first sailboat

Hi, bought my first sailboat yesterday. 1971 CM 21, flush deck.  Needs some work but looks pretty solid.  Is there a faq on here that covers the basics?

The winch seems to work but looks terrible.  Thinking of replacing it with a regular trailer winch.  The cable looks new.

The center board pin bolt hole is more of a slot, maybe 1.25" long (curved).  Not sure what I should do there.

I think I need to get an outboard for it.  I have a 34lb trolling motor but wouldn't trust it to control the boat when the wind picks up.  What do yall recommend?
 
Sean

welcome, and gratz on your first sail boat.  you have came to the right place for good answers.

my cm 26 keel hitch was replace, when i dont know, but someone put a 600 pound trailer wench on it, and it seems to be doing fine.

not sure about your pin bolt slot.....

as far as an outboard, i have a 9.9 on my cm 26, which is more than enuf for it.  you might ask the others, but im pretty sure a 6 or 7 hp would handle your boat just fine.  no, i would not suggest that electric trolling thing

Hello SRIMES,
  I saw what looked to be a 25 foot sailboat this weekend using a rather large electric trolling motor like the one you're describing. It seemed to be moving him around pretty well once a little 'head of steam' was built up.  I think for just getting in and out of a slip and moving around a little, that motor should work fine as long as the wind and tide isn't working against you.
  At the bottom of this page, there's a 'Manual PFD' file you can down load. It's the owners manual that came with each new CM boat. It doesn't go into great detail but does describe the measurements of the rigging and specs of each boat.
terry s

Sean,

I just joined the group and read your post.  I've had my CM21 for 6 years now and love it.  If you have not already changed the winch, use caution on installing a trailer winch.  The clutch mechanism in the standard winch is very handy when lowering the keel.  As for a motor, I have a 6hp that works great.  Any more would be overkill as it hits hull speed at less than full throttle.

Rich.

Srimes welcome,
I too have the flush deck 21. I have been doing extensive re fitting. I replaced the keel cable and cleaned the winch. As another post indicates the clutch is handy for lowering the keel. That thing weighs 480 pounds. Would not be pretty if it got away. As far as your keel bolt goes. I would inlet a small square of metal into the keel trunk and then fiberglass it in. Mine has a balanced keel and you can take the keel bolt out and it will just hang there.
I have also built a tip up rudder, and am in the process of redoing the interior. Mine was a mess. Lots of dry rot.
Good luck. If I can help with anything e-mail is retired03@cableone.net. I have tried to photograph my work as I go.
Russ