Personal Request!

[Gstew]

I am learning the "perfect" sailboat does not exist, selecting a sailboat is a series of tradeoffs. Without going into all of my constraints, I have narrowed it down to three models. The one I keep returning to is the Com-Pac Horizon Cat. My primary concern is how comfortable will I feel aboard for extended periods. I need to sit inside one to get a feel for its size, or lack thereof. I am located in Logan, Utah and hoping there is one within a day's drive with a friendly enough owner to invite me aboard. I don't need a sail (although that would be fun), just a chance to try it on before I pull the trigger on a purchase.

[CaptRon28]

For a 20 foot sailboat, it's got decent room down below. Not sure if anything else in this size would be much better.What bothers me most is that I'm about 6 feet tall and I miss being able to stand up. I can do maybe 3 days on the boat before I start going crazy. Out of curiosity - what are the other two boats?

If you ever make it down to Florida you'd be welcome.

[49captain]

We had an Island Packet 29 but sold it about a year ago.  It was getting too big for us at our age.  We searched for two years, starting before we sold the IP,  to find the "ideal" boat.  The Marshall 22 is a great boat with lots of room in the cockpit and below.  If trailerability (is that word?) is necessary it's probably not the best boat but they are really great.
We looked at both the Horizon DayCat and the Horizon "cruiser",  the cruiser has decent room below for two but four is about the most you can fit in the cockpit.  If you want cabin room it is great.  We contacted Gerry and he arranged for us to sit in one of the boats that he had sold and the client was kind enough to let us look at.  We did like the cabin
We wanted more room in the cockpit so we also looked at the DayCat, which is what we bought.  The DayCat has a great cockpit.  The cabin is small.  If you are used to backpacking in a small tent, as we had done for years, then the cabin is  almost OK.  We did fit a C-Head composting toilet in the cabin instead of the standard porta-potti (one of the most detestable inventions ever conceived). 
The Horizon cruiser has the best cabin, small but well laid out and fairly comfortable if you are holed up during a storm.  We have cruised in our DayCat for four day's at a time and find it to be fine.  We cook in the cockpit and often sleep in the cockpit as well, although the small tent on the beach is a bit more comfortable.
We like the Horizon's sailing characteristics although it doesn't point up as well as a sloop.  The shallow draft and beachability are great.  It's a solid boat.  We probably would have gone with the cruiser version but we often take people daysailing with us so we wanted the larger cockpit. 
Have fun with your search.  There is not a huge selection of catboats out there so you can reasonably cover most of the possibilities.  I do recommend ComPac.  They build a good boat.
If you contact Gerry at ComPac he may put you onto someone near you who has a ComPac.

[bruce]

I was curious how many HCs might be in your area, so I checked around a bit. The first question I had was, how many HCs have been built. Using the HINs of the 5 HCs listed in the Registry on this list, and the HIN of the first HC (posted on the Lounge on 2/16/07, built in October '01), I estimate that there are about 143 HCs out there, and only some of those are on this list. The most recent HIN listed was for a '15 HC, built in December of '14, hull number #107. Based on this data, HCs were being built at the rate of 0.68/month in '15, that rate was carried forward to get to 143. As expected, the rate of production was highest early in the run, and declined in time.

Knowing nothing about sailing in Logan, I Google earthed to see three lakes that might be tempting with a HC: Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake, and Bear Lake. Checking out marinas there, I see a mix of watercraft, some sailboats, but no catboats caught my eye. I checked Craigslist to get a sense of the used market, searching 200 miles from Logan, and I got 5 hits for sail-powered boats. 3 of those were actually sailboats, two sloops and a catamaran.

It would be fun to hear what else you're considering. I hope you do get a chance to see a HC, but a day's drive might not work out. Good luck in your search!

[PJ]

I just returned from a solo 6 day sail at the Florida 120 event.  Slept on our 2004 Horizon Cat for 5 nights.  Plenty of room, comfortable berths at anchorage.   Cooked aboard with the standard butane stove.  Fresh water on demand via the manual pump faucet.  I could stay aboard for multiple weeks provided there was shoreline to get off and walk from time to time.  Only thing I miss is standing headroom that I had in our Flicka.  Somewhat slow in light winds compared to others in the event of similar size,  but made up for it once winds hit 10.  Very happy with our full cabin Horizon Cat purchase.

[Gstew]

Thanks for the responses, many are confirming thoughts I had about the Horizon Cat. I am  6'-2" and my wife is 5'-10" and a bit claustrophobic. My wife and I need to sit in one. Once I decide on a model, I have no concern traveling across the country to pick it up. I may have to travel across the country to sit in one. I am originally from Illinois, and go back to visit every so often. I saw there was one in Peoria. I may have to make a phone call and hope for the best.

This boat and sailing it is my retirement plan. Because I live in Logan, Utah, my first requirement is the boat needs to travel at 70 mph on the interstate to get to the desired boating location. It also needs to be easy to rig, launch, sail, and return to the trailer since I will be single-handing it 75% of the time. After getting familiar with the boat and the electronics used today, my plans are to tackle the great loop and Pacific northwest. Because the great loop is in the plans I feel I need a inboard diesel. And finally, price is always an issue; a used Horizon Cat is in the ball park. As you can see, the Horizon Cat meets most of my requirements, with only interior size as an issue. PJ, I was encourage by your description of your 6 day sail in your Horizon Cat. The great loop will give me many opportunities to get off the boat and visit the local areas.

The other two boats that have made my short list are the Com-Pac 23 Pilothouse. This boat seems to check all of the boxes with regard to comfort. It is more than I wish to spend and since it hasn't been out that long, used ones are still above what I want to spend. From what I have read, sailing to windward is not one of its strengths. The final concern is personal, it doesn't look like what I envision a sailboat should look like. Perhaps I would get over this bias of mine after riding out a rain storm or swarm of No-See-Ums or Green-head flies in the comfort of the pilothouse.

The final boat thus far is the Seaward 26rk. Use ones are available in the mid 50's, again above what I would like to spend. The sailing characteristics seem to be great. Not as easy to rig, launch, sail, and return to the trailer, but do-able by one-person. Interior comfort is very good. One concern is the dagger style keel and rudder my not take the stresses of an encounter with a solid object below the water line at hull speed. The Horizon has both a swing center board and rudder.

I am enjoying the process of finding the "perfect" boat, but looking forward to phase 2, sailing and getting familiar with my selection.