HOW DID YOUR COMPAC FIND YOU?

[frank]

I have grown up on the water on the Delmarva Peninsula, from fishing on a 50+ acre pond to spending weekends on the Choptank River.  I learned to sail on a plastic coated styro-foam Snark sailboat.  Fast forward to 1991 when I met my wife.  To make our relationship work, she advised that I had to do two things-learn to sail and play tennis. The sailing was easy, but I never really accomplished the tennis part.  After we got married, we both sailed on the Rehoboth Bay racing Sunfish sailboats.  But the "big" boats in the marina kept calling us.  The Catalina 22's, Catalina 25's, Tanzer 22's, etc.  In 1994 we bought our first "big" boat, a Tanzer 22 with a swing keel.  This was a great boat, fast, very seaworthy with a large cockpit.  But time went by, and the family grew-so in 1998 when the twins came, the Tanzer went.  We still had the Sunfish, but no longer raced.  Then in 2008 we had the opportunity to buy a Catalina 22 with a trailer.  That boat was alot of work to restore, and so was the trailer.  But we sailed it for several years, but ended up selling it for family reasons.  This past Summer, my wife came to me and let me know our name had come up again for a slip where we sail and that she really wanted to get another "big" boat.  But wisdom dictated what type of boat we wanted.  Shoal draft with no swing keel, trailerable so we could store it at home and work on it when time permitted, finally we didn't want a massive project boat.  We looked at several boats, to far gone, to much work, trailer in poor condition or too much money.  Then one morning I read a Craig's List ad, "1986 ComPac with trailer and motor-$2,000".  What size ComPac was it, what condition was it in?  I called, and after speaking to the the couple selling the boat, getting many more details we bought the boat, sight unseen (no pictures either).  A 1986 ComPac 23! Either we made a great purchase or committed a big mistake.  Since we could not pick the boat up for a full week, the anticipation was killing us.  When we finally went to pick the boat up in Annapolis, the boat was better than we expected. The interior was perfect and the boat was well equipped-it even came with dishes.  A Performance Trailer with new tires, roller-furling,  almost new 2 stroke Tohatsu 8 h.p. motor, bimini, depth finder, dock lines, fenders, ladder, and a gin-pole setup the owner had made. I had always loved the classic lines of a ComPac 23, but never considered I would ever own one.  Other than a few maintenance items the boat only needed a good cleaning.  Funny thing, the previous owner bought the boat in an estate sale in Lewes, Delaware and now the boat is back in Delaware after sailing on the Chesapeake since 2001. So how did our ComPac find us-being the first to call, taking a leap of faith and good karma.

Very neat story.....

Good for you!!!!!!!!

[cal27sailor]

I grew up in Southern California and spend much of my youth on the beach, in the water and traveling up and down the coast.  I have always had a love for the water.  But for all of the time I spent near the ocean it was not until I moved to Oklahoma that I learned to sail.  My first sailboat was a 1972 Cal 27. I had her for almost ten years on various Oklahoma lakes.  During that time I also bought a Catalina 22 for racing.  I liked the size and handling of the little Catalina but still suffered from "2 foot-itus" when it came to sailboats.  Three years ago I sold my Cal 27 and purchased a 1978 Islander 28.  Great boat, inboard diesel, lots of sails, furler, etc..  But like all bigger boats the Islander has big boat expenses and projects.  I find that I spend more hours working and maintaining her than sailing her.  Sailing has always been a stress relief for me and as I have gotten older I really need the outlet more and more.  I also wanted a boat that I could take on summer trips and explore other lakes and even the Gulf.  So this past summer we started looking for another boat.

I had always admired Compacs.  I had read enough about them to know that they were well built, easy to sail, very forgiving and stable.  There was really no decision to be made when it came to what brand of boat to buy but only which size Compac.  After looking at several, reading lots of reviews and evaluating my needs we decided on a Compac 19.  Of course finding one anywhere near Oklahoma or Arkansas was a challenge.  I checked every Craigslist post, Internet site, and every other outlet for a suitable boat.  I eventually found two....one 900 miles away in Ohio and one 1400 miles away in North Carolina.  It looked like we were going on a road trip!  The boat in Ohio seemed to be the best option if it was all it appeared to be in photos and discussions I had with the owner.  She was a 1981 Compac 19 that had only had two owners.  She had been well maintained, upgraded when needed and sailed gently.  So off we went to Northeast Ohio.  She was all her owner had stated and even more.  A new furler, good sails, strong outboard, perfect hull and deck without any cracking and never having been painted.  The 34 year old gelcoat was near perfect.  It was an easy decision.  She was soon on her way home to NW Arkansas.

Though we have only had "Rita Marlene" for a few months we have really enjoyed her.  We took her on a ten day vacation to the Door County Pennisula in Wisconsin where we sailed on Green Bay.  As great as she looked on her trailer she was a classic beauty on the water.  We had lots of admiring looks and comments from other sailors on our trip.  We expect that this will be just the start of the adventures we have on our Compac 19.  She is now put away for the year and I am already looking forward to the Spring when we can be out on the water again.

[alsantini]

Like most of you I have been sailing for a while - actually 44 years...  good God, I am getting old !!  Anyway, I sailed a couple of times a year until the '90's when I finally bought a new Zuma for the Lake that we owned property on (lake Summerset - Davis Illinois)  After 2 summers I was into the 2 foot larger will be great mindset.  I bought a used Catalina Capri 16, kept it for 2 summers and then bought a sweet Precision 18, 2 summers later a Precision 21 - and was happy for 13 years.  The P-21 did everything I wanted her to do except travel.  Stepping the beast of a mast, putting on the boom, sails, etc would take a couple of hours.   So 3 years ago I decided that I wanted a boat that would sail well, sleep reasonably, motor well and the biggy, travel well.  During the winter I sailed on a Com Pac SunCat and loved how easy it was to step the mast.  I was hooked and began looking into Com Pac.  After 6 months of thinking I settled in on the Eclipse and have not looked back.  In the water in 15-20 minutes, great sailing, stable, and a cabin to boot.  I found 2 Eclipses - one in Mich and the other in Kansas.  I put in an offer in on the Mich boat but lost it by 10 minutes - damn.  Talked to the Kansas owner and brought the future Off The Wind home in April of 2014.  Boat spends summers in Pistakee Lake in a marina and winters in Florida as a trailer sailor. I now have the best of both worlds and a boat that will be mine for years to come since it does everything I want/need in a boat.  I have hull number 49 and she is a 2007 Eclipse.  What a great boat - for me...  your mileage may vary...     Al

[Mas]

So...not only do we find Compacs and they find us, but they find each other! No Mas now knows she has a sibling about 3 miles way. Born same year, same birthing center. Aww...They are already hoping to have some play dates!.

[Mas]

Well it's time to find our first Compac, a 16. Got a thread going on the CP16 group and hot on the trail with an old, well really old, registration number.  She found us over 30 years ago and now its time to find her.