Com-Pac Sun Cat

The Sun Cat charms like the late-nineteenth century Cape Cod Cat from which it is descended.

Among the first casualties of the fiberglass revolution in boatbuilding were character and aesthetics. Production-line speed and compound curves ruled.

1960’s designer: “Let’s do it in white over white with a white interior and big sliding plexiglass windows. And forget the teak; we’ll go with a stick-on racing stripe!”

1960’s Builder: “Sounds great! I’ll fire up the chopper gun.” Fortunately for those partial to the more traditional, a few boatbuilders have stayed the course. They’ve availed themselves of fiberglass’s advantages, but not to the exclusion of form.

The new Clark Mills-designed Sun Cat from the Hutchins Company epitomizes this tasteful blend. With oval portlights, teak boom gallows, a teak and holly cabin sole and a gaff rig, the Sun Cat charms like the late nineteenth-century Cape Cod Cat from which it is descended. But a close examination reveals some decidedly modern features. A manual bilge pump that can be operated from the cockpit, a stainless steel rub rail, a stainless steel centerboard and trunk, and a highaspect, aluminum kick-up rudder are all standard. This is a boat meant to be sailed—and with the easily rigged tabernacle mast—sailed often.

If the Sun Cat design sounds oddly familiar—you’re right. Clark Mills’ yard originally produced, or had independent sources produce, 50 Sun Cats back in the 1970s. They were built with Marconi rigs and bilge boards, but lacked keel or cabin. Eventually the molds were retooled for a cabin model with keel, but only 10 were produced.

The molds had lain fallow for over twenty years when Hutchins Company acquired them. Although it seems they’ve just started to build them, Com-Pac had Sun Cat #90 in the mold when we spoke with company head Gerry Hutchins. He told us that—based on unit sales—the Sun Cat is Hutchins’ new star. It’s obvious where Hutchins sees the small-boat market heading: He confirmed the rumor that they’ve been busy tooling a new 20-foot cruiser called Horizon Cat.

A prominent feature of the Clark Mills designed Sun Cat is her beam. Never mind that she’s slightly narrower than the traditional 2 to 1 ratio, 87 inches is spectacular beam for a craft 16’8” on deck. The effect is room—lots of room—enough for 3 or 4 crew on a daysail or as much gear as a weekending couple might require.

One look at the cabin’s interior shows the Sun Cat’s Com-Pac heritage. She has the generous teak trim, patterned upholstery and classic feel of other

Com-Pacs. The two side ports and forward hatch are openable, so there’s plenty of ventilation. Additional light comes from a small forward-facing round port.

In addition to sailing a Sun Cat ourselves, we asked owners across the country to share their opinions:

PERFORMANCE:

“P.J. does very, very well in light air and will ghost along when my windspeed meter shows 2 or 3 mph. On the other hand she loves a fresh breeze and will really romp along when the wind is 15 to 20. By GPS, she has sailed for an hour or more at 5-plus and even touched 6 a time or two for a few minutes. She points better than I thought she would, about 50 to 55 degrees either side of the wind, but she much prefers reaching to pinching.” Russ Browne, 2000 Sun Cat #16 P.J. Puddlejumper

“The boat ghosts along in light air. If you can feel the breeze on your face the boat will give you steerage way.” Matt Vreeland, #50 Loon

“Points better than I expected.” Joe Tasler, Lili Pad

“(In light airs the Sun Cat) performs surprisingly well, but the single sail must not be strapped in too tight to get best performance. (As for speed,) within the limitations of the single gaff-rigged sail, she goes well. Have not been able to check the boat speed in any specific way, but have done friendly competition with a Precision 21, which rates 255 PHRF. Most of the time I could keep up with him. Hope to race my boat in PHRF next spring and see how she performs in real racing. Doesn’t point as well as a normal marconi main and jib rig, but is acceptable. . . the centerboard is a real bonus.” Bob Mendes, Flood Tide

We sailed with skipper Dick Herman aboard his new Com-Pac Sun Cat and were impressed. She moved well in the light afternoon breeze. There wasn’t enough wind to get much feel for weather helm, but she had a comfortable “big boat” feel—steady, predictable and fairly upright.

Owners we spoke with seemed genuinely surprised at the competence of her performance. It’s as if they’d bought their boats for quality, style and ease of rigging, but were braced for substandard performance. The pleasant surprise is that the Sun Cat apparently holds her own just fine. While we don’t feel she’s competition for the Precision 21, neither will she embarrass her skipper.

Length: 17 ft. 4 in. / 5.28 m Beam: 7 ft. 3 in. / 2.21 m Draft, board up: 1 ft. 2 in. / 0.36 m Draft, board down: 4 ft. 6 in. / 1.37 m Displacement: 1,500 lbs. / 682 kg

TRAILERING AND LAUNCHING:

“She trailers like a dream. Because she has less draft than my former 19, and less freeboard, the center of gravity is lower and the boat rides beautifully behind the car.” Russ Browne, P.J. Puddlejumper

“I trailer mine with a Toyota Highlander. Last weekend I pulled the boat to a lake about 150 miles away at highway speeds of 65 to 70 mph. I have launched on both steep and shallow ramps. Never any problem, and I do not need an extension.” Joe Tasler, Lili Pad

The Sun Cat features Com-Pac’s popular keel/centerboard combo. As we’ve said many times before, this arrangement is hard to beat. The fixed shoal portion of the keel draws only 14” and provides the 300 or so pounds of ballast. An adjustable stainless centerboard drops down to draw 54” and provides improved windward performance.