Help Me Float My Boat !

[Mariness]

So, we have this Compac 16 in our backyard on a trailer. It's been there ... longer than I'm willing to admit to.
I have decided that it is time to fix it up and get it in the water and sailing. But it's in pretty sad shape right now. I don't think there are any serious structural problems (as a politician might say, "the fundamentals of the boat are strong."). It needs some hopefully simple repairs, and a serious scrubbing.
Problem is: I haven't actually done much boat fixing in the past. In fact, if you don't count helping J out with little things when he was a working private captain, I'm perilously close to NONE at all.
So I guess I will need some advice to get this thing fixed up.
Issues so far:
1. Cabin got leaked by rain - it has a LOT of water in there. (And, due to problems with the trailer, see #3, it is very bow-down, making the water hard to get to.) So I will be out there with my bailer and bucket and pump, getting the water out. Once I do that, how do I dry out the innards? The bunks (plywood) and everything are going to be saturated, I would think, and it's never going to dry on its own with our humidity.
2. Mast support inside the cabin is wood. I can't tell until I get all that water out of the way, but if the bottom part is soaked, how can I tell if it is rotted and needs replacing, or if it's OK? Can I knock on it and listen, like a watermelon?
3. The little leg that holds up the trailer tongue has sunk into the grass. Not sure how this happened, as I'm quite sure we put a piece of wood under it when we parked it there. Perhaps it is now deep in the yard and someday an archaeologist will find it and wonder at the significance.
I am thinking I can borrow the jack from the car to crank it back up to level and get the foot unsunk, then put a REALLY BIG piece of wood, like a whole sheet of plywood, under it, and set it back down (hopefully now level). Does this sound reasonable or am I missing some important factor?
The sails are worthless too, you can practically read through them, so I guess I'll have to figure out how to track down new ones, and a new companionway hatch. But for now that's the big stuff. I'm sure more will appear in time.
Any suggestions on those 3, or on anything else I might be on the lookout for?
On the plus side, I have already tented it with a tarp to keep out any more rain, and cut off the vicious vines that were trying to turn it into a living sculpture, and scooped out the leaf-muck that had accumulated in the cockpit. So technically, some progress has already been made.
Comments, Questions, Concerns?

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Mariness

Problem is: I haven't actually done much boat fixing in the past.

Just experiment and give it a go. Any mistakes made will either not really matter, or if they do matter its an old boat anyway and not the end of the world.

And could be a great learning experience

Have fun with it

(PS do not listen to any advice at the chandlers. they will stich you up for $$$ for some pot of glue you only use once)

[skipmac]

Answers but not necessarily in order.

Jack up the tongue. Get a 12" X 12" concrete square from Home Depot and put under the leg.

Open everything and leave open. That means all lockers, hatches, cabinets. Take everything out and lay in the sun to dry. I mean everything that isn't glued down. All the plywood boards, cushions, floorboards, whatever.

After it has had time to dry you can tap on the mast support (called a compression post) to see if it sounds solid. Any doubt poke it with a screwdriver. If the screwdriver goes into the wood it needs to be repaired or replaced.

Buy used sails from one of the many dealers online.

[SailFastTri]

Compac 16 has concrete ballast in the bilge. That will take weeks to dry out and you should remove whatever floor and bunk panels you can to open it up to the air while keeping more water from coming in. A fan continuously blowing might help speed up the process.

[Ex-Calif]

All replies are good so far. Concrete pad for the tongue - plywood will rot over time.

I would take a little time to scope the project so you don't lose sight of what you are after. "Totally refurbish the boat to like new" is way different than "Create a safe and sound weekend boat."

If you are after a safe and sound weekend boat here is what I would consider.

- Drain the water, remove everything that isn't bolted down.
- Be prepared to rip out the wooden interior/cabinetry etc. A friend did this to his boat, finished the interior in white paint - the benches were frp. It's very clean, light and fast. The interior is basically for storing the gear and the porta potty.
- Compression post, standing rigging should all be squared away
- Used sails
- New sheets and running rigging if necessary
- Aux propulsion if desired - <4hp with built in tank.
- Paint the topsides, cockpit with a good one part paint. Don't be afraid to roller it on.
- If you are going to trailer sail it I would not put antifoul on it. A good one part paint with a good finish.

Post pics, have fun and keep us all posted!

[Mario G]

Mine sat for 15 yrs everything that has been said is great advice.

Mine is clean then clean again lol even after the 3rd time and many outtings I'm still finding dirt dobber nest. There are plenty of places to get sails new and used just look around. I bought a whole parts boat to get what I needed.

Take pictures and ask alot of questions, you will find great people here more then willing to help.

It seems I wasn't the only one that found it enjoyable to do the task infront of you so have fun. for some of us, one go around wasn't enough

[SabreKai]

Save yourself some effort first. Get the jack out and jack up the trailer tongue. The boat should have a drain port in the back somewhere, make sure it's open. Why bale if you can get gravity to do it for you.

