The Boat

S/V ALBION

Model: Hutchins Com-Pac 27/2

Designer: Robert K. Johnson

Year: 1990

LOA: 29′ 7″

Beam: 9′ 6″

Draft: 3′ 8″

Displacement: 6,000 lbs

Ballast: 2,500 lbs

Engine: Universal Diesel, M2-12

 

BoatUS review of the ComPac 27 by Jack Horner: http://www.boatus.com/boatreviews/sail/ComPac27.asp

 

The Details // Specific Gear 

 

Anchoring 

Primary Anchor 

As Andy Schell of 59-Degrees North described it in connection with the gear aboard their Swan 48 Isbjorn, “We adhere to the Steve Dashew school of anchoring – put the weight in the anchor, and use a lighter rode.”¹ Accordingly, Albion carries a beefy Rocna 15 (33lbs) from her bow pulpit – a big anchor for a little boat, spec’d at 22,050lbs for a 30′ boat. Prior to deciding on the Rocna 15, we tried both a Rocna 10 (22lbs) and Rocna 15 – with the Rocna 15 fitting on the bow roller, it was an easy decision which anchor to keep, as Steve Dashew quipped, “So, how big should your anchor be? There are no hard rules, except the old laugh rule (the anchor is not big enough until people begin to laugh at you)”² When placed on the boat, a long time delivery captain commented “looks like she’s ready to cruise.” Both anchors “slap” the headsail’s roller fuller when being retrieved, but this would be an issue with any anchor being pulled-up by a windlass. Due to the shape of the Rocna shank, we discovered the hard way that the roller fuller from our Doyle UPS sail binds slightly against the shank, but running a short soft shackle seems to have resolved this issue.

Warp and Windlass 

The Rocna is attached to 100′ of 1/4″ galvanized G40 chain spliced to 150′ of 1/2″ three strand nylon rode. This is the maximum size chain compatible with the Lewmar v700 windlass. The beauty of outfitting a ComPac is that they are still made, virtually unchanged, today and as a company, are just an email away with answers to nearly all questions. Prior to installing the windlass, I contacted them about what units are placed on the boats coming out of the factory and was told that most have the Maxwell RC8-8 which was attractive as it has a capacity for larger chain as well as a capstan – however, the motor configuration requires modifying the bulkhead, something that was not really an option due to the limited time outfitting the boat prior to departure. ComPac also offered to make a stainless steel skid plate pre-cut to the v700 to protect the deck from the chain, which has proven to be a valuable addition as it has taken a significant amount of wear from the chain – can’t imagine how damaged the deck would be without the protection of this plate.

The chain and anchor are joined with a Mantus S1 anchor swivel. The design of this swivel, being that the anchor attaches with a shackle, eliminates the issues with side loading common to other swivel designs. So far, we have been happy with the swivel, though it often hangs-up on the bow roller at the point of the shackle – this would likely be reduced with a wider diameter roller, and we did have to clean the nasty river mud out from between the collar and swivel chain connector.

In all, this has proven to be a successful set-up, and has held us safely many nights in less than ideal anchorages – through rough waves and winds at 40 knots. We have reset a couple times in poor holding anchorages (Saugutuck, MI and Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas) during strong winds but mostly out of paranoia, not dragging.

For a snubber, we tie a 20′ section of 5/8″ 3 strand nylon rope to the chain with a rolling hitch which is run through the bow roller then tied to a bow cleat or just looped over the cleat with the spliced eye depending on the desired length.

Secondary 

As a secondary anchor, a Fortress FX-11 with 30′ of 1/4″ galvanized G40 chain shackled to 150′ of 1/2″ nylon three strand rope is utilized in situations such as strong currents with opposing winds or when anchored in narrow river oxbows as a second bow anchor or stern anchor.

