Just sold my 2018 Eclipse. Big mistake best boat ever but got some grand shipmates coming aboard soon so looking for a little more space. Can you weigh in with pros and cons
Thanks
Greg
I sold my 35 yr old 23 and bought a new eclipse. Have only sailed the eclipse twice so far so my experience is extremely limited. The 23 is a far larger boat than the extra 2 ft would indicate and in my opinion is much more comfortable. I'm constantly banging my head, elbows, or knees on something every time I move on the eclipse. While the 23 interior is tight, the eclipse interior feels claustrophobic to me.
On the other hand launching the eclipse is vastly easier than the 23 even though I built my own gin pole for the 23 that allowed me to raise the mast single handed. Also, the eclipse has a better mainsheet arrangement than the 23.
I bought the eclipse for its trailerability but so far I have to say that I liked sailing the 23 better. Hopefully that will change as I acclimate to the eclipse.
CP23 is a great small family boat and quite seaworthy too if you want to do some light coastal hopping and pay close attention to weather. I bought new, ordering in 2000 and taking delivery in 2001. The best seasons were when the kids were young. My kids did compained that it wasn't a planing dinghy. My daughter loved sailing the 420s. My son was partial to sunfish and I later bought him one. My wife wasn't keen on overnighting on a small boat. Too spartan for her so maybe not ideal for us. I did a fair amount of single handing out of Cape Cod, leaving by was of Chatham Break into the Atlantic and entering Nantucket Sound, usually headed for Nantucket as at least a first stop, then sometimes Marthas Vineyard, and once Block Island. Lots of (a bit old) info on my CP23 on a web page that has moved a few times, now at http://localweb.occnc.com/remote-access/ (http://localweb.occnc.com/remote-access/).
If you have any questions feel free to ask. You can send private message since I only occasionally check this forum.
Curtis