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This discussion makes me yearn for the days of olde when we had moorings...

I've only had a season and bit with Virago so far, so I too am learning just how much fun backing up a Contessa can be...but here's what I've found works so far for getting out of my slip (I mean getting the boat out of her slip!).  It involves using the wind, and a bit of the old heave-ho as Jim R. described.  I don't think it matters what side of the dock you use with this technique, although I suspect being port side to (as Virago is) helps because of the prop walk.  Ok, here goes....

Lets assume that all slips accessable by foot are attached to the land at one end, we'll call this end the "shore", and that the other end is open to seaward and we'll call this end "seaward".  This is written by a single-hander so there is no reference to crew.  Crew is handy but not a given.  What is a given is that these boats weathercock somewhat, that means that any wind that's blowing will move the bow downwind relative to the stern.

First scenario - wind is blowing from shore to seaward.  Walk the boat out of the slip as far as possible, hop on and use reverse enough to get the boat clear of the slip and neighbouring boats.  At this point you don't have to get the stern anywhere in particular,  all you are doing is trying to get the bow clear of obstacles so it can swing down wind and point to seaward.  Obviously the more room the better and if she's behaving back up as far as you can, but as long as the bow has room to swing clear you're ok.  Once clear of the slip, put the engine in neutral and let the boat naturally weathercock in the direction you want it to go.  It seems that sometimes the best thing to do is to remove the disruptive forces of the reversing prop. and rudder as soon as possible and let the boat sort itself out for a minute, then use the more effective forward forces when she starts to come around.  This is also my preferred technique if the wind is blowing from the stern (blowing the boat into the slip) as the weathercock effect will help the boat back up straighter so I can go back farther for more swing room.

Second scenario - wind is blowing from seaward to shore.  This has the potential to be way more embarassing.  Again, the trick is to get enough room to let the boat do what it wants to do naturally, which means the bow will swing down wind.  Get the boat out of the slip as above, but now the bow wants to swing towards shore.  Usually the boat will want to reverse hard in one direction or the other, usually to port because of the prop walk.  Let it.  Keep the stern coming around hard until it is facing the row of slips you just left- what you are trying to do is gain swinging room for the bow.  Once you are facing stern-to-stern with your neighbours a few boats down, use the engine in forward to initiate the turn out to sea.  This is also my preferred technique for when the wind is blowing on the bow when in the slip because the bow will fall off one way or the other as I am trying to back out anyway, so I just let it happen and back all the way around to get room to manoever the bow.   This is also the technique I use to recover when I farkle things up using the first technique...

This may sound like I have everything under control, which would be a lie.

I use methyl hydrate (a.k.a. denatured alcohol, or wood alcohol) from my local hardware store.  Burns well and I don't get a foul odour from it.  A 4 litre jug is about $11.00.  Does the stuffing under the grating look charred?  Mine looks a bit discoloured with a brownish black, but it doesn't look burnt.  I have a two burner Origo in my boat and a Heat Pal heater/cooker units in my land cabin, which I have used plenty, and I've never had a problem like the one you describe.

Some wires in my boat also run along inside the settee lockers but they are protected by plywood "false bottoms" that the previous owners installed.  They put in lengths of plywood that are raised about two inches or so along the inboard edge thus accomplishing three things: it makes a level area on which to put my storage bins (as long as the boat's level...), it keeps stuff out of the wires, and it keeps stuff out of any condensation that might pool in there.  It works well.

Virtually all boats with a deck stepped mast have wires coming through the cabin roof to feed the steaming light, mast head light, radio antenna etc., that's not specific to the Contessa.  One thing I do to keep the wires neat and out of the way is tape any slack in the wire to the mast, that way I am not likely to catch it with my toe when at the mast and yank one out, or have the genoa sheets do it for me.

As for the rest of it, as you said; all boats are a compromise.   Browse around this forum (hint: read all the entries for a topic, not just the last entries), and you'll get all kinds of ideas about how to trim your Contessa in a way that suits you.  For example, Varuna has her batteries under the companion way steps, and there was a discussion about the possible use of soft fuel tanks, and one about moving head holding tanks.  And pretty well every boat known to man, regardless of the boat, gets tweeked by each owner to suit themselves - that's part of the fun of having a boat.

For the size and design of the boat (low volume, heavy displacement) the Contessa has a lot crammed in it and it's done in a workable way.  If you want to compare apples and oranges, compare the Contessa 26 with a CS 27.  For one foot more length you get twice the interior space, standing headroom, and a good, seaworthy boat that's also a fair bit dryer.  But you'll also gain pounding in rough seas, a lot more windage, a boat that will not keep a course nearly so well, greater risk of broaching... Only time spent in boats will tell you what you want or don't want in a boat.

re-reading what I just wrote, I'll modify it by saying that good weather can persist into late Sept. or even early October, although I have been on the same ship in a nasty snow storm up there in mid-Oct.  The later you go, the harder it is to get  enough days of benign weather in a row to get from one safe place to another.

too cool!  these here new-fangled computer thingys never cease to amaze me.  Thanks Pogo for putting the illustrations to my attempt at instructions.

Ok Jose, this one's for you...I don't have the technology nor the know-how to post pictures, so here's the instructions on how to make a rope stopper for your hanks.  It took me a while to figure out how to explain this.

The short version:  Make several layers of west country whipping until you get a thickness suitable to make a stopper.

The long version:  How to do west country whipping.  To do WC whipping you have to be able to do a simple overhand knot - that's half a reef knot, or the over-and-under thing you do before the bow when you tie your shoes.  Take about a foot of very light line or rather heavy string, start in the middle with even lengths on either side.  Tie an overhand knot on one side of the wire where it meets the turnbuckle.  Now, pass the ends of the line around to the other side of the wire and tie another overhand knot above the first bit of line.  Keep doing that, one side then the other, pulling the knots snug and firming them down on the one below - that's west country whipping.  Keep going for, say, six or 8 passes, or more if you want to be extravagant.  As whipping, once you got enough passes on the rope you were finishing you would tie off the last course with a reef knot or two, then singe the ends of the whipping twine.  For this job, however, what you'll do is start working down over the whipping you've just done and make it two layers thick.  Once you get to the bottom, turn and go up again for three layers.  Do this until you have enough to stop your hanks or until you run out of string.  Just to make it look mildly spiffy, I made each pass a few courses shorter than the last so that the work bulged slightly in the middle.  It sounds very yachty, but really it's just a pile of knots.  As the late canoe guru Bill Mason once wrote: if you don't know knots, tie lots.

My boat will be on the hard just after Christmas too, about as hard as all the water for as far as I can see!  Happy sailing you with the soft water in December!

I had the same problem and came up with a dirt simple solution that looks pretty good too.  All I did was take a piece of light line and tied a large decorative knot at the junction of the wire and the turnbuckle.  Actually I used a style of whipping, but the net result is a small doughnut of string in the required spot - it works, it's cheap and it looks "sailorly".

I have an '85 JJT, I am 5'9" tall, and I can stand up comfortably only under the deck hump by the companionway.  I have room enough to stand and do up my pants, or pull on/off my rain suit.  On the other hand, the mid-ships hatch found in the later boats is a great place to make like a prairie dog.  The hatch is close enough to the galley area that I can stand while cooking if the hatch is open.  While moving about in the main salon I have to duck, but I don't have to actually bend over until I go past the galley heading forward.  That's the optimists take - ask my gentleman friend who is 6'4" what he thinks and you'd get a different opinion...

After all that, never mind!  I got the measurements from a local boat whose owner showed up.