Outfitting a little bare boat

[Will Gilmore]

Compac 16 against almost anything else would be like entering a drag race with a dump truck.

Don't sell that boat short. My father sailed his from Florida, up to Maine. He said, no matter what, that boat made 5 knots average every day. Pretty good for a wide, heavy displacement, 16 foot catboat. Given the PHRF ranking, I would think it would do pretty well.

-Will

 

[Urban Hermit]

Don't sell that boat short. My father sailed his from Florida, up to Maine. He said, no matter what, that boat made 5 knots average every day. Pretty good for a wide, heavy displacement, 16 foot catboat. Given the PHRF ranking, I would think it would do pretty well.

-Will

Within a rating I accept it may do well (my 16's a sloop). I've owned one before; my only real complaint is close-hauled slippage. The 14-foot home-built catboat, significantly overpowered with 165 sq. ft. of sail that hung three feet behind the stern, went like bloody hell on a broad reach, but tacked through a crips 190 degrees.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

spare cotter and clevis pins

Seizing wire can always be substituted in a pinch to gerry-rig it

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

Can't argue with the inflatable vest with strobe and PLB. I guess I oughta.

Since you will be coastal I would recommend an AIS/DSC Personal Locator Beacon rather than a satellite PLB.
A satellite PLB will not be visible to local boats and requires a central rescue coordination effort to dispatch a local resource to help. At best you might expect response time in an hour or more.
An AIS/DSC Personal Locator Beacon will alert ALL local boaters (including local marine patrols and towboat operators) with DSC-equipped radios with your coordinates and AIS-equipped chart plotters will display your coordinates on their charts. At best you might get a response in minutes from people on boats near you.

 

[jssailem]

AIS/DSC Personal Locator Beacon rather than a satellite PLB.
A satellite PLB will not be visible to local boats and requires a central rescue coordination effort to dispatch a local resource to help. At best you might expect response time in an hour or more.

for the AIS/DCS PLB. The response time for a Satellite PLB is going to be multiple hours in the water. Rescue more likely would be recovery.

 

[pgandw]

Depends on where you are and the amount of commercial water traffic in the area. Infrastructure varies greatly, as does AIS/DSC usage, and even VHF-FM coverage with location and waterway usage.

If I had a Compaq 16, I'm not sailing where the big boys are, I'm frequenting the back creeks and larger lakes. In those areas, AIS/DSC may not be monitored, coverage might not be great or even exist. OP said he was sailing the Pensacola Bay area. There is a commercial presence in Pensacola Harbor and its entrance, but little in the sounds between the barrier islands and the shore proper east and west of Pensacola.

Also, Pensacola has survivable water temps much of the year. An evaluation of where one sails and the various emergency coverages would be better than blanket statements.

Fred W

 

[Urban Hermit]

for the AIS/DCS PLB. The response time for a Satellite PLB is going to be multiple hours in the water. Rescue more likely would be recovery.

Then what good are they?

 

[pgandw]

Then what good are they?

The satellite pickup of of a PLB is generally well less than 1 hour. It has to be relayed to appropriate authorities in the correct country, then resources dispatched to the location of the PLB. In the US, that generally means about 1.5-3 hours to on scene.

If there are local waterborne receivers with AIS/DCS, and somebody to respond to the alarm, the response CAN BE much faster. But that's a big IF in my area, where AIS/DCS is rarely available and/or turned on. We just don't have commercial traffic in the western part of Albemarle Sound, and the recreational boats use cell phones in lieu of VHF.

Best bet/fastest response for summoning help in my area is 911 on the cell phone. You'll get the local sheriff and his boat, or if real lucky, State Fish & Game has a boat already in the water in the area.

The best answer is going to vary depending on where you are and the nature of the marine traffic.

Fred W

 

[Urban Hermit]

Depends on where you are and the amount of commercial water traffic in the area. Infrastructure varies greatly, as does AIS/DSC usage, and even VHF-FM coverage with location and waterway usage.

If I had a Compaq 16, I'm not sailing where the big boys are, I'm frequenting the back creeks and larger lakes. In those areas, AIS/DSC may not be monitored, coverage might not be great or even exist. OP said he was sailing the Pensacola Bay area. There is a commercial presence in Pensacola Harbor and its entrance, but little in the sounds between the barrier islands and the shore proper east and west of Pensacola.

Also, Pensacola has survivable water temps much of the year. An evaluation of where one sails and the various emergency coverages would be better than blanket statements.

Fred W

The Port of Pensacola is only fractionally as busy as it was in the '70s and '80s when it was a general cargo port, dominantly bagged food stuffs, but there is light big ship traffic. Also Naval Air Station still sees small to medium military traffic, and the ICW runs across the lower bay. A variety of risks. But: The Compac 16 will do just fine offshore. I got caught three miles south of Dauphin Island, in the churning currents near Sand Island Light, when a rather severe squall came by and wiped out Gulf Shore's 1993 Fourth of July fireworks display. I struck all sail and it bobbed like a cork, it did, and I was afraid only of lightning.

 

[pgandw]

Not saying a Compac 16 can't handle itself in open water/heavy weather. But if you are regularly going to sail the Gulf instead of the bays and sounds, there are other better suited boats - at least from my perspective.

As far as AIS/DSC goes, one sure way to find out. Beg or borrow an AIS VHF unit, hook it into your car's 12V supply and drive out one of the causeways. See how many AIS targets the unit picks up. Then you will know whether or not the extra $$ for AIS/DSC gains you anything.

