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[Craig Weis]

"lazerettes are not sealed completely from the cabin area" so says Bob23. And that is a good thing. You see I have those funky spring catches used on expensive vessels on both settee hatch covers that hold them open when rolling. A touch and they fold as the cover is lowered at will.

Side bar: Once when my hatch was open some stink potter came steam boating past and my ship rolled slamming that hatch down onto my flanges...OUCH! Enough.

The best part is these hatch covers can stay open on warm breezy nights when I'm sleeping at anchor below deck.
skip.

[mrb]

Kind of after the discussion here but interesting fact if sailing calculator is factual.  CP 16 shows better than WWP19 blue water in motion and capsize categories.  Must be why I enjoy my 16 so much when the weather picks up, love that big boat motion in a small boat.

I know our boats are better but will never deride the other skipper in his or her choice of boats. The best boat on the water for each is the boat you can call your own and or dream of having next. 

Melvin

[Nicolina]

Bob, my parents-in-law met this guy with the Potter 19 in the Bahamas earlier this year; he was still cruising there, living simply and having fun. Great for him, but I don't share his view that Potters are the best blue water boats ever built!

[Bob23]

Nicolina (I forget your real name)
   I'm gonna try and track him down. He can't live more than 10 miles from my house here in NJ. Unless he went south again!
Bob23

[Toller]

I owned a Potter15 for 3 years and hated it.  It was pitifully slow in even a strong wind and pitched like crazy on every little wind shift.  Okay, I am not the most experienced sailor, but a 15' I had years ago (a MFG Bandit) was much faster and only a bit less stable.

I am looking for a better boat and the Compac 16 is pretty.  I was told on another site that it was for old people to sit out on; while it is very stable it is even slower than the P15.

I don't think I could stand anything slower than the P15; should I cross it off my list?

The other boats on my list are the Precision 15K and the Montgomery 15.  People "say" they are both faster and stabler than the P15.  Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

(I would prefer an open boat, but ballasted boats usually seem to have cabins)

[nies]

Toller, my CP 16 runs between 2 and 4 mph depending on the wind of course. She is not "fast" but not "slow" either. I have always felt she moved well. If speed is all your looking  for, I would look for a different boat......Phil    (hull speed =1.34 x square root of LWL =knots )(CP 16....1.34 x square root of 14 feet= 5.013 knots)( 1.15 knot =1.00 mph)(5.013 / 1.15= 4.36 mph max. hull speed).....sorry but my heads hurts after all this calulating.......Phil

[NateD]

According to this site: http://www.mail-archive.com/montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com/msg03731.html the PHRF (Performance Handicap Rating Formula) for the Potter 15 is about 138. According to this site: http://offshore.ussailing.org/Assets/Offshore/PHRF/High+Low+Mean+PHRF+Handicaps.pdf the PHRF for the Com-Pac 16 is 318. So, if the two boats start at the same point, the potter will reach the 1-mile mark (318-138=) 180 seconds faster than the Com-Pac. Now, I have a hard time believing the potter is actually that fast, but I can't find any other source for their PHRF rating.

The Com-Pac isn't a fast boat. I love the stability and strength of my CP16, but if your looking for something fast to day sail, the CP16 isn't the boat for you.

I owned a Potter15 for 3 years and hated it.  It was pitifully slow in even a strong wind and pitched like crazy on every little wind shift.  Okay, I am not the most experienced sailor, but a 15' I had years ago (a MFG Bandit) was much faster and only a bit less stable.

I am looking for a better boat and the Compac 16 is pretty.  I was told on another site that it was for old people to sit out on; while it is very stable it is even slower than the P15.

I don't think I could stand anything slower than the P15; should I cross it off my list?

The other boats on my list are the Precision 15K and the Montgomery 15.  People "say" they are both faster and stabler than the P15.  Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

(I would prefer an open boat, but ballasted boats usually seem to have cabins)

[Toller]

http://www.image-ination.com/sailcalc.html  Using this sailboat calculator you can compare a West Wight Potter 15 and a Compac 16.

The calculator says that a WWP15 is less likely to capsize than a Catalina 14.2K.  They are similar size boats, but the Catalina is a little wider and has 200 pounds of ballast.  Wouldn't you expect the Catalina to be significantly more stable?

I am shocked by the low capsize ratio on the WWP15; I just didn't find it all that steady. I entered a boat (Montgomery 15) and found part of the problem.  They just use weight, while ignoring the weight distribution.  For its size, the P15 is a relatively high boat which makes it less stable than the weight might suggest.

