also on sale at $10/each. It's a cheap clean solution.

[tmw]

This might be a silly question, but how do you "close up" the pilot house to keep rain out?  Is there like a large door on the back side between there and the cockpit?

Looks really nice, great work.

[Defiant]

There is an Alaskan bulkhead that rolls down which serves as a door. An Akaskan bulkhead is a fabric bulkhead that can either be rolled up or down and is split down the center. In this case it's made of tinted clear vinyl and mounted with swivel studs. It can be rolled up or down under way.

I think a set of cabin doors could easily be added. You would need two doors approximately 25-35" wide. And two side narrow bulkheads on either side to hinge the doors. It's something I'm considering for the future.

[Potcake boy]

Since I purchased my 23 pilot house, I have found that I steer the boat from the inside station almost exclusively. I will sit in the cockpit when the auto pilot is steering. I install the tiller and steer from the cockpit when backing into a tight spot as the rear visibility is hampered from the inside steering station. I am here in Florida and have really come to appreciate the benefits of a pilot house shelter - who would have thought! It is well shaded and ventilated, and the visibility is great from that far forward. Lots of room to stand up and move around and you can fetch a cold beverage with ease. Passengers can lounge in the cockpit without being in the way. None of your electronics need to be exposed to the weather, and you don't have to put on rain gear when it rains. A pilot house adds a huge amount of luxury to sailing. How come we're still sailing without them on every boat?

[Seadub]

Wow!! Great work you've done on Defiant!  What did you use to attach the gear hammocks to the hull?