New Eclipse Owners

[Eagleye]

Hi Folks,

    I have been lurking in CPYOPA for several months now and I would like to officially make the introductions.  My wife and I would often go on sailing excursions while on vacation but after a "three hour cruise" last summer we made the decision that we wanted our own sailboat and learn how to sail.  Ok, did I mention that we are lubbers...really, really  lubbers!  Suzie and I were high school sweethearts and we have been married 38 years now living in upstate New York on the northern edge of the Catskill Mountains.   We have never operated any type of boat, ever.  So is this the craziest dream one might imagine?
   After returning home we spent every spare moment studying, researching, inquiring and trying to absorb as much information that we could.  It seemed overwhelming but after going through all the research it became apparent that we were in the trailer sailor category.  Now to try and determine what kind of boat we wanted or could afford.  I searched the boat listings, read the reviews and articles and came up with a price range that we might be able to afford.   I looked at many different manufactures trying to narrow down our choices.  Then Suzie comes home from work one afternoon and says she met someone who just raved about his Com-Pac 16.  The gentleman said if you want to learn to sail this is the boat you should look at and he wrote the name down and handed it to her.  
   Needles to say I looked it up and was pleasantly surprised by what I found.  To make a long story short we decided that we might be able to afford a used Legacy and actually made an appointment last November to look at 2007 that was only an hour drive from us.  As fate would have it, we got our first and only real snowstorm of the season and had to postpone meeting the owner until a much further date.
   This gave us a time for more thought and consideration.  The Legacy seemed to be about the size we wanted and it would be a great boat to lean on.  OK...this is the point that where I have to express my thanks and appreciation to CPYOA .  This forum has been a wealth of knowledge and inspiration to us.  I would read  the new posts every night as well a scouring the older post.  Your family was such a marvelous place to grow into the Com-Pac community and it gave us the confidence that "we could actually do this"!   Not only that but it also made us comfortable with upgrading to the Eclipse.  You folks have a wonderful forum that is friendly, warm, funny and invaluable to a lubber like myself.  THANK YOU ALL!
   So a used Eclipse was the boat that we just had to have.  It was just right for our needs and met all our criteria and we might be able to afford an older one 2004 to 2006....maybe?  But where the heck were all the used ones?  I found a few but nothing close us or we just missed a sale. I started a database of all the Eclipses for sale or sold across the country but it was a short list.  Actually it is up to 14 now.  We met Tyler Hutchins at the Boat Show in Syracuse, NY where he was exhibiting his Pilot House and had a great chat with him.   Upon asking him about how many Eclipses had been made he said  "about 50 or 60".  Now we new that this was going to be tough.
   Sorry to run on folks but I'll try to wrap this up.  One of the many dealers we had inquired with contacted us and said he thought he knew of a 2006 for sail.  On St Patrick's Day we drove 3 ½ hours to see the boat and do our survey.    She hadn't been sailed in over 2 years and it was apparent that she had been sadly neglected.  The broker spent some time cleaning her up but she needed much more.   After spending 2 hours inspecting the boat we saw that there were only a few actual repairs needed all of which I was comfortable in doing myself.   I supervise a fabrication/machine/welding shop so those repairs would be no problem.  The rest would be bottom paint, bright work, cleaning and polishing.  After lunch we came back to the broker and gave him a low- low ball offer.  He called the owner and to our disbelief he took our offer without a compromise.
   Yesterday morning, with snow coming down, we drove the 150 miles to pick up our Eclipse.  We had the trailer registered and the boat was registered and insured.  What could go wrong?  Nothing did! Thanks to all the pointers, ideas and information I learned from you folks we had dotted all the I's and crossed all the T's.   The trip home was uneventful and we were safely home proud to be the owners and rescuers of our 2006 Com-Pac Eclipse, # 42.
   This morning we aired out the cabin and had the mast stepped and sails raised by 10am.  As I went through the steps all the info from your posts came back to me and it was just so exciting.  Our first sail...in our backyard.   Thank you all.
We have sailing lessons scheduled in May but I don't know how I'm going to hold out if the weather starts getting good again. (It was 80 degrees when we surveyed the boat.)    This year we plan on sailing locally, Finger Lakes, Albany area and we should be able to plunk her into the Hudson in a pinch which is only 10 minutes away.
    Ok, enough.  I will have many questions and I beg your patients and tolerance for a pair of newbies.   Suzie has just two questions.  Is it better to put the wine rack up front in the vee berth or divide the weight port and starboard near the settees?  And she wants to know, when does she officially become "The Admiral"?  I think I know that answer.
Finally a quote that I found inspirational through all of this:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed
by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover."                   -Mark Twain


Best to all of you,
Allen & Suzie

[Greene]

A very warm welcome from Mike and Brenda.  We love Suzie already!  Of course the most important thing on the to-do list is wine storage location.  Personally we put the Port wine on the Port side.  Suzie is, was and will always be the Admiral.  Accept this truth now and everything about sailing will flow smoothly from there.

Congrats on the awesome sailboat.  There will be several jealous members, as they drool uncontrollably over the Eclipse model.  To get a bargain on one is something I've never heard of.


Mike and THE Admiral B

[Eagleye]

Many Thanks Mike and Brenda,

We have enjoyed keeping up on your blog.  Best of luck to you and Wrinkles. 
We are still undecided about our Eclipse's name but we are getting close.  I figure once we get to know each other that will come.

Allen & Suzie

[kickingbug1]

   put us in a drooling catagory----well someday maybe

[Glenn Basore]

Welcome to the Com Pac family, in particular us Eclipse owners!

She is really a nice boat and turns many heads on the hard and in the water.

She is easy to rig, launch and sail.

I have a 2006 also and am getting ready to do some minor up grades, replacing some lines, retention the shroud lines using a gauge. and of course, the teak needs a little bit of touch up.

