We had help from folks from three continents, all of whom spoke different languages. Fortunately, we all spoke "Sailing"!

That's what we thought at first. I was disappointed with its condition and the missing electrical cord. As we tinkered with it we found that a bend here or adjustment there made it work. We've had it awhile now and find it does what it is supposed to do. We like it better than our Sport with its confounding stand. Thanks for watching. M

The Hideaway is a Com-pac 23 built in Clearwater Fl. It features a foredeck large enough to pump up our 8 foot boat. The advantages are no need to tow it and it provided a stable platform for boarding. It did not row well. We built a Chesapeake Lightcraft kit- the Eastport Pram. 48" beam and 7'9" length. It tows easily and sails very well. I had two rowing stations to better balance with both of us on board. While it can be sailed with two people, its really best for one. It's a joy to build, fits into a pickup bed or can be cartopped. CLC offers a larger nesting pram that allows significantly more space. The pram design is great for beach or ramp boarding because stepping on the bow anchors the boat where as the standard bow design is tippy. It is 24 years old now and still going strong. You didn't mention your boat size or if you had davits. Freeboard can be an issue on the larger boats but worked fine for our 23. The Navigator would be a good choice and Gig Harbor Boat Works has a good reputation, even in far away Florida. See my cruising videos to see more of the pram. Thanks for watching Matt

We will and will try to keep it as nautical as possible! Glad you like them. M

The Dirigo and the Sorrento look interesting. My wife likes the smaller ones but I need the 12 footer. We have been looking at the Hurricane Prima as possibilities as well. We sailed a Suncat last year and were very impressed with it, as we are with the entire Compac line. At least for now, sailing won't be possible. We put on quite a show trying to get into and out of the kayaks. That's why I chose the secluded beach instead of the boat ramp - less witnesses! Thanks for your input - I had not considered Old Town.

I 've seen the hitch extenders but am leery of them because it extends the length of the truck enough to be a problem parking, not to mention my forgetting its there. The Pakayak is quite the invention. It opens up more travel options- no trailer or racks to deal with. And the reviews look good. They are pretty bulky and heavy though- I'm not sure we could handle them. A trailer is probably the best solution. Too soon to tell. Thanks for Pakayak tip. M

We've sailed the Hideaway for more than 30 years. Last fall we ran hard aground on the "Health Issues" reef. The Hideaway became too difficult for us to safely sail . We sold her to a young Naval Architect. We've kept our membership in our sailing club, so there is hope. Our Blog and KZbin channel will stay active with some changes as we try to find a way to stay water borne. You have a good KZbin channel and a great boat. I think I've seen your boat at the ComPac yard. It shows up earlier in my video about our new trailer. M

Good advice. We kept the Hideaway in a wet slip for years until the slip rent increased beyond our means. Our marina allows sailboats to keep their masts up in the dry slips next to an adjacent ramp at an affordable price. We bought the new trailer with plans to tow the boat to destinations we couldn't make by sailing. Buying the trailer worked out for us financially, but we didn't expect age related problems to develop so fast. The new owners keep her in a wet slip. Friends of ours had a Morgan 32 - We sailed with them often on Tampa Bay. Great boat!

We kept the Hideaway, our CP23, in a 30 foot wet slip for several years thinking we'd trade up just a few feet. When those thoughts would occur we'd take the Hideaway out for a sail and realize the Hideaway was perfect for our needs. We miss her dearly. Looks like your channel picks up where we left off. Excellent videos - they bring back lots of memories for us. Thanks, Matt

Note to self: Self, Don't loan Billy any tools!

The Eclipse would be a good choice. We'll see!

Hi, Squally! Hoping to get the folks of SV Hideaway on the show! ⛵🙂~ Chelle

Sorry for the delay in response. Com-Pac set the trailer up for us and we did not change the bunk locations. They could give you the exact measurements. Located in Clearwater Florida - the phone number is 727-443-4408. Gerry has been very helpful over the years. Have a look at my video "Selling Hideaway - Oh No" to get an approximate location. The bunks don't bear much weight, they primarily keep the hull upright. To our great sorrow, our age have caught up with us- Hideaway has a new owner.

