Greetings from the East and the West coast

[dwkfym]

Hi everyone
I was bitten by the sailing bug a few years back in my early 20's, and now that I am finally 'growing up' I can finally afford my own boat. 
I live between Southern CA and Tampa/Orlando.  For my first boat, I thought having something solidly built and small enough for me to store/maintain/manage on my 20 something budget would be appropriate, and I thought a small compac would fit the bill.  I'll be lurking mainly, but if and when I do get a boat I will be sure to post about it.
nice to meet you all

PS:  I'll be looking for a CP16 or CP19 to keep in Florida.  If you know of any within 600 miles of Tampa please let me know

[Salty19]

Welcome to Com-pacs and the forum.  What a coincidence, I live in between CA and FL as well.  Ohio to be exact   OK that was a bad joke!

There are always 16's and 19's cropping up in FL..you won't have any trouble finding one.  If you are into restoration, either can be had fairly cheaply.

Big differences between the two.  What are you looking to do with it...that will certainly lead to the "best" choice.

[dwkfym]

Thanks! My post is misleading.  By 'growing up' i mean actually growing up, I still haven't hit 30 yet (age)

I just want a safe boat I can learn on, and perhaps venture out within visibility range, and after I am experienced, something I can take to outlying islands in Florida and such.  Right now I am leaning towards the 16 because I can store it in my garage.  Eventually I want to build a shed where I can keep a bigger boat.  

[skip1930]

Don't 'grow' the boat too big. The bigger the boat the less you go sailing.

skip.

[Glenn Basore]

DWKFYN,

I live 35 miles north of Los Angeles and have a beautiful 2006 Com Pac Eclipse for sail!
The Eclipse took the place of the 19 when they stopped making the 19.

Glenn B.

[Salty19]

The 16 does sound like a good fit.  Small enough to easily tow and store in a garage, seaworthy enough to venture in decent conditions, cheap coastwise and easy to maintain.

If you are trailering it the 16 is a lot easier to setup too. 

Check craigslist ads in FL, they pop up all the time.

[dwkfym]

thanks for all the tips guys.

DWKFYN,

I live 35 miles north of Los Angeles and have a beautiful 2006 Com Pac Eclipse for sail!
The Eclipse took the place of the 19 when they stopped making the 19.

Glenn B.

Glenn, I'm afraid something that new will be much out of my price range.  Thanks for letting me know though.  (I'm still in Torrance)

[skip1930]

The only problem I see with the Eclipse replacement for the CP-19 is that the Eclipse has no deck alongside of the dog house to walk on to move FWD for line, sail, or anchor handling. You have to walk over the top-o-cabin.  I think that is dangerous. I stand on the deck and lean my lower part of the leg against the dog house for balance.

The Eclipse bow is very pointy and I was thinking about the 'Clipper Ship bow problem' of changing the hull shape when heeled over.

skip.

[EclipseGuy]

I used to wonder about the lack of weather deck on the Eclipse and what it would be like going forward. Now that I own an Eclipse I have to say that I actually prefer this coach roof design on a small trailer-sailor over that of having the narrow weather decks.

Unlike many small trailer sailors with cabins, the Eclipse coach roof is actually very low. The low profile coach roof means that you do not have to step up much to step on the coach roof. I find that it is a comfortable step up to the coach roof, then once I am on the coach roof I can move around in a more natural position (my feet actually under my hips and shoulders), as apposed to the tight-rope maneuvers I would have to perform on the narrow weather decks on my West Wight Potter 19 and Sanibel 18.

The coach roofs on both my WWP 19 and Sanibel 18 were very high in comparison to the coach roof of the Eclipse (several inches of difference). This may not be immediately noticeable when looking at photos or spec sheets, but it makes a huge difference when stepping onto a coach roof. The Eclipse coach roof is low enough to be a comfortable step from the cockpit.
 






   

[Glenn Basore]

DWKFYM,

Torrance !.......Been in an about there many times years ago.

I live in Castaic, 12 miles north of Magic Mountain................

May be some day we can get a sail in together.

Glenn B.