Update on the Com-Pac 16 "Foundling"

[Bilgemaster]

Yay!, it looks like the Forum's back on line...I wonder what the issue was?  But anyways, here goes:

As some of you may recall, late last winter I acquired a "foundling" later-style '93 Com-Pac 16-3 for the princely sum of $1, which had been sadly mouldering away neglected by all but the weeds and creeping vines for perhaps a decade in the same boat storage lot as my other boat, a hybrid "power-sailor" Macgregor 26X.  The story of how I came by her is found here.

What with her companionway hatch cover having been missing for who knows how long, and so wide open to the elements, her cabin had been pretty well flooded...probably several times.  When I got a hold of her, the water was up to the cushions. The result was the ultra-funky interior shown below, just after she had been pumped out with that jury-rigged electric bilge pump also shown:



Following a months-long regimen most weekends and many weekday evenings on the way home from work of electric fanning and me bobbing into the cabin with a big sponge like one of those wacky drinking dippy birds, she was finally dry enough to do something about her. 

Luckily, once dry, it turned out her main wooden structural underlay bits were all in remarkably sound shape.  It was basically just the 1/4 inch or so thick teak-veneered plywoody finishing overlay that had really suffered the brunt of the flooding. 

Once those rotted overlay bits and that big teaky plywood bulkhead thing forward had been removed for refinishing, and the base and berth bunks and bow area cleaned up and sanded a bit, I slapped on a couple of coats of some medium-grey Aqua-Guard Aqua-Gloss Marine Enamel that I just happened to spot a quart of a while back for just $5 as a markdown at Lowes or Home Depot or somewhere. Surprisingly, it was a near spot-on match for the original factory color--in case anyone's looking to freshen up their own berths. It's water-based, so easy on the "vapors" in an enclosed area (the very definition of a Com-Pac 16's berth, right?) and a snap to clean up, but its seems pretty damned tough all the same. Really good stuff!

One of my regular weekend pitstops on my way to the boatyard, cheap pathetic geezeball that I am, is to grab the dollar breakfast at the huge Ikea here in Woodbridge, and then scurry own down straight to their big markdowns room.  If you're looking for a hundred scented tealight candles for a buck to help keep your "Compy" smelling sweet and "Admiral-approved," that's where you'll find 'em.  Personally, I favor the orange ones.  I've found they also frequently have lots of other nautically-useful stuff, especially stainless steel doodads, there at fire sale prices.  Hell, my Macgregor's galley is ALL Ikea stuff.  Ahhh...sweet modular stainless Nordic doodads for next to nothing... You'll also find racks and racks of various types of finished wood bits. Sure, most of it is just variations on that plastic laminate covered fiberboard crap that's only slightly firmer than cardboard and has no place anywhere near the water, but now and then there's something good.  Several months ago there was a whole rack full of lovely 20"x36"x1/4" planks of some sort of solid Scandinavian Spruce with nicely routed edging for just 99¢ a pop.  I bought them all...maybe a dozen or so.  That's what I used for the Com-Pac, having sanded and stained them just a wee bit and then finished them with a few coats of Ace Hardware's tested and highly-regarded yet inexpensive house brand of Gloss Spar Varnish.  Truth is, I just love the "old school" way it smells compared to urethanes and two-part potions and whatnot...Reminds me of my time as a "Riggers Apprentice" aboard the Balclutha back in the late '70s, aboard which pine tar was considered a "hair care product." 

So anyhow, here's the "After" picture you've been patiently waiting for, though it's admittedly just a bit of a slapdash over-the-shoulder shot on my way out to gallop homeward to dinner:



It's a shame one cannot really make out the rather pleasant way those routed edges of the lighter spruce planks meet up in the above shot, and I still need to varnish up that handpost/mast support and woodplug that crossbeam edge's mounting screw holes, but you get the general idea.  Sure, it ain't a Hans Christian's über-opulent interior, but I rather like that two-tone look and think it brightens things up a notch.  And I've still got more than enough of those spruce planks left to bang together some useful cubbies, a little shelving or whatever else later on, once I get a better handle on what could be useful for a "charming wee overnighter."

P.S. Today I pulled off that little rectangular center piece nearest the blue carpeted floor just to darken it up to match the post, the bulkhead thing and that overlay strip at center. 

[Blown Away]

Awesome job!!! Great looking boat!!!