Thank you so very much, I will call them. Age will soon put me ashore also. Thanks again@@SVHideAwaySailingHideAway

Glad you enjoyed the video. I agree, the Catalina 22 is likely faster. The Com Pac 23 seem designed more for comfort and cruising. The only time they are fun to race is with another Com Pac 23, otherwise you might as well go look for dolphins - something we'd prefer anyway. Thanks for watching

I'm glad you liked the video. It was a very difficult project on a hot summer's day in Fl. The wet slip fees and rent for a 25 foot slip in our area are nearly $300/month. In our case we could "pay" for the new trailer in about 16 months. That's part of the story. A half ton pickup or large SUV is required to safely tow the Hideaway. Add $20 grand minimum for a vehicle then the wet slip becomes a bargain. The questions are: How often will you trailer it to that distant port and how long will you keep the boat. The math worked for us at the time, but 7th decade age related issues put us hard aground.

No worries. Earlier this year we took a long road trip to the mountains out west. It only took a couple of brake smoking switchbacks for the RV idea to lose it's allure. I never understood why folks take their home with them when they could have a more natural experience in a tent. I just realized that video got hung up on the tent and I never told you where we went & what we did. St Augustine Fl has a lot to offer the sailor or the wanderer. I'll get that one in production after we finish with Hurricane Idalia. Thanks for watching & subscribing! M

I've been hearing a lot about people leaving south Florida because of the high cost of living and hurricane risk. Sounds like you've found a way to stay on the water and its always good to be near family. I've been eyeing building a couple of CLC kayaks or maybe finding a smaller shallow draft cabin sailboat. Thank you for your kind words about our boat. We've had quite a bit of interest in the Hideaway. I don't want to see her go, but I know its time. All the best to you and your family! Red Dragon Canoe Club? Sounds interesting! M

Sorry its been so long. We are in the Clearwater/Dunedin area, as opposed to Tampa. You're right, life roars by and we have our memories. KZbin and the Sailing Hideaway blog have been wonderful. When we need some cheer we bring up our videos and watch them all! And the blog is turning into a memory log of sorts. I encourage everyone to keep a log and videos of where you went and what happened. They are a real treasure. You don't have to make them public. Small Boats Rock! M

Who ever said the happiest day of boating life is when you sell your boat obviously never owned a sailboat! This is hard.

There were several times over the years that the "little bit bigger bug" bit, but when we looked at how we like to sail and where, the Hideaway always was the first choice. The Com pac 23 is very well designed. Don't want to let her go, but ....

I didn't plan on that many. Somehow it turned into an international event with helpers from Chile and Germany, plus some experienced sailors from Gulfport. I don't know if we would have survived the July Fl heat/humidity without the extra help. After everyone left we started to move the Hideaway to her slip and realized she was very unbalanced on the trailer. Too tired to relaunch, we used the hurricane tie downs to control the tongue for the night. Gulfport, at that time had concrete anchored tie downs, six per boat. They have since removed them. Thanks for writing! M

I didn't have a problem with the belt slipping, however it did want to crawl to one side of the roller. See 13:40+ for the adjustment using the yellow wheel. As other reviews have pointed out, this model is more for the home rather than a professional grade wood working shop. Rikon, and other manufacturers make professional grade machines at a much higher cost. For my purposes, the 50-112 is sufficient. Thankyou for your comments.

Com-Pac uses out facing "L" shaped flanges for the hull to deck joint. The out facing side provides a place for the guard rail and leaves a smooth finish on the interior. The initial construction likely had one nice wide bead that seals when the hull and deck are joined. The HideAway is hull number 2, remnants of that bead are in short supply. I thought I had included a drawing of my solution in the two videos I made, but I don't see it in either. Basically, I added an interior bead and an exterior bead of 3M Fast Cure 4200 sealant. The only other solution would be to separate the deck and reseal the entire hull. A project not in my skill set. There is no delamination of the fiberglass, just a gap from the removal of old sealant. Hopefully, this solution will last many years, however, if it doesn't, I know where to look first. Recently, we've had a series of strong storms blow through our area. I visited the HideAway this morning and found her dry! The problem is solved. Thanks for watching Sailing Hideaway and commenting. M

Glad to hear she is dry now! I’ll post a video this week of my seam repair on my boat, thanks for the videos!

