Need Advice

[K3v1n]

Congrats on the CP23! Check out the Com-Pac Yacht Owners Association. I know a few CP owners in Virginia!

Com-Pac Yacht Owners Association

We've raised the mast on a CP23 several times, and we old. Two people is possible but three is best!
Bob and I both use a marina to travel lift the boat in. There are a couple videos on YouTube of folks launching from their trailer.

Launching HideAway - How Hard Can It Be?

See our videos.

Koinonia Gets Splashed! (Mast Stepping Com-Pac 23)
Stepping The Mast On A Com-Pac 23

-Kevin

[Phil]

Hi Kevin! It's nice to actually "speak" with you. Your mast raising video happens to be the one I did watch. In fact, I have visited your blog several times. That's goin' some for me I'm not a real big internet guy yet. Um, judging by your picture, y'all ain't old! Say hi to the pretty redhead for me. 


Actually, I am happy to report success! Thanks to advice and encouragement from the fine folks here, and especially to Norm, who drove all the way out here to the wilds from Md.(had to be over 100 miles), the mast went up and down without incident. Cap'n K, you were absolutely right about WHEN somethin' hangs on somethin'. My ole knees were making funny noises time I went stern to bow to stern a dozen times. We figure it took about 4 1/2 hours start to finish. ComPacs' mast raising system is the cat's meow. Cat's meow? Where did I dredge that up from? Must be the old Swing music I'm listenin' to this evening. I am now confident that using this system it is feasible to raise and lower the mast singlehanded. It's not gonna be fast. Three people walking the mast up would almost certainly be quicker, but I'm likely to be singlehanding most all the time.

Looks like my window for gettin' the boat wet is closing. Hard Freeze warning tonight here in the mountains. I'm gonna concentrate on winterizing for now, and take some time to contemplate the next move. My ol' Granddaddy always advised takin' time to contemplate.  Florida is off limits til Feb. first. Don't want to run afoul of the "revenoors" down there. Granddaddy also advised not attracting the the attention of the revenoors.  Man was full of wisdom. Just didn't believe in paying tax on good whiskey.

Many thanks again to all. Now that I'm starting to get the hang of this internet thing I'm sure I'll be bugging y'all some more. I'm looking forward to meeting Y'all in person once I get to actually doing some cruising.

[Captain Smollett]

Congrats on a successful first step.  Pun intended, and I won't apologize for it.

[Frank]

Congrats on the mast raising!
Next congrats will be the first "splash" 😄

[Norman]

It all seemed strange, winding gravel road, woods on all sides, climbing steep grades.  No way sailboat country.

Phil resides about 3000 feet up in the western edge of Virginia, but has a new to him Compac 23, pilot house.  We had discussed raising the mast, and the boat came with the Mastender system, which I had heard good reports on, but not used.  Being a dedicated trailer sailor, mast raising was a way of life, and I was sure that we could get it up and down with just two of us.

We started out dealing with a boat that had been secured in Florida for a thousand mile trip, by people who knew how to do it right, therefore difficult to undo.  Otherwise, wind and vibration on the highway un does it prematurely.  Phil had much of that done before I arrived, using pliers and screw drivers on many of the knots.  Doubtless they had been rained on too which helps tighten knots.

When all the parts were arrayed, assembly of the system proved fairly simple, and the mast was slid back, bolt secured through the mast tabernacle, and other items arranged, and with a number of starts and stops (which were easy with the Mastender system), the mast was up.  Coming back down proceeded much faster, and without any need to rethink, and no tours around to verify that all was going well, as I had done going up.  Phil did the whole process, I just watched for trouble, and stopped him when needed, and let him solve the problem, so he would know what to look for the next time.

As Phil said, the whole thing took about 4 1/2 hours, but bringing it down and securing it was less than 1 1/2 hours.  It was not quite secured road ready, but nearly so.  Going up, was very much a learning experience, so slow.  Without a doubt, this was the easiest mast raising system, short of pure muscle, that I have ever used, and with a little practice could be done single handed in an hour if not secured for the highway, and two if secured.  Compac has an outstanding design for their mast raising system.

