Picnic Cat questions from a newbie

[Glogg]

Hi All,

This looks like an excellent group, I am glad to have joined !!

I don't currently own a Com-Pac but I am seriously considering the Picnic Cat, I currently sail a Zuma dinghy and the PC would be a great upgrade.

I have a couple of questions for the group.

1) Will the Picnic Cat fit in a garage?  My garage has a 7 foot door and it is a little hard to determine from photos on the web how high the mast stub and cradle are when the boat is on the trailer. I live in a town house and association rules will not permit me to store a boat outside also my driveway is short and slopes downto the street so garaging a boat is my only real option.

2) How heavy is the actual boat/trailer package? I know the displacement listed for the boat is 500 lbs. I have a Jeep that is rated to tow 2000 lbs. so I should be fine, but I just want to double check with actual owners to see how much towing margain I have. The lakes I sail on are 70  - 100 miles away with some serious elevation changes to deal with.


Thank you for your help and advice and I hope you are all out there enjoying your boats !!!

- Paul

[Steve Ullrich]

Welcome Glogg,

I have a Com-Pac 16/3 and it fits in my garage without any problems.  The Picnic Cat is two feet shorter so you shouldn't have any problems at all getting that in a garage.  Here are the specs for the Picnic Cat: http://www.com-pacyachts.com/trailerable-catboats/picnic-cat.html

While you are shopping around you might want to take a look at the Com-Pac 16 as well.  Hutchins built a lot of them and most are still on the water.  You can find them in good condition for around $2000 if you keep your eyes open. Here are some links for you to look at related to the Com-Pac 16.  I kept the links while doing my own shopping last winter.  I bought my 16 this spring for $2000. Boat, trailer, motor, sails...

http://www.tays.com/compac/reviews/compac16.html
http://www.c-2.com/reviews/revread.tpl?fno=499.18&id=11387742572077680
http://www.sailingtexas.com/cboats99compac16.html
http://www.msog.org/models/m15/sbj1.cfm
http://www.photoboto.com/psyched_up.htm - This guy might be nuts...

Steve

Hi All,

This looks like an excellent group, I am glad to have joined !!

I don't currently own a Com-Pac but I am seriously considering the Picnic Cat, I currently sail a Zuma dinghy and the PC would be a great upgrade.

I have a couple of questions for the group.

1) Will the Picnic Cat fit in a garage?  My garage has a 7 foot door and it is a little hard to determine from photos on the web how high the mast stub and cradle are when the boat is on the trailer. I live in a town house and association rules will not permit me to store a boat outside also my driveway is short and slopes downto the street so garaging a boat is my only real option.

2) How heavy is the actual boat/trailer package? I know the displacement listed for the boat is 500 lbs. I have a Jeep that is rated to tow 2000 lbs. so I should be fine, but I just want to double check with actual owners to see how much towing margain I have. The lakes I sail on are 70  - 100 miles away with some serious elevation changes to deal with.


Thank you for your help and advice and I hope you are all out there enjoying your boats !!!

- Paul

[Potcake boy]

Glogg - welcome to the forum - it is the best place for Compac conversation outside of the bar.

Yes PC will fit in a standard garage (just) - but you may need to remove the motor to do so.

I had a PC and it towed easily behind my Jeep Wrangler 6cyl - so no problem there.  The PC trailer doesn't require brakes so as you can see, it's pretty easy to stop as well.

The best family daysailor out there IMHO.  A snap to rig - roomy - stable - easy to sail with passengers aboard (no scrambling over some one to get to a control).  She also sails better than I had expected, and points reasonably well.  All in all a very accommodating vessel.  I only parted with mine for a 19 because I needed a small coastal cruiser.

I rigged a electric motor on mine with a group 27 battery right in the forward storage hatch in front of the centerboard trunk.  Really made a difference in her sailing as moving the overall weight forward brought her nicely on her lines. Weight on the transom is bad, so if you go for gas outboard you might go for the lightest thing available.

Good luck with that and keep us informed.


Ron

[fafnir]

Whatever jeep you have it will tow it fine,  I just pulled a Montgomery 17 with my 4 cylinder wrangler without any problems.  If you have a cherokee or a liberty, they make excellent towing vehicles.  I regularly pulled a Ranger 23 with my old Cherokee. 

[Glogg]

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies and info !!!  I have a Jeep Wrangler with a V-6 so towing should not be a problem.

- Paul