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?