The steaming light and masthead lights ere tested while we had it up, and they worked.  There were no nearby vessels to call for a radio check.....

He has a fine little yacht, and looking forward in getting a local sea trial, and then heading to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  As Frank has said, it is not luxurious, but very adequate for solo cruising and live aboard.  The Virginia mountains are pretty cold, and when it snows, the roads to his house are a challenge.  His pickup is 4 wheel drive, but the fun of that wears thin after a while.

Charlie J, one of your favorite anchors hangs in the bow, a Bruce, backed up by chain and nylon rode, so he should be set for gulf anchoring.  Give him a good sales pitch on the weather down in South Texas, and he may come to visit you.  I think you will enjoy his company, as I did.

Norman

PS, I am envious, wish I were his age and owned such a pretty yacht.

[Phil]

Thanks Norman for that excellent write up on the mast raising.  Not only am I learning about the boat, I am learning how to participate here properly. Next time I will endeavor to render as clear and concise a report as yours. I admit to a certain difficulty stringing more than three sentences together without crackin' wise at least once. In fact, the wisdom of my posterior has been celebrated on three continents so far.

Per Kevin's suggestion I checked out the Compac owners site. I saw a couple names I recognize already.  Hi Cap'n K. You must be the Computer Wizard. I expect I will join soon but trying to take small steps here. It looks like there is a wealth of good information there, too.
 
  I am not really a Luddite. I think technology is great.  I'm just on a tight budget. There is no cable service here and if there was I wouldn't pay for it. Same for satellite dishes and TV or internet service. I prefer to spend my money on doing things that are fun and challenging, like sailing. Just to do this I had to increase the data plan on my cell phone, which causes me to say ouch whenever I get the bill. I am wary of an over reliance on automated systems. I think it would be fun to someday learn to use a sextant.

'Nough philosophy, got another question. If I throw about a gallon of RV antifreeze in the bilge and operate both pumps (manual and electric) will that protect them from freezing or is it not really necessary? 
 

[Frank]

The antifreeze is a good idea.
Anywater in the lines, or pump, will freeze and expand.
You're on top of things! 😄

[Phil]

Thanks, Frank, will do. First thing tomorrow morning.

[Phil]

Captain Smollet, as someone who is pundamentally opposed to being too cereal, it is a pleasure to meet an unabashed punster. Ok, this one IS pretty corny, I admit.

[Norman]

I should have mentioned that Phil is a most pleasant person to work with, and completely unexcitable, at least with the minor issues that we had.  If he travels your way, be sure to meet him.

Start with pure antifreeze for the bilge pumps.

Wipe out the bilge if it is not clean, if practical.

Hang a clean container under the bilge port and catch the antifreeze water mix, and if it has dirt in it, pour through a clean cloth.

Then remove the hose from the raw water seacock, close the seacock first, good habit, and run that antifreeze mix through the raw water pump and heat exchanger, to eject any water there and leave antifreeze mix in place.  Be sure to replace the hose, and leave both seacocks closed until launch.  Put those seacocks on your prelaunch check list.  The Westerbeke manual had the pump through described, but used much more antifreeze solution than you are going to have, but that is a small engine, plus it probably has very little water in it from shaking on the highway for a thousand miles.

Have you pumped out the drinking water tank and 'anti freezed' it with colored drinking alcohol (vodka or white lightning) yet?  CapnK would probably recommend Rum.  For those not familiar with this drinking water tank system, you pump empty, then pour a quart of colored high proof drinking alcohol in, and pump till the color comes through, catching it all in a glass for refreshment while doing chores.  When recommissioning the boat, the colored water is pumped out into a glass, and used for refreshment again, and another quart , this time , water is added to get most of the anti freeze out of the plumbing.  That makes the chores more pleasant, or at least go faster.

I believe the anode for the heat exchanger is under the middle of it, and is a hex head.

A frugal way to keep up here at no cost is to visit the library when you are in town, and use their computer and internet access.  I have done that when traveling.  You will have to use your password with the 'strange' computer

Norman

[Norman]

Phil has had his first sea trial, and the Compac floats, the Westerbeke runs, the Garmin GPS's, the
Raymarine steers, the VHF communicates, and the head works.  What more can a Yacht owner wish for?