[Toller]

According to this site: http://www.mail-archive.com/montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com/msg03731.html the PHRF (Performance Handicap Rating Formula) for the Potter 15 is about 138. According to this site: http://offshore.ussailing.org/Assets/Offshore/PHRF/High+Low+Mean+PHRF+Handicaps.pdf the PHRF for the Com-Pac 16 is 318. So, if the two boats start at the same point, the potter will reach the 1-mile mark (318-138=) 180 seconds faster than the Com-Pac. Now, I have a hard time believing the potter is actually that fast, but I can't find any other source for their PHRF rating.

The Com-Pac isn't a fast boat. I love the stability and strength of my CP16, but if your looking for something fast to day sail, the CP16 isn't the boat for you.

Are you reading the right number for the Potter?  I see it as 498.6.  Or am I reading the wrong number?

[NateD]

Oops, you're correct. So the Com-Pac would be (498-318=) 180 seconds faster per mile. Wow, the potter really is slow.

According to this site: http://www.mail-archive.com/montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com/msg03731.html the PHRF (Performance Handicap Rating Formula) for the Potter 15 is about 138. According to this site: http://offshore.ussailing.org/Assets/Offshore/PHRF/High+Low+Mean+PHRF+Handicaps.pdf the PHRF for the Com-Pac 16 is 318. So, if the two boats start at the same point, the potter will reach the 1-mile mark (318-138=) 180 seconds faster than the Com-Pac. Now, I have a hard time believing the potter is actually that fast, but I can't find any other source for their PHRF rating.

The Com-Pac isn't a fast boat. I love the stability and strength of my CP16, but if your looking for something fast to day sail, the CP16 isn't the boat for you.

Are you reading the right number for the Potter?  I see it as 498.6.  Or am I reading the wrong number?

[mrb]

Toller

First as far as what people have told you about CP-16, you need to take that with a grain of salt, as with all advice.

For an unbiased opinion try check site suggested by dserrell. Do the side by side comparison and look at info such as capsize ratio (smaller the number better) then speed and comfort at sea ( motion, Larger number better).
Realize speed in a displacement boat is function of length and sail area. 

One thing you will find about Cps is that some owners will take them out in conditions when other boats stay at home.
This owner included.  When there is little to no wind they are slow, but then so are most sail boats.

To truly get a faster boat for length you will have to look at a planing or semi-displacement hull, IMO.

Good luck in your search and fair sailing to you,  Melvin

[Matt003]

Toller, my CP 16 runs between 2 and 4 mph depending on the wind of course. She is not "fast" but not "slow" either. I have always felt she moved well. If speed is all your looking  for, I would look for a different boat......Phil    (hull speed =1.34 x square root of LWL =knots )(CP 16....1.34 x square root of 14 feet= 5.013 knots)( 1.15 knot =1.00 mph)(5.013 / 1.15= 4.36 mph max. hull speed).....sorry but my heads hurts after all this calulating.......Phil

Hey your backwards on the Knots to MPH conversion.

1 knots = 1.15077945 mph

Hence the max hull speed should be (5.013*1.15) = 5.76 MPH

[nies]

Matt003, you are right, your next test will be the conversion tables for nav. miles to stat. miles..............all this time I have been going faster than I thought.......Phil

[kickingbug1]

this whole debate about potters and cps brings a question to mind. i own a very basic cp16-1, no bowsprit no centerboard. i would like to hear from a cp16 sailor who has sailed a newer cp16 with centerboard or a legacy sailor who used to own a cp16-1. is the new design that much superior to the older boat. is it a significant improvement to weather and is it faster. my two cents, ill stay with com-pacs potters look a little flimsy to me.

[fafnir]

I owned a Potter15 for 3 years and hated it.  It was pitifully slow in even a strong wind and pitched like crazy on every little wind shift.  Okay, I am not the most experienced sailor, but a 15' I had years ago (a MFG Bandit) was much faster and only a bit less stable.

I am looking for a better boat and the Compac 16 is pretty.  I was told on another site that it was for old people to sit out on; while it is very stable it is even slower than the P15.

I don't think I could stand anything slower than the P15; should I cross it off my list?

The other boats on my list are the Precision 15K and the Montgomery 15.  People "say" they are both faster and stabler than the P15.  Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

(I would prefer an open boat, but ballasted boats usually seem to have cabins)

Every sailboat is a compromise.  I know too many people that spend 2 or 3 years searching for "The Right Boat"  These are often the people who are at home on the weekends when I am out sailing. :-)  In my opinion the right boat is the sailboat that is for sale within a reasonable distance from home, needs only minor repairs and upgrades and is within your price range.  Buy it and sail now while you are still shopping for  "The Right Boat".  The market for used sailboats in the 16-23 foot range is always strong and if you do find another boat that seems better to you it is generally really easy to sell the one you already have.