History of 19

[vigsail]

Greetings all,
Just purchased a 19 (#361) and am trying to find a bit of history on this model -- years of manufacture, hulls built etc...
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Look forward to the boat and the forum.
Regards,
  Mike

[Craig]

Mike,

Congrats on the new boat.  

I can't give you too much on the history.  I know it was added to the line after the 23.  It was designed by Rob Johnson (Island Packet Yachts).  The hull shape is different from the Clark Mills designed 16 and 23 - flatter bottom giving more initial stability, and it pounds a bit more in a chop.

My suspicion is that the factory has a little blurb on the history of the 19 somewhere they could send you.  If you request it and they have it and send it, pass it on to the Captain so he can post it here.

Craig

[mgoller]

Hi Mike,
I have the 2 page pdf brochure for the 19/3.  I have a great book - Handbook of Trailer Sailing Volume I, by Robert Burgess.  Talks about the Com-Pac's extensively including design concepts and characteristics of the CP 19.  CP 16 and 19 are compared contrasted.  I believe you can purchase this book from Com-Pac.  Look on their web site in their accessories  section.  There is a nice review of the Com-Pac 19 vs the Sanibel 17 somewhere on the web.  Type in sanibel 17 compac 19 and see if it doesn't come up.  (small boat journal #54)  This 19II had the galley.  Sailing characteristics are described as well as likes and dislikes.  The old cpyoa site had the specifications for the Com-Pac 19.  I bet someone can retrieve this information and post it on the site.  I have a hard copy, but it only has specifications for the 19 not the later models.  

The 19 was introduced in 1982. The idea was the 16 was too small for some and the 23 was too large for others.  The 19 would be a mid size, still trailerable and maybe brought on by the success of the Catalina 22 displacing about 2000 lbs and trailerable.  The original 19 was pretty bare with a painted interior instead of hull liner.  The upholstery was a light blue corded material with a dark blue trim.  The carpet was a dark blue shag.
The bow sprit with larger jib was added in 1984 to lessen the weather helm.  The interior was upgraded at this time as well including hull liner, headliner, new plush brown and gold upholstery color, teak battens along the hull interior and a change to the rode locker which hid the rode better.  The bow pulpit and stern rails were made standard and upgraded to polished stainless. From what I can tell Bob Johnson refined the CP23 with some interior improvements about this time as well.
With the advent of the CP19III winches were added on the mast for the halyards and many of the previous options became standard.
The CP 19xl with all the options was discontinued finally after a long run last year as the new Eclipse was taking its place.  Somewhere I read the molds were worn out.  I know close to five hundred were made.    
I was told recently by my sail maker that the original 3.9 oz dacron sails were cheap and that Com-Pac was cutting costs with the lighter material.  I thought this was a strange comment because so far as I can tell no corners were cut in making these boats.  Why would Com-Pac save $20 on sail material.  I think 3.9 oz dacron may be designed for lighter air and for the type of sailing expected of com-pac customers.  I would be interested in someone's opinion as I am about to buy a new genoa.  My sailmaker is advising 5 oz dacron or at least 4 oz.[/u]

[Craig]

Marcus,

I would trust a local sailmaker to give you good advice on what material is best for your sails.  The lighter material may be more appropriate for Florida sailing.

Craig

[vigsail]

Marcus,
Thanks for the run-down.
--Mike

[Craig Weis]

The CP 19 XL. XL is for a fiberglass insert for the inside of the cabin. It is white and brightens up the inside, plus it fits within a few millmeters of the outside glass, giving just a wee bit more interior room. Check out the difference between howfar the 4" round ports stick out on a standard 19 vs. an XL 19. The difference is the interior room gained on the XL. skip.

[Shawn Morrow]

I copied this from the old Com-Pac owners site when I was looking around for my first sailboat.  Thought it would be good to add it to this thread just for completeness.

"Com-Pac 19 facts

The Com-Pac 19s are the hardest of all trailerable sailboats to find in the used boat market, harder yet to get the owners to list them. After my last letter, mailed to one hundred forty CP 19 owners, I managed to list four. In October I sold three of them in one week, two went to out-of-towners who bought them like pigs-in-poke, sight unseen.

This Com-Pac looks like all others but isn't the same because Bob Johnson, the designer, put a different under body on her. The long and short of this is the Com-Pac 19 is stiffer than her cousins the CP 16 and CP 23. If the wind pipes up you will be the last boat to reef or change sails. What is nice about her stiffness is that you can fly your 150% genoa from the get-go and most likely keep it up for most day sailing conditions.

The Com-Pac 19 was introduced in 1982 and like the CP 16 remained the same until 1985.

The Mark II version with bow sprit and teak interior with fiberglass headliner, introduced as the CP 19/II in 1985, and runs from Hull #266 to present model.

Tan hulls marked the Model CP 19/2, began with hull #412 (1987).

It was back to white hulls in 1988 starting with Hull #448, Model CP 19/3, and I believe halyards that led aft started then. All types of minor modifications and equipment were added thought the CP 19s history but to my knowledge no structural changes have been made.

Courtesy of A Barking Dog Sailors Log, Volume 1 Issue 1, November 1992"

[pelican]

My 19 is hull # 1 .... It is titled as 1981 although it may have been introduced in 1982. After owning several smaller and larger boats, we found the perfect boat for our needs in the C19.

Enjoy your boat!
Terry

[mikeg]

Mike,

Marcus already mentioned Small Boat Journal. That vs. Sanibel review is pretty awesome. They mention Gerry Hutchins, the owner of Compac in that one.

But also, Small Craft Advisory magazine published a review of the Compac 19/II in their first (maiden) issue--- which I think was back in 2000. When I was looking at CP19's early last year (We eventually bought our 1987 Compac 19 last July) I felt the SCA review would be good read, so I ordered that back issue online. It's issue #1 I think. The early issues were like a booklet-- as opposed to the fullflegded magazine it is now. That issue also has a nice article about some dude who sailed from Vancouver BC up to Alaska on a WWP 14 back in the day.

Anyway, welcome to the group and the Compac is a fantastic boat.
Mike G.
s/v Freebird- Alachua, FL

[mikeg]

Correction, guys. I erred in part of my post.

The boat SCA reviewed in issue #1 has to have been a Compac 19/III, not a II. The II was no longer in production in 2000...or whenever that fairly recent article was written.