1993 Compac 23d, Am I getting a good deal at $7,000 ? (Pic heavy)

[cw021382]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys.  I think I will supply the rum.  As nice as you guys are, I am sure you would share it with me.  I might be poorer for it, but at least I would be happy doing it.  I have never been happy doing a bottom job on a boat.  Necessary evil I suppose.  I can't wait to sail the new boat.  The weather is going to turn nasty real soon, but there are a number of things I have to address before I can safely sail her.  Are you guys still sailing or are you done for the season?  Here in mid Missouri it's getting cold at night, but the days are gorgeous.  I have got the engine squared away.  I needed a new fuel tank, and I had to tighten the fitting on the water intake thru hull.  I went over the engine and tightened all the clamps and checked for leaks.  The impeller is fine for now, but I have a spare and gasket for next spring.  I had the main and genoa up today.  They are somewhat tired, but I will probably buy new ones over the winter.  My biggest problem right now is cleaning the bilge and ridding the cabin of the smell of diesel.  I have to replace the forward hatch as it is cracked and leaks, but I calked it with silicone for now.  The ports don't leak.  I have a leak on the hull to deck joint on the starboard side that needs addressing. 

Wait a second...  This is all starting to sound like work!  Nah, it's a labor of love.  I am sure I am going to need a few drinks before I get her in shape though.   

[HeaveToo]

Oh God...Not the diesel smell.  That was the biggest complaint from my wife about my Catalina 30.  She swore that everything in the boat smelled like the boat when it came to the house.  I would do every trick in the book and she still swore that the smell was there.

On cleaning the bilge....dawn dish soap works great.  It will clean out a bilge and it is not hard on anything (they use it to take oil off of animals caught in oil spills). 

Here is the sad part......No matter what you do you will always have something going into your bilge with diesel.  You can properly tighten everything and put a new fuel tank in the boat but, somehow, you will get minute traces of diesel in there.  Cleaning out regularly is the best thing I can tell you to do to help this.

One thing you may check is the alignment on your shaft.  Make sure that that is correct because that will save you a lot of grief if it is right.

Always carry a spare impeller and gasket.  Carry a few plugs for your through hulls.  Carry a spare oil filter and fuel filter.  I use to use Racor R24S filters on my Catalina 30 and if they get cruddy then you loose RPMs quick.  If you are getting a new fuel tank that will help because stuff will build up in your fuel tank overtime.

I did use a biocide in the fuel.  There are a lot of them out there.  http://www.westmarine.com/buy/valvtect--bioguard-fuel-micro-biocide-16-oz--255739 is what I use to use with some success.

Another cool trick was that I use to use injector cleaner to fill up my fuel filter when changing it.  I use to get enough diesel to fill it up but found out through other owners and on another forum about the trick of using the injector cleaner.  It gives your engine a good shot when you start it and then mixes into the system.

One other thing to remember.....any smell in the cabin gets stuck in the cushion foam.  Yep...learned that the hard way when I had some issues in my Catalina 30.  What you can do is take the foam out of the cushion covers, wash the covers, and then spray your cushions down with bleach and water and leave them in the sun for a long time for them to dry.  I then sprayed Fabreeze on them and let them dry again.  It helps.

Wipe down the hard surfaces of your boat with stuff too. 

If you intend to finish woodwork this would be a good time.  That helps with any odors trapped in the wood if you wipe it down with bleach and water, sand it, and then finish it again.  Again, I had this issue in my previous boat and I did this.

Last thing I will highly suggest is to change out all of the hoses in your marine head system and make sure your holding tank is good.  This is the source of a lot of smell in a boat.  Change out the hoses (especially the holding tank vent hose).  Old hoses will allow the smell to escape them and it causes a stink.  This stink may even be easily confused with a diesel smell.  Don't skimp on hoses either!  Get good stuff and your nose will thank you (especially since you are sleeping over the head).

[Bob23]

Chris:
   It really is a labor of love and the 23's are such wonderful boats that they deserve the best. You really have a unique 23 there so treat her right and she'll love you for it. The trick with diesel smell...is to learn to like it! Ah- that wonderful aroma of diesel fuel!
  It seems like Heave has been down this road before so take his advice. After reading all this, I'm glad to have an outboard and porta-potti.
Keep us posted, Chris. There is a wealth of knowledge based on millions of collective years of experience here at the forum and we look forward to your contributions.
Bob23...still sailing.

[Tim Gardner]

After cleaning the bilges as described above, Order and use this:

http://www.biocidesystems.com/eliminate-boat-odors.php

Works every time, and gets the odors our of the cushions as well.

Added benefit: Kills all the mold and mildew and any Bacteria and viruses left behind by the PO.

Regards, TG

[Tim Gardner]

Yo! Bobby twunnytree, Yous know yous was to collect my take from deez two new chumps named Chris (AKA: cw021382 & wvcd) !  I should have a coupla limbs bent on ya.

