Bought (another) ComPac 23

[jhansen1951]

I just wanted to say "Hello!" to everyone.  This seems to be a great website.  I have just purchased a 1979 ComPac 23 in great shape.  It's evident that its previous owner(s) took very good care of her.  I owned one of its sisters back in the 80's and loved the boat until one of the vagaries of life (polite phrase for divorce) forced me to sell her.  

ComPac 23's are a bit rare in this part of the world and when I finally managed to get back into sailing it was in a Catalina 22.  I was never happy with the Cat and sold it last year.  When I went looking this time I found the usual makes and models of boats on the used market.  Then I spotted the ad for the ComPac.  The price was so "right" that I wasn't expecting much when my wife and I went out to look.  We were both surprised.  After about an hour of poking and prodding, my wife said "Hon, I think this is our boat."  I bought it.

If you see a familiar looking boat on Lake Travis near Austin, Texas, wave.  That will probably be us.

Fair winds and smooth sailing to all.

John

[Craig]

John,

Congrats on the "new" boat. Since you owned a 23 you know all about the virtues and vices of Com-Pacs. I've sailed on Larry Bracken's 23. Very nice boat, and great for the 3 day sail we did on the Ohio River.

Craig

[jhansen1951]

Hi Craig,
Thanks for the good wishes.  We took her out for the first real sail today.  Same boat I remember.  Not exactly a racehorse when it comes to acceleration but stable and comfortable.  I never wanted to race anyway.  The plus side of all that weight is that tacking is almost foolproof.  Once she is moving she wants to keep moving and swings her bow across the wind like she means business.  I don't remember ever putting my former C-23 in irons.

Fair winds and smooth sailing,
John

[Craig]

John,

What struck me in going from the 16 to the 23 is that the 23 behaves just like the 16, only in slow motion. I finally got Larry out on my 16 and he liked it so much he bought one and sails both. He commented that I was right. the 16 behaves just like the 23 only in fast forward! And your right, the 23 is no racehorse, but it's not a slug either. We out distanced a MacGreggor 26X on the Ohio. Admittedly the skipper did not have his sails trimmed too well, but still nice to overtake a boat with a much longer waterline.

My brother lived in Austin until he died of cancer. He was big in animal resuce and has a raptor cage named in his memory in a park in Austin. His widow has since moved back in the Austin area after taking care of her dynig mother in St. Louis. We have not yet visited her. When we do I'll look for a 23 on the water.

Hope you get enough time to really enjoy that fine boat!
Craig

[Windhawk]

Congrats on the boat.  

Up & down, the 23 is no race horse, but on a reach in anything over 10-12 knots, she gets my attention.  I've held a steady 5.5 - 5.8 in 20 knots true, and once ran down a new C22 like she was standing still.  Of course, I was single-handed, and they had a crew of 2.

[jhansen1951]

Well, the rain Gods either smiled on us or frowned this past weekend.  If it was a smile it was because we really needed the rain.  On the frown side, I really wanted to go sailing!  Not that I've never sailed in the rain.  I have.  But it sure takes some of the fun out of it!

Instead, we settled for going out to the marina and checking out the boat for leaks.  The bilge was dry but I found a few minor leaks where the fasteners go through the cabin roof to hold on the grab rails.  That will be an easy fix with a little marine sealant.  Everything else was great.

I've always said that you never really know a body of water if you only see it on the hot days of summer.  Sunday brought us a light misty rain and clouds whose bellies hung below the tops of the hills surrounding Lake Travis.  My wife and I watched Blue Herons flapping from perch to perch over the water and a hawk who seemed perturbed that the clouds prevented his soaring as high as he would have liked.  The mist alternately hid and then revealed details on the far shore.  It was a perfect day, even if we weren't under sail.

Fair winds and smooth sailing to all.

John

[steve brown]

Hi John, Congratulations on your new 23. The 23 and the 16 handle very much alike as they they were both designed by Clark Mills of Optimist pram fame. Good Old Boat issue no. 40 has a very good article on Com-Pac Yachts. While on Lake Travis you might run into my son Jim Brown. He is a member of the sail club there and crews frequently on J-boats when he is not out on his Southcoast. He also takes his turn on the Committee boats during races. If you need any sail repairs look him up. He is currently making me a 155 Genoa for my CP-19 Odina Aurore. He can also make great cockpit tarps and head sail bags of which I am a proud owner. Fine sailing to you and all. Steve

[Craig Weis]

John...A good selection the 23, and your wife sounds wonderful. "Hon, I think this is our boat."
Now how did you get your wife to say that!  :wink: skip.

[jhansen1951]

Skip,
I don't quite know what to say about my wife except that I am one very lucky man.  Our "new" boat is named "Straight Arrow".  I chose that name because of a chance comment made years ago.  My wife is a prosecutor with the local district attorneys office.  We ran into a judge one day and, after my wife walked away, he said "You've got one straight arrow there".  I couldn't agree more.

John

[Craig Weis]

So I'm looking out he window at the snow coming down. Texas hey? Sounds warm to me.  How big is the lake sailed on in the Com-Pac?
And by mid-summer are the water levels so low that a skateboard is necessary under the keel to slide up to the dock?  :wink: skip.

[jhansen1951]

Skip,
Funny you should mention warm.  After weeks of temperatures in the upper 70's to mid 80's we have had a cool down.  There's even a freeze warning out for tonight in the Hill Country.  Weird.  One of the things I love about this area is that it seldom gets very cold.  I hope this is the last fling of winter around here.

Lake Travis covers 18,622 acres and has a maximum depth of 190'.  It is currently about 10' low due to the drought but there's still 30' of water where the marina I use is located.  Nobody knows what the summer will bring but things would have to get really bad for the lake to become unsailable.  One things for sure, I'll still be sailing over areas that deep-keel boats avoid thanks to the shoal keel on "Straight Arrow".  

Fair winds and smooth sailing to you,
John

[Craig Weis]

Sounds like a fine lake. I'll Goggle image it and take a look see. Plenty deep for what 2'-6". skip