@@SailingTern Good I'll watch for it. The Hideaway is on a trailer, so every time I move it's like a mobile tiny earthquake generator. Fingers crossed!

Another great mystery of the universe solved! And now we have a video to remind us of how to do it again after we forget how…… M

Actually, I was more concerned about the trailer bunks. The Trailer guides and the keel guides keep the boat centered. Over the years we have had no difficulty with this location or performance. If you can it's better to use a depth finder that does not require a hole in the boat. Thanks for watching and your comments..M

Thanks, We were among the lucky this time. Learning from other encounters, we had an arborist give our trees a "Hurricane Cut" - That's probably why we didn't lose power when thousands in our area did. Our young oak tree was leaning pretty bad so we used a come along attached to our biggest Danforth anchor to slowly pull it back over a long time period. We were very lucky.

We use a similar marine product to flush the outboard motor. It too hooks up to a bottle sprayer powered by a hose. I've not used it on the trailer or hull. The trailer gets a though fresh water wash each time it is used. We use a marine biodegradable soap for the hull and topsides. I don't think the salt product leaves a film, so I'm going to see if I can find "Salt Away" or similar product. Thanks for the tip. M

Thanks It’s a real handy tool

Either that or maybe he is trying to hold up the tree with his boat! Thanks for watching Sailing Hideaway

Thankyou for watching

The latest track shows a major hurricane just off Clearwater. It pauses for 8 hours then moves north as a category 1. If that happens we could have a surge of 15+ feet and winds over 100mph. It drops in strength as it pounds Tampa Bay Area. It is a worst case scenario. Hopefully it will move farther off shore. Never know for sure M

Yes, it tis. Thanks for watching

Yes. Lake McConaughy; Keith County western Nebraska and Lewis & Clark Lake in Cedar county - Northeast Nebraska along the South Dakota border are the best for sailing since they are large lakes. It really depends on your boat and sailing skills. Thanks for watching Sailing HideAway

@@SVHideAwaySailingHideAway I have ComPac 23 here. Hahaha 🤣

Thanks

I'm glad you are enjoying the videos. HideAway came with a similar sail set. The "storm jib" sheets run inside the rigging and I rather like the high cut tack. It's handy to have because you may get caught in conditions that demand it. And you will, at some point, be very glad you have it. We use the 135 most often. We haven't used the 150 since we got a new main sail. If I were going to make an improvement I would get a roller furler for the jib. In our case I need to get another 135 to use on it. It's more than 30 years old and sports many repairs. It costs about $100 in alterations to fit the furler. The shape of the jib is not as critical as the shape of the main sail. I had planned to look for an used jib as a replacement. A number of years ago we elected to replace the main first, then never got around to the jib. The new main is loose footed and has two reefing points. It made a tremendous improvement in weather helm. In light air you can shape the sail better with noticeable improvement. So much so it will sail itself. If you don't need a new main, try converting it to loose footed. ( see my video "Sailing with a Loose Foot") We haven't touched the 150, our summer sail, in the years since the main sail replacement. I think you'll find, as we have, that the 23 is a very well designed boat and will bring you home in the storm. Fair winds Matt

Thank you Matt! I hoisted the main today and it is in beautiful shape-sadly it only has one reef point, and is not loos footed. I will be looking into the possibility of adding a second reef, and what can be done to make it like ode footed. The jiffy reefing-I think that is what it is called-has all the hardware present, but there are no lines installed-I’ll need to work on this. I did find that one of my old sails-a nice setting 130 from a Columbia 22-looks good as a light wind headsail, so I will keep this for now, and use the high cut sail for stiff breezes. Seems like sail inventory is something that will never be completely satisfied... Also, I mentioned to my wife about your sailing near Fort Desoto-we used to enjoy swimming there 30 years ago! We also rented a power boat from Terra Verde Charters and cruised around the area some-Sunshine Skyway etc. (We lived in Lakeland while I was going to college at Southeastern, and we took an occasional break to the Tampa Bay Area). So, it is neat seeing some of the places from the water!!