Fred W

 

[Urban Hermit]

Not saying a Compac 16 can't handle itself in open water/heavy weather. But if you are regularly going to sail the Gulf instead of the bays and sounds, there are other better suited boats - at least from my perspective.

As far as AIS/DSC goes, one sure way to find out. Beg or borrow an AIS VHF unit, hook it into your car's 12V supply and drive out one of the causeways. See how many AIS targets the unit picks up. Then you will know whether or not the extra $$ for AIS/DSC gains you anything.

Fred W

Aw, Hell, the Bayfield 29 I had and wish I still did was the ultimate open water boat under 30 feet. I find the Gulf boring. I got caught in that squall under special Capt. Walter Middy circumstances.

I'm going to pass on the PLB.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

We just don't have commercial traffic in the western part of Albemarle Sound, and the recreational boats use cell phones in lieu of VHF.

You do have towboat US and Seatow operators in the area (Roanoke Island) and most cruisers running the ICW nearby are also equipped with DSC and AIS-equipped chartplotters. Radios are on. But your statement about the locals is noted.
PS - plenty of sportfishers and other big game boats in Pamlico also. They do monitor VHF and the bigger ones have all the fancy electronics. The route between Roanoke Island and the Neuse River is well travelled.

 

[jssailem]

The VHF radio frequencies are monitored by US Coast Guard & marine police departments. Check out the coverage map.

I read the CG has a reception antenna at 2000 ft elevation in NC. That can reach out a long way line of sight.

 

[Will Gilmore]

I find the Gulf boring.

I have not.

Besides being shipwrecked in Mobile Bay, my family were sailing from Carrabelle to Cedar Key over night. We were aboard a 56' three-masted schooner, designed and built by the same guy that designed your ComPac16.

It was a dark, stormy night .

My mother preferred the sails struck, probably we should have had just the main up, but we were motoring. I was laying in my bunk when my father looked down the aft cabin hatch and found me awake of his three sons.

"Come take the wheel while I check our position."

Center cockpit, cockpit sole at deck level. I was 10 or 11. "Ok!"

We hadn't been living aboard for very long. My father went below. This was in the days of Loran C. It wasn't raining, but it was blowing and the seas were maybe 8-10 feet, and the lightning would light up the darkness so you could get a sense of the waves every once in a while.

Standing behind the helm, trying my best to keep a steady course, I was never very good at that, I heard the rush of disturbed water off to starboard. A single large wave hit Sunflower and rolled right over the top of her. As a ten-year-old boy, I wasn't that tall, but my shoulders were well above the coach top. That wave covered our 56 foot yellow schooner from stem to stern. I gripped the wheel, and was soaked almost to my chin. Looking forward from the helm, just ahead of the mizzen, all I could see was ocean and two masts sticking out of it. We were, for about a second and a half, the yellow submarine. Once the wave had passed, I could see the water swirling around the opened main hatch. My father stuck his head up out of that hatch and asked, "Willy, what did you do?"

I've been out there and counted as many as 12 waterspouts all the way around us. Did you know that they have only ever caught giant squid on submersible cameras twice? Once was in the sea of Japan and the other was in the Gulf of Mexico. If that's not exciting stuff, I had a very uneventful passage from Newport RI, to Cork Ireland. The Gulf can give as well as anywhere.

Don't forget, from below, a 16' boat is just a snack to some of what's or there.

-Will

 

[Urban Hermit]

Now, Will . . . you're telling me there is a boogyman under my bed !!

C'mon -- no squall or storm is boring, granted. And yes, the Gulf can produce rogue waves during a blow. But by and large, unless one fishes, it's a bazillion acres of nothing, deep water wells excepted.

 

[pgandw]

You do have towboat US and Seatow operators in the area (Roanoke Island) and most cruisers running the ICW nearby are also equipped with DSC and AIS-equipped chartplotters. Radios are on. But your statement about the locals is noted.
PS - plenty of sportfishers and other big game boats in Pamlico also. They do monitor VHF and the bigger ones have all the fancy electronics. The route between Roanoke Island and the Neuse River is well travelled.

I'm sorry, I didn't make myself clear. Where the ICW runs through North Carolina, and along the Outer Banks has lots of traffic, commercial and pleasure. And Coast Guard presence. And western Pamlico Sound/Neuse River/Pamlico River have active marine towns of Washington and New Bern with facilities. But take a gander at the charts for Albemarle Sound. No Coast Guard past the Pasquotank River/Elizabeth City - and that only because of the "old" ICW that uses the Dismal Swamp canal. Hertford, Edenton, Plymouth, Columbia, and all the waterfront villages up the Chowan River have decent water, recreational use, some commercial fishing to support local restaurants - but a total lack of government infrastructure except the town docks and state launching ramps. Most of the nav aids are privately maintained.

The state has been investing in this area - a boat building facility and harbor are being created near Hertford, town docks have been redone with state funds, ferry/tourist boats have brought in to link the western Albemarle. I hope the sustainment money is there. In the meantime, there is an excellent grill within walking distance of the Columbia town dock. The grill owner has encouraged groups of us to make reservations Friday morning for a private Friday night $25 prime rib dinner special. We sail over on Friday, eat dinner, and either stay the night or do a night sail home. Town docks are free for 48 hours.

Since I like to go beyond my home waters on a regular basis - a feature of a trailerable mini-cruising sailboat - I do carry and use both cell and an inexpensive handheld VHF-FM (which works fine elsewhere). Yes, the CG has a very tall VHF-FM antenna to cover the western Albemarle - but I have never heard a peep out of it. Nor have any of my friends who live out in this area.

VHF-FM coverage, just like cellular coverage, is a function of need, available funding, and best guesses of the planners.

Fred W