[crazycarl]

considering all the hard work you put into this boat, i'm willing to offer you $2 for her!

it does come with a roadworthy trailer right?

all joking aside, you did a fantastic job on her.

c.c.



_{seriously though, think about it, $2!  that's TWICE what you paid for it!}

[Gerry]

Great job.  I love it when a orphan is adopted and rehabbed.  Send the rehab article and pix to various sailing mags for publication.

Gerry

[Bilgemaster]

Great job.  I love it when a orphan is adopted and rehabbed.  Send the rehab article and pix to various sailing mags for publication.

Gerry

Thanx!  And that's a fine idea.  Once I splash her (hopefully this coming Spring), I might just do that...assuming she doesn't sink right there at the launch ramp.

[kickingbug1]

  i have to tip my hat to you. more work that i would have tackled but it looks to be worth it . fantastic job. if you were at the CLR a trophy would be in order

[DaleM]

Very nice work! Fair winds with your Compac 16!

[Railroad Greg]

Great job

[GeeW]

Well done. She looks good.

[Jason]

Nice work Bilgemaster, as a Compac16 owner myself, I recognize that you did a real nice job in very tight quarters, +1 for you.  If you get a chance to send an exterior photo that'd be great.  Congrats on a nice rebuild.

-Jason

[TedStrat]

Wow....really nice job reviving her! Looking forward to seeing more pics as you continue.

[Bilgemaster]

Here's a couple of shots of the more-or-less finished cabin, with that little center bit stained to match the darker bits, the crosspiece's little wooden screwhole cover bungs in and varnished, and a nice stainless steel rod from the markdowns room at the local Ikea--handy for hanging or securing stuff.  Weirdly, the reflection in the photo from the grey bunks makes that little rectangular piece seem like a really different color, though it's actually a pretty close match to those other darker wood bits for something I just eyeballed.



Here's a closer shot:

[DaleM]

Outstanding work!

[MKBLK]

I may be late to this posting, but let me say how beautiful your work is. I'm going to save this and hopefully it'll inspire me to replicate your work on Pegasus. One question (for now!) - Do you have a pattern for the bulkhead. My 1981 CP16 Pegasus, did not come with with a bulkhead. Maybe I'll develop the appropriate skills (mostly anti-procrastination!) to accomplish something similar. Thanks for the inspiration!

Marty K.
1981 CP16 Pegasus

[Bilgemaster]

I may be late to this posting, but let me say how beautiful your work is. I'm going to save this and hopefully it'll inspire me to replicate your work on Pegasus. One question (for now!) - Do you have a pattern for the bulkhead. My 1981 CP16 Pegasus, did not come with with a bulkhead. Maybe I'll develop the appropriate skills (mostly anti-procrastination!) to accomplish something similar. Thanks for the inspiration!

Marty K.
1981 CP16 Pegasus

Thanks!...and sorry it took me so long to respond.  I haven't checked in in a while.  Fortunately, that bulkhead veneered plywood piece was still salvageable, so I didn't have to cut a new one.  There was a bit of rot between the veneers near the bottom starboard edge, but I just cleaned her up a bit and filled with a glob of JBWeld.  I thought I might slap a bit of moulding down along that bottom edge eventually, but haven't bothered yet.  With that said, I did have to make a similar (but obviously larger) bulkhead for my Macgregor 26X's rear berth area, covering the transom innards.  So, I just made a few basic measurements, got a BIG piece of cardboard, and sort of cut that to size a bit larger than needed.  I then took that cardboard and a pair of scissors down there and just commenced trimming it bit by bit until it fit perfectly.  The result was a nice template to do the actual cut.  In the case of the Macgregor, it needed to be a perfect sort of "press fit" with the topmost edge sliding just under a kind of lip in the interior's cladding or fiberglass walling, so I used a bit of medium-firm closed cell foam strip adhered along the bottom edge and sides of the new bulkhead to help seal and keep it in place.  With a little patience, it all came together just perfectly.  Luckily, in the case of the Com-Pac, that bulkhead just screws into a pair of wooden braces that come up from the floor.  If you need photos of the bow-facing side of the bulkhead and those braces, I can easily oblige.  But not to worry: that bulkhead itself should be an easy fitting with a piece of cardboard.  It need not even be a particularly firm fit against the hull.