@@randykaminski6214 The Ft Desoto area has long been a favorite both for camping and sailing. Back in my Sea Pearl days we would camp ashore then take the Sea Pearl into the backwaters north of the boat ramp until she ran aground. After the kids moved away we would have Thanksgiving on the Magic Pearl sometimes camping on one of those sandbars.

The new trailer makes a big difference that's for sure! It is much easier to maneuver. M

I bought my L brackets and the attachment kits from American Discount Marine in St Petersburg Fl. however, any marine trailer supplier would have them. The L brackets should be heavy galvanized steel. Look for a store that has axles, tires, brakes etc - full lines of marine grade trailer parts. I bought the plastic 2" Schedule 40 pipe and caps at a home improvement store. The pvc pipe can, but don't seem to rotate on recovery. Do the work? See my video "Healing the Keel" - the damage was caused before we had the trailer guides. More than that, the guides are an important safety feature for us. They point the bow exactly where it needs to be, even in a cross winds. They show water depth and trailer location. My only concern is the brackets tend to collect salt water. Its a fine adjustment I haven't made yet, but I flush the elbows during the wash down after recovery. Definitely worth the money. I bought local because of the advice received from the seller. Thanks for watching! Fair winds- Matt

I just read a your reply to the mast tabernacle q’ from another person-so I’m all set with that question

The air mattress is more comfortable than the cushions that come with the boat. The Hideaway doesn’t have the shelving that the newer models do. This makes sleeping in the main cabin better than the V berth. I made a vanity cabinet with a sink. The original head was a pump overboard via thru hull. I changed to a deck pump out and use the thru hull for the sink

I see, thank you! I made new cushions for my Slipper 17 and only used 3” foam. They seemed like enough padding until I slept on them.... Let me say again, that I replay appreciate your videos-looks like you and your wife make a good team!

That's true and we do- so far no issues M

Thank you for watching our videos.

I've changed out plenty of drum brake shoes over the years but never have I had them rust out of existence! M

I'm glad you enjoyed our videos and thanks for the subscription. You're going to love your Compac- We've had HideAway for more than 20yrs- M

Me too. On some of the Sailing Hideaway videos you can see a gob of wires on the starboard side of our custom aluminum mast step. I recently discovered there is no power reaching them. And some of the wires coming from the mast, hopefully the originals, are bare. So the project is more complex - go figure. My more recent videos show that we need to repaint the deck. These two projects must be completed before the Florida summer heat arrives. Pinellas County, FL has certified that the Hideaway is a genuine antique - Unfortunately so are its crew! It will be awhile before I can complete the wiring video -- Stay tuned! Matt

Its been working OK for us but at 18amp hours it may not be sufficient for cruising. We have a solar panel, not currently in use, however at 5watts, it wouldn't recharge the battery. I had forgotten to consider the seldom used bilge pump, so I have a nagging concern about that. To replace the lead acid battery amp hours with the LifePO4 was around $800US. Nope! M

I agree, using a travel lift would have been much easier, but we don't generate enough income here to afford one. I have great concern about the boat pulling the truck into the brine as has happened to others using this ramp. We had a close call where the salt water was bumper deep. I was careful not to spin the wheels, using the brakes as a clutch, to make good my escape. Then spent sometime flushing the underside of the truck. We are getting better at judging water depth/ramp position to the various tides. Thanks for your insights. M

@@SVHideAwaySailingHideAway I understand your concerns ! I’ve had that issue, no travel lift. I used the winch on the trailer to slowly let the boat and trailer go further into the water while the truck sat higher up on the ramp. We were able to retrieve the boat the same way once the boat was floated back onto the trailer. Didn’t need to even get the truck tires wet 😁. Good luck, enjoy your boat, I miss sailing 😕.