Decision between 16 and 19

[crdpirate]

I am a new member of the Compac site and looking for a little help on making a decision between a compac 16 and 19.  I have hardly any sailing experience, but have a great love for the water and have spent a year reading up on sail boats, sailing how to, etc.  I narrowed my sail boat search down to a compac 16 or 19, due to the stability of compacs, the reputation, trailerability and value.  Some background that may be useful for responses:  I have a Wife, and two kids, one 4 year old and one almost 1 year old (and a dog that goes motorboating with us usually - we currently have a ski boat).  We will be sailing on a lake the majority of the time, but do want to take it to different spots on the coast when we vacation.  I have read some of the other comparisons on user posts so I feel pretty confident about my knowledge of the differences between the two, I guess I am looking for some biased responses from 16 and 19 owners about why to choose one or the other.  Maybe your experiences will strike a chord with something I havn't thought about.  One last thing, if I went with the 16 or 19 any reason to hold out for a series II, or III over the original?  Would a novice sailor miss those upgrades as much, just wondering because there is a compac 19 1982 available close by.
Thanks for the Help
Cory

[romei]

Welcome aboard crd. 

You want the 19.  I have a 16 and I've been sailing it for 2 years and I love it.  90% of the time I'm solo with my dog.  Once in a while I'll take a friend along with us and in my opinion, that's as much as a 16 is good for and have everyone be comfortable.  If fact, it's perfect for that.  Add two kids and all the stuff that you have to take along with a wife, 2 kids and a dog and you'll be glad for the extra 3 feet.

Analogy:  Sure, you can fit a wife, 2 kids and a dog in a VW beetle.  Personally, I'd rather put them all in something a little bigger where you have a little breathing room.

[Rick Klages]

Go for the 19 if you ever intend to sleep on it.

[crdpirate]

That anology was great! Going to look at the 19 tonight.  Also enjoyed reading about your grandfather on your blog.  Thanks
Cory

[TeamSlacker]

My first sailboat was a Sears Jetwind a couple years back, wanted something to sail that allowed us to stay dry and we found the CP16 and bought it.
Sure I'm always looking at boat ads and thinking it would be nice to have something bigger, but keep going back to the 16 being a perfect fit for 2 of us. I can park it in the garage when I want, it fits in the driveway, I can actually move it around by hand, launching is a non-issue and we can be under sail almost as quick as some powerboaters when we launch at the same time. At this point we wouldn't give up the 16. But like I said it's usually only the 2 of us, if we were taking kids with, there's a good chance I'd be looking for something a little bigger like the 19. On the same note, if you found a 16 locally in good condition, I'd give it a serious look.

[Steve Ullrich]

Cory - You mentioned a wife, two kids and a dog.  You also mentioned that one of your children is only a year old.  With that in mind I'd strongly encourage you to go with the 19 over the 16.  Larger cockpit, more stable under sail, a cabin that is large enough that you can put kids down for a nap in the v-birth.  Much more room for a portable toilet and a lot more room for you or your wife to help the kids with using it.  No doubt the 19 will be a little more difficult to rig as the mast is heavier but two people can do it easily enough. You might be able to do it easily enough yourself.  I used to step the mast on my O'Day 20 by myself and I'm guessing the masts weight about the same and are about equally awkward.  The 19 will require a larger tow vehicle and might not fit in your garage but that is the trade off.  If you go look at that nearby 19 check the hull, transom, standing rigging, keel and deck over carefully.  Don't worry about oxidation.  Look for solid.  Make sure the spars are straight. Sails and running rigging can be replaced easily enough, so can standing rigging for that matter. Tillers and rudders are easy to replace too. Hulls can be buffed out and bottoms are easy to paint. Cushions can be recovered. Look the trailer over as well but trailers need work from time to time.  You may want to have a trailer company check out your tires, bearings, lights even if they look good to you before taking it on the road.

Welcome to the forum.

I am a new member of the Compac site and looking for a little help on making a decision between a compac 16 and 19.  I have hardly any sailing experience, but have a great love for the water and have spent a year reading up on sail boats, sailing how to, etc.  I narrowed my sail boat search down to a compac 16 or 19, due to the stability of compacs, the reputation, trailerability and value.  Some background that may be useful for responses:  I have a Wife, and two kids, one 4 year old and one almost 1 year old (and a dog that goes motorboating with us usually - we currently have a ski boat).  We will be sailing on a lake the majority of the time, but do want to take it to different spots on the coast when we vacation.  I have read some of the other comparisons on user posts so I feel pretty confident about my knowledge of the differences between the two, I guess I am looking for some biased responses from 16 and 19 owners about why to choose one or the other.  Maybe your experiences will strike a chord with something I havn't thought about.  One last thing, if I went with the 16 or 19 any reason to hold out for a series II, or III over the original?  Would a novice sailor miss those upgrades as much, just wondering because there is a compac 19 1982 available close by.
Thanks for the Help
Cory

[multimedia_smith]

How much bigger is the Cockpit... really?  That's the question you need to ask.
16 MUCH easier to rig... 19 a handfull (especially with family waiting on you)
I go out single handed, with a friend or two or with two adults and my daughter and a friend... the kids like to go up to the pulpit sometimes or roam around to the cabin... a 16 is plenty big enough...
The round bottom of the 16 tends to handle waves better in my opinion also.
As far as dealing with the boat... launching, towing, cleaning, storing... it's a 16 for low-impact ease of boating.
Just my 2cents
Dale

[fafnir]

Will you be keeping the boat in a slip or will you be trailering every time you want to use the boat?  Without a slip, the smaller the boat, the more it will get used.  With a slip get the 19. All in my opinion of course :-)

[Brian 1851]

     As fafnir has said if the boat is always in a slip I would get a cp 19.  I have a cp 16 myself and contemplate a lot about getting a cp 19.  I have a family of four with my son being 9 and my daughter 5.  For my family there is enough room for us but if I had another child on the way that could be a deciding factor.  What I love about the 16, that is hard to give up, is towing only 1600 lbs verses around 3000 lbs for the 19, very easy setup, and I can store it in my garage.  I like to take my boat places when I go away on vacation and I think I would be less likely to do that if I had a 19.  I would like to ask the cp 19 owners if they travel with there 19 a lot or not?  The reasons above hold me back from getting a cp 19 and are some of the reasons why I love the cp 16.