Taking a sailing class is a good idea , and if your not too sure about the winds being too strong, better to reef before leaving the dock.

Happy sailing,

Glenn B.

[Tim Gardner]

Welcome to the site!  for a name, how about "Eagle Aye!"?

TG

[Eagleye]

Glenn,
As the months clicked by and not finding an  Eclipse locally, your ad was getting a bit tempting.  But CA would be a loooong drive. 
I hope we can get some activity in the Eclipse section.  I liked your mast stepping system and may do some version of it.  The first time though I did it by the book using the boom vang and it seemed to work great.
Thanks again.

Tim & kicknbug,
Thanks for the welcomes.   "Eagle Aye"  hmmmmmm?   I'll check with "The Admiral"


Allen & Suzie

[Glenn Basore]

Allen,

Just a heads up!

If you do have a 2006, I would think about replacing the line you use to lift your mast, its the one that isn't being used for anything else. Mine has shown a lot of UV exposure and salt water  too. My point here is, when raising the mast there is a lot of load on the line when it first starts to rise. if it breaks your not going to be happy!

Also, When stepping the mast, you secure the line to the cleat, make sure after tying the line off at the cleat, you leave about 12 - 16 inches of line on the deck. you need extra line on the deck when the mast starts to rise to allow the line to move freely between the cleat and the locking latch at the cockpit. other wise the cleat will snap and the mast will drop! this happened to me but the mast only dropped about 2 feet back to its resting position. no damage to mast but the cleat was shot and had to be replace.

Glenn B.

[EclipseGuy]

Welcome to the group Allen and Suzie.

I too, have been one of those people that have been lurking around the Com-Pac forums as I contemplated buying an Eclipse. I really liked some of the things that are probably most controversial about the Eclipse; the open transom and the arch. The problem was that I had never seen an Eclipse in person to know if it would indeed be a good fit for me.

I went to the Chicago and Annapolis sailboat shows for the last three years but Com-Pac hasn't had the Eclipse on display (I assume this is because it is a lower volume boat). I was tempted to order a new one but I wanted to see one first. Finally last Fall a 2009 Eclipse went up for sale in Michigan so I went to look at it. It was an even better sailboat that I was expecting. Needless to say, I ended up buying it.

I have owned several sailboats, including 3 different trailer sailors (West Wight Potter 19, Sanibel 18, and Seaward 25). The Eclipse is easily my favorite of the trailer sailors that I have owned. I am impressed with the quality of my Eclipse and the attention to detail. It has a very confident manner when sailing. It feels solid, especially when compared to my WWP 19 and Sanibel 18.

I did quite a bit of sailing last Fall in Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair. The Eclipse handled wonderfully for a pocket cruiser. I am looking forward to this sailing season.

There is some talk in another thread about a possible gathering to sail to the Bass Islands in Lake Erie. Count me in if people are interested.

Also, I have been anxiously awaiting Glenn's update to shroud tension in the Eclipse forum. I would be interested to see what his shroud tension ends up being, or at least seeing some activity in the Eclipse forums.

- John 

[Glenn Basore]

John,

Yes, I have been slow to do much in the way of sailing or working on my Eclipse. The shroud tension is one of the first things I need to get done.
She has been up for sale her for about a year now ( all I get are lookie Loose) no one seems to have the money. So I will keep her as long as possible or some one comes up with enough money.

We are getting some warmer temperatures here which might move me in the proper direction to start tinkering / sailing my Eclipse. The old bones dont do good in cool temp.

I would like to see more activity on the Eclipse site as well and would like to meet other Com Pac owners here on the west cost but they are few and far apart.

Sorry for the delay guys and gals!

Glenn

[EclipseGuy]

I think that the Com-Pac sailboats are a bit pricier than many of the other trailerable sailboats out there. There is probably a very small group of people willing to pay extra for a good quality trailerable sailboat, so it may take a bit longer to sell when compared to some of the other brands.

In my opinion, the Com-Pac is well worth the extra money and I am sure you will find a buyer that thinks so too.     

- John

[jthatcher]

hi Allen and Suzie,  welcome to the group..    i am just a bit south of you -  wilkes barre area, but  our boat is in NJ, and that is where we tend to head when we get the chance..    i am looking forward to hearing stories about your adventures this summer..   if you happen to head down 81 for any reason, you are always welcome to stop for a cup of tea to share stories! ( and if we know that you are on the way, probably a chocolate pound cake as well)  good luck...  jt

[Eagleye]

        jt...Thanks for the invite.  Like wise if you're ever in the Albany area.  A NJ trip might be a possible choice for us in the future. Where do you sail there?
   Right now we have been cleaning her up a little each night after work but it has been a bit chilly.  Tonight we took off the mast and both sails.  Tomorrow they will get a bath and some minor repairs to the mast.

Eclipse Guy.... I am so glad that you bought that Eclipse in Michigan.  I had been watching that ad and was actually contemplating making the trip there. When I emailed the seller last fall he said he just sold it.  That would have been an 800 mile trip rather than the 150 miles I drove to buy mine.  Your good fortune was also mine.  Best of luck to you also. 

Allen & Suzie

[jthatcher]

hi  Allen,
    our boat - Adagio -  ( have yet to get that name on the hull)   is in Tom's River  - actually Bayville - across the river from town.   and, this is just up the bay from the infamous Bob 23  -    you are welcome to check out our thread under the compac 23's    area.

   last summer was our first with the boat - lots of fun, lots of learning,  and thrilled to be returning to the same marina this summer.  Bob schedules a yearly gathering of compacs  on the bay - we did not make it last year, but intend to give it our best shot this year.   keep in touch.. if you are able to get down to jersey, you would be welcome to join us on Adagio..    jt