Phil picked me up at my house way before sunrise, with a 10:00 appointment for a travel lift launch at Ocean Marine, in Portsmouth, VA.  The haul out season is in full swing, and finding an available time slot involved phone calls to half a dozen marinas before we found one to fit us in.  We were early, and had the mast up and ready well before they were ready to put us in the water. They were behind schedule due to a 70 foot mast in 4 pieces from an "interference" with a railroad bridge.  A story too long for now.

Launch was at 1645, and as the day was gone for cruising, we motored just a short distance, and spent the night in their associated marina, on the inside of the outside pier, with some truly large yachts between us and the harbor waves, which produced a fairly quiet night's sleep.  A couple of hours later the delivery Captain with the mast-less sailboat came in and tied to the other side of our finger pier, and we had a short visit.  They departed at the first hint of light, all bundled up in foul weather gear, apparently for the ocean passage to New York.

We cooked breakfast, and warmed up the diesel for our departure, and when Phil checked the bilge, there was a little water in it.  A search found that the drain plug on the bottom of the muffler was leaking.  After an extensive internet search, including by Westerbeke, a replacement was found at a marina a few miles away, and we installed a new one.  We were here for a shake down, and there is probably no place around with a better source of replacement parts that we might need.

The owners of a catamaran nearby came over to admire the Pilot house 23, and explained that they were South bound, but the ICW had too much traffic and turns, they were waiting for a good weather window for an off shore passage South.  They handed our lines as we departed for the ICW, through the teeming traffic of the Navy Yard and monster repair facilities.  According to my notes, we took departure at 12:45.  Traffic of every kind, traveling in every direction kept the helmsman busy, with the deck hand covering his back.  Around here, rear view mirrors would help.  Going up the Elizabeth River, we passed many bridges, but all except one were open, so no delay.  If we had been more aware of the signage, we would have realized we had 3 feet of clearance, and could have continued.  The delay was short, as we were not the only ones waiting.  Above the last bridge, traffic became lighter, and I coupled the tilllerpilot to check if it worked.  There were still enough large vessels, compared to us, that the cross seas were confusing, and the tiller pilot did not hold a very steady course, but did function correctly, turning to desired headings.  We returned to hand steering, and transferred from chart book on the dinette table to navigation on the Garmin 640.  The small screen has little detail when you can look a reasonable distance ahead, and did not allow enough anticipation when in congested waters.  Once the river became narrower, this became less of an issue. 

At the mouth of Deep Creek is the marina we would have preferred, but from there the search for the Westerbeke plug would have been much more difficult.  The turn to Starboard here put us into the approach to the actual Dismal Swamp Canal, and the somewhat out of date chart data was not always accurate, the recent storms had move mud banks and channels.  The depth sounder became a vital tool.  The creek winds a lot, and shoals extend way out from the points, so attempting to cut the inside of the turns was risky, even with a draft of 28 inches. When we arrived at the locks, there was large sailboat, and also a large cabin cruiser waiting.  I was at the helm, and after dropping to idle, put the wheel hard over, to see how sharp a turn was possible.  She turns on the proverbial dime, about 3 boat lengths diameter.  Phil looked up the schedule, and found that the lock does not open for over half an hour, so we dropped anchor, out of the way in shallow water.  The location proved potentially poor, as the wind blew us onto a shoal, 4 feet of water, so we pulled up anchor and motored to the other side, and repeated the procedure.  I had brought one of my Northill anchors, with chain and nylon rode, and was selling Phil on the advantages of anchoring from the stern.  With the first set unsatisfactory, we had done two sets and a recovery before the locks opened.  The sail boat copied us, setting their anchor, and the cruiser took a trip back down the creek for a changing scene.  The problem came when we recovered the second time.  The anchor was well set, and when we backed up over it, the sailboat was already in the lock, the cabin cruiser enroute, and we hurried to get the anchor up.  Idle did not pull it, and Phil suggested a quick gun of the motor, and I agreed.  The stern dipped a little, we listed to the side, and a loud pop!, and the broken end of the 3/8 nylon flew out of the water.  What I had misjudged was the pull that a 12 HP diesel could produce, and the inertia of a 2 ton hull.  The rode broke at the splice at the chain, and was a well used piece.  I have been using it for about 15 years, so was not up to the strength of that size rode.  The part near the chain has been rubbed on the bottom many hours, and I should have cut a few feet off and respliced it to get rid of the abraded nylon.  With 4 HP and my 1500 pound boat, I doubt that I could have broken it.