 

Sails 

Headsail

Albion carries a 150% reefable dacron headsail with sunbrella UV cover by Bacon Sails of Annapolis, MD on a CDI roller fuller, which the boat was equipped with when purchased. This sail is larger than standard and has proven to be a powerhouse giving her good upwind and downwind abilities.

Mainsail

Her mainsail had never been hoisted at the time of purchase – in fact, the prior owner had to have the track slides swapped out the night before I was to pick-up the boat. It is a dacron sail by National Sail Supply (Rolly Taskers) which is standard factory issue, with one reef point on a single-line reefing system.  It collapses nicely with lazy jacks into a stack-pack type sail cover which is helpful when single-handed sailing.

Additional

For downwind, Albion flies a beautiful and patriotic red, white, and blue – with stars – Doyle UPS sail on a Karver top-down roller fuller. Though designed primarily as a light (<10kts) downwind sail, it has proven to provide good results upwind. Plus, its just a darn sexy sail.

 

Housekeeping & Energy 

Refrigeration

When purchased, Albion was equipped with a 2.7cu Norcold AC/DC fridge (NR751) mounted beneath the stove. Though this was a convenient set-up for when at the slip, the opening door was both inefficient as it allowed cold air to escape when open as well as the contents to fall out if open when heeling. As the unit stopped working shortly before departure, it was replaced with an icebox conversion.

Being that it is the set-up ComPac installs at the factory, and good enough for Pam Wall, Albion is now equipped with an Adler-Barbour Cold Machine (Dometic) CU-100 compressor and VD-150 small vertical evaporator which serves as the freezer. This has proved to be, after a rather frustrating installation, efficient system for our needs.

Batteries

The boat was originally equipped with two small Group 27 batteries conveniently located under the companionway steps – ahead of the motor, low, and on the centerline. With the addition of a windlass and need for extended reliance upon the house bank while at anchor, Torresen’s in Muskegon, Michigan completely replaced the undersized electrical system and its nearly 30 year old wiring, adding two Group 31 batteries underneath the port side settee, which serve as the house bank, and a new, isolated, Group 31 starting battery under the companionway steps.

Solar

The house battery bank is charged by a SunPower 100w flexible solar panel mounted on the bimini, connected to a Genasun GV-10 MPPT charge controller. Though this set-up is significantly under spec’d for the demand of the refrigeration, it has out performed our expectations and proved to be sufficient for extended periods at anchor.

 

Transportation

Dinghy

With Albion’s 9′ 6″ beam, which tapers back to a transom of about 6′, it was important to appropriately size the dinghy to the boat – as big as could be carried without extending too far beyond the beam. We settled upon a Zodiac Cadet Aero 230. With its length of 7′ 7″, when hanging from the davits, it does not extend beyond Albion’s beam and is only slightly longer than the width of the transom. Being an air floor, it has the necessary rigidity for hauling jerry cans, SCUBA gear, and traveling through waves without too much flex, yet is able to be rolled and stowed below should it need to be off the davits.

Motors

Being totally dependent upon a dinghy to shuttle Ziggy to and from shore when anchored, and experiences with how temperamental small four-stroke outboards can be, we carry two motors for the dinghy, a Yamaha 2.5hp four-stroke (F2.5) and a Yamaha 4hp two-stroke (4CMHS), which though nearly twice the power, being a two stroke, only weighs 9 lbs more than the 2.5 and is light enough that it can still be carried on and off the dinghy singlehandedly. The 2.5 is unable to get the dinghy on plane, yet the 4hp pushes the dinghy in excess of 13knots.

Davits

Recognizing the importance of easily launching the dinghy and after researching several davit options at the Annapolis Boat Show, we settled upon the Garhauer DD 6-1 davit system. When ordering, they custom build the davits to your specific boat and though, due to some unique modifications to Albion, we had to modify the installation slightly, they have been an outstanding and invaluable addition.

 

 

 

¹ https://www.59-north.com/equipment

² http://setsail.com/anchors-and-sizing/