Second option is to get some garden hose, put one end in the bow, as low as it will go. The other end is on the ground outside. Apply lips to hose, Suck hard, and when water comes out let it run until the water is all out. I used to do that when the tarp over the cockpit became a very large bathtub. Let it run for a couple hours and it should be drained.

Once it's dry inside, follow the other instruction re care and demolition of boat bits.

Have fun, you will be learning a great deal in this adventure.


Sabre

[Mariness]

Originally Posted by SabreKai

Save yourself some effort first. Get the jack out and jack up the trailer tongue. The boat should have a drain port in the back somewhere, make sure it's open. Why bale if you can get gravity to do it for you.

Second option is to get some garden hose, put one end in the bow, as low as it will go. The other end is on the ground outside. Apply lips to hose, Suck hard, and when water comes out let it run until the water is all out. I used to do that when the tarp over the cockpit became a very large bathtub. Let it run for a couple hours and it should be drained.

Once it's dry inside, follow the other instruction re care and demolition of boat bits.

Have fun, you will be learning a great deal in this adventure.


Sabre

Hmmm, there's drain ports in the cockpit, I'll have to look if there are any inside.
Option 2 is not happening. The water is this weird reddish color. No idea why, there is nothing remotely near that color in there - and I am unwilling to get it anywhere near my mouth. I won't even touch it without rubber gloves. (Yes, I can be a bit fastidious at times - especially where mysterious chemicals of unknown vintage are concerned.) Maybe I could get the bilge pump involved though and get it to start the siphon for me...
For a tarp it does sound better. My tarp draining method almost resulted in me on the grass beside the trailer, under the tarp, with 100 lbs or so of water landing on top.

Thanks! - Fun & adventure is what we're looking for!
Pix to follow...

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by Mariness

Option 2 is not happening. The water is this weird reddish color. No idea why, there is nothing remotely near that color in there - and I am unwilling to get it anywhere near my mouth. I won't even touch it without rubber gloves.

You can do this with out suckin on it by mouth. The boat is up on jacks. tie a weight to the hose end that goes in the boat so it stays where you put it, down low.

Hook up the other end to a faucet. Turn on the water until it runs out the other end. Kink the hose near the water source, down below the level of the hose in the boat and turn off the water. Unscrew the hose from the faucet and gently release the kink. If you have done it all correctly you will have set up the negative flow you want and water will begin to flow out the end of the hose.

If it doesn't work the first time try again. It WILL work... I do it with my water bed.

[SabreKai]

Bingo, Sarafina saves the day. Excellent idea my lady!.


Sabre

[Mariness]

"Before" pictures:

This is The Boat! It has an atrocious paint situation, but that is so far down the line, I'm not even thinking about it.

The little beauty in red watching from the porch is my "helper"!

The aforementioned icky red water:


And the pre-cleaning-out cockpit:

Those leaves aren't green because they fell in recently. Those are growing plants in the leaf litter that sat there awhile. No idea what the blue board is, it came with the boat but doesn't seem to fit anywhere. So right now it's sitting out of the way on the trailer tongue. All this is gone now, cockpit could use some soap but is usable once more.

The interior forward (more icky water, rolled up useless jib, and probably rotten throwables):

[Ex-Calif]

Lots of mold and mildew and that compression post doesn't look too happy - looks real wet.

Elbow grease, maybe vinegar and a scourer for the mold and mildew and a backhoe to remove the garden in the cockpit.

She looks OK in the photo. Have fun!

[Mariness]

Well, I seem to have underestimated my opponent.
Bailed bunches of water out, down to where things were damp to the touch but no standing water in there. Then left hatches open for fresh air and went to the store.
Came home, went to check...the water is back! Not as deep as before, but returned to the same place! Three theories:
1. (Improbable) I have a ghost with a bladder control problem.
2. (Possible?) Removing all that water allowed the boat to re-negotiate its balance on the trailer, changing the low point and water moved accordingly. Thing is, the boat doesn't look, or when I climb on, feel, any different from before.
3. (Violates the laws of physics) Some water is down inside the keel and somehow mysteriously rose into the available space once I emptied it.

So I am stymied, but shall bail valiantly until I win. If it's not coming in from outside (I put a tarp over to keep out the rain) then it has to be a finite amount.

[SabreKai]

did you check inside all the lockers for water as well? Sometimes the interior shell is only spottily glassed in place and lockers off to one side may have water inside them which was at the same level as the water in the main cabin. Removing that allows water in the lockers to perhaps bleed out of them and into the main area.

Sabre

[mike d.]

the discoloration of the water is from the tannins leaching out of the leaves from sitting in the water the prob. reason you have more water in side is because there is a drain prob. under cockpit that is plugged with leaves and debris and while you were at store the water seeped thru the crud to lowest point. check your transom and see if there is a drain hole, if there is get bow up as far as possible clean out the cockpit and keep flushing water from cabin down to drain. you will have to keep cleaning drain for quite sometime until all the crud is gone. then i would go to home depot or what ever get a gallon of simple green or commercial citris cleaner and scub out the cabin top to bottom and hose it out,then work back to the drain. then make a tent over boat and keep every thing open and let it air out and dry, then you will be able to see what really needs to be repaired, replaced, or spruced up