We turned to the lock, and proceeded to lock through.  That was the first lock for either of us, and it went well, although a learning experience.  We elected to continue south, even though the sun was getting low, and both of the other vessels tied up at the bulkhead just beyond the lock.  Just around the bend, the lock keeper opened the US 17 bridge, and we continued.  We did a radio check with the bridge tender and it performed just fine.  Unfortunately, the anchor we lost was essential for the proper anchor set I had planned to use for that night.  "You cannot anchor in the canal" may be a practical, or a legal statement, but this time of year, and at night, should be no problem.  I planned to set bow and stern anchors in 5 feet of water on the side away from US 17, leaving the deep part of the canal unobstructed, and with the anchor light shining.  Rising at first light, we would be under way before traffic became an issue, so safe enough.  With only one anchor, we would need to anchor in a little deeper water, and use short scope after a hard set.  The trouble we encountered was the bottom here was deep soft rotting leaves, and the Bruce just filled with leaves and drug, with a boil of bubbles rising in its path.   After three failures, we turned back North, and tied up on the bulkhead at the US 17 highway bridge.  During the partial transit of the canal, the tiller pilot was engaged and used for steering again, and steered much better, but still overcorrected.  Given more time, I would have tweaked the gain and rate settings to more closely match the turning characteristics of the boat, but light was failing.

The sightseeing was outstanding, tree colors just beginning to change and ducks everywhere, literally within 100 feet of us at all times, in groups of dozens.  They were so tame that we often passed within 10 feet of ducks on the water.  There were occasional flocks of geese also.  Here, the sounds of traffic were less, as it was moving at a steady speed on smooth pavement.

The plus for the bridge location was two restaurants across the highway, the minus, the constant traffic crossing the metal bridge.  We did not cook supper or breakfast, and when 8:30 came, were prepared to pass through the locks home bound.

In Deep Creek, the depth sounder became less necessary, as we put the Garmin in track back mode, and followed our track in.

Down river, we came to the railroad bridge, it was closed, and we turned large circles while a hundred car coal train went across. While doing this, we learned a few things, first, there was a tide board with the air clearance for the parallel highway bridge, and we had 3 feet to spare.  We had not had to wait going up the river.  We also studied the colored lights to advise of the status of trains on the rails route.  Those lights are much smaller.  The bridge tender made a radio call for smaller sailboats to proceed through even before the railroad bridge was full up, if the could stay clear of the rising end, and we were the first boat through.  In the next 2 miles we met a dozen craft of every size waiting to pass through the bridges, including 2 monster dredges.

The rest of the trip back to Ocean Marina was routine, and after some delay we were lifted out, lowered and secured the mast, and returned home.

I found the accommodations adequate and comfortable, Phil's 2 burner camp stove created hot food and drink, and the overall environment comfortable and pleasant.  A real flush head is a luxury.  The weather was fairly mild, but the mornings made the pilot house very much appreciated, and if under way in wind or rain, comfort without foul weather gear on.  I brought a lot of un necessary gear with me, just in case, and without that , the storage space would have been much more adequate than it was.

The best of the environment was the company of the owner, Phil, who is competent and even tempered, a pleasure to be around at all times.  We shared all the boat handling responsibilities and duties, the housekeeping was mostly tidy, and I am ready to go again.  That is a perfect yacht for sailors of our age and physical limitations


Norman

[Frank]

Great report and so glad you both had a mini cruise to shake down the 23PH.
For their size...an amazing little boat and as you noted...so comfortable in foul weather!
Have fun!

[Captain Smollett]

Awesome story.

Another day to the South and I probably could have come up to meet you guys for some "Shore Support."  Next time you plan to cross the locks on the Dismal Swamp Canal, let me know.  Would love to see the CP 23 Pilothouse in person.