First Sail

[fafnir]

I finally was able to put the Compac 16 I bought last fall into the water yesterday.  Winter seems to have ended in MN, but I am a little early for putting the boat in,  the dock at the boat launch wasn't even in the water yet.  Our new (to us) compac 16 is not our first sailboat, nor is it our only sailboat, we still have a Ranger 23, and a Kolibri 12 but I do think it will be the sailboat we use the most and the other boats will probably be up for sale shortly, although parting with the Ranger is going to be hard.

The conditions yesterday were perfect for trying out a new boat. Wind was only 0-5 mph so very relaxing sailing conditions and the temperature was warm but not uncomfortable and the lake was completely free of other boats with the exception of one pontoon boat, this lake is usually packed with people in the summer as it is a small lake in a busy suburb.

I was surprised at how well the boat sailed with the small amount of wind we had. I keep hearing that the compac doesn't do well in light air, but I will strongly disagree now with what those people said, I was pleased with the light air performance and this was with old sails.

We were only on the lake for about an hour, as this was the first time we left our 7 month old daughter with her Grandma so we didn't want to be gone too long. 

Setup time was about 45 minutes, takedown time was about 15 minutes, I imagine I will be able to dramatically improve the setup time.

My wife who won't set foot on the Kolibri 12 and thinks our Ranger 23 is kind of small (she grew up near Vancouver and her sailing experience was on her uncles boat, 36ft) was pleasantly surprised by how much she enjoyed our sail yesterday and is happy we bought the boat.

Regards,
Chad

[saillover]

The CP16 is a great boat. I took my stepdaughter out for her first sail in mine and she was all smiles.
Fair winds