TG

[BobK]

Tim,
Do you use the marine shocker or the liquid shocker?  This looks like a great product.
BobK 

[Tim Gardner]

I use the marine shocker, But I use many of the products in my business.

[brackish]

Hey, that initiation fee thing used to work when the image of the Joisy Mafia wise guys caused all newbies to quake in fear.  But when they found out that this is the collection committee, that was the end of that.

Welcome to the fold Chris!

[Bob23]

You mean, we don't look intimidating? "3 old salts in a tub- pre dunking"

[cw021382]

Looks like you guys were sampling the days collections.  The boat smells much better today.  Thanks for the link Tim.  I will probably get some. 

I built a support for the mast today, that fits in the tabernacle for traveling.  It's not real pretty, but I will get a picture of it.  The pedestal guard is in the way so I have to off center the mast.  I took the boat to a small local lake today to check for any leaks.  I have to tighten the stuffing box or repack, and the glass filter for the raw water intake leaks.  I motored out to the middle of the lake after letting the motor warm up, and wouldn't you know it the overheat alarm goes off.  The old impeller that was doing fine chose that moment to tear itself apart.  Oh well I couldn't believe it still worked after sitting for 5 years.  I will replace it tomorrow.  I also managed to bang my knee something fierce.  I will be feeling it in the morning. 

I have been thinking about doing away with the pedestal.  It sure is in the way right now trying to work on the boat and raise and lower the mast.  If I do, I have the perfect setup for a tiller pilot.  It would mount on the inside of the transom and attach to the steering quadrant.  I would not even have to drill any holes to mount it.  The steering is the push pull teleflex like setup.  I figure a lo profile cap for the hole in the cockpit and a teak grate to cover it.  You would never know and it could be easily changed back.  I am not going to change anything until I sail the boat for a while and see if the wheel grows on me, but I have my doubts.

[cw021382]

Hey guys just found something interesting.  My hull # is ABVO0565D393 which if I am correct means that she is hull number 565 and was "Born" on
November 3, 1993.  She turned 22 on Monday.  No wonder she kicked me in the knee and got overheated.  I missed her birthday.  If I forgot my wife's birthday she would get overheated and try to hurt me too.  Maybe if I get her impeller changed early tomorrow I will take her to the lake and let her stretch her sails. 

[HeaveToo]

Here is some helpful information on your projects:
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/impeller

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/stuffing_box

I would repack the stuffing box.  I have done this and it is very easy.  I was scared to do it at first but reading the above article helped a lot.  Remember that this stuffing has dried out for quite some time so it needs to be replaced.  You want to then retighten until you get a slight drip...1 drip every 3 seconds.  I used a different packing material so I didn't have much of a drip.  When you run the engine for a while touch the packing gland.  If it is really hot then you need to loosen.  If it is leaking a lot tighten.  Not a big deal.

This is what I used for my packing material:  http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|311|2349117|2349129&id=685445

It worked great over the 5 seasons I had it in there....no issues at all.

For the impeller....Do yourself a favor and get two.  One spare.  Also, get a Gore Run Dry Impeller.  It will save you grief if you forget to open the through hull when you first start out.  Always keep an eye and an ear on the water coming out of the exhaust to make sure your cooling system is running right.  http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|51|2234245|2234249&id=1041144

Hope that this helps.  This is one area I have a bit of experience in because of maintaining a diesel for 8 years.  I miss my diesel!

[Bob23]

Chris:
   Yeah, you definitely don't want to miss your boats birthday. The 23's are not known to be vindictive but they, like any fine woman, demand and deserve proper recognition. Never known one to cause physical pain to their owner. Maybe she was born on a Monday?
   It always seemed to me that wheel steering on a 23 would steal valuable cockpit space. I like the simplicity of my tiller and the open cockpit. I wonder how many 23's were built with wheel steering?
Bob23

[cw021382]

Here are some pics I promised of the mast brace.





Here are some of the engine access.  I have another panel on the starboard side that is not shown.  I tightened the stuffing box some today and it's fine now, but I will repack it before spring.  I also changed the impeller and fixed the water strainer leak.  The old impeller looked to be in good shape, but I think it was in backwards.  Oh well it's working great now. 









I cleaned everything to bright brass and used a new gasket on the impeller cover.  The cover was smooth with no ridge.

My wife stopped by the lake on her way home from work and took a ride on the boat.  She also took some pictures.



I am not sure exactly what I was saying when she took this,  but I know you guys will fill in the caption.





I winterized the engine tonight because the temp is going to drop for a few days, but I haven't given up sailing her before winter really sets in.

[cw021382]

I am trying to come up with a name for the new boat.  I have 2 so far

1) Weatherly (My last name, and an americas cup winner in the 50's)
2) Amanda Dawn (my wife's first and middle name)

I have always thought Amanda Dawn would be a pretty name for a sailboat, but I dont know if it's a good idea to name the boat after the wife.  What do you guys think?  Any suggestions?