Many new boat builders are no longer in business because of boat building cost. Custom boats from the used boat fleet are in demand because everyone wants a good-looking boat at a low price. Have you noticed that the majority of used boats on the market today are from the 1980s? They all need to be restored. Sailboats are normally generic to a given area and making a used sailboat work for you in your area may require some modifications. Most of us will be keeping our current boats longer and we will be making some improvements over time. Changing boats isn't going to work as it did in the past because the used boat fleet is getting smaller and most of them are in poor condition.

Up grading is a popular option as our boats get older. A hull color change or a rig modification can change the character of most sailboats. Old Com-Pac Yachts do this well. They are excellent candidates for inexpensive improvements. A Com-Pac 23 can be converted to a Horizon Cat rig for about $6,000. A Horizon Cat can be converted to a sloop rig for about $5,000. The 23 becomes trailable and the Horizon Cat can have furling and a smaller main sail. Both improvements for some sailors. In another life, the Horizon Cat was a Herreshoff Eagle and it was a sloop. Another good conversion is the Sun Cat. Lake sailors could use a mast moved back behind the hatch and a jib added for low wind conditions.

1: The first picture in the graphic below is Mark II 16 with a red hull. That's AWL-Craft paint and it will shine for a long time.

2: The second picture is Blue Tango, a 23 with Aristo Blue paint on the hull, new canvas and a new motor. Great looking boat.

3: The next picture is Mark II 19 with Aristo Blue paint, a boom tender system and a mast gallows. It also has a new motor and trailer.

4: Picture number 4 is a Mark II 16 with a Jade Mist Green Hull. It has a mast tender system installed with painted spars. It was a Raleigh Boat Show boat and currently lives in CA.

5: Number 5 is a Mark II 19 on a Horizon Cat trailer. It has a Jade Mist Hull and Cat Bird Seats in the stern pulpit. 4 wheels on the road for long distance trailing works best.

6: The sixth picture is our Com-Pac 16 to Trawler conversion. This was the first 16 conversion and the phototype for 16 pilothouse.

7: This is Blue Tango's varnished inside.

8: Putting a diesel in your 23 is a great conversion.

9: Picture number 9 is an older Com-Pac 16 without an exteral keel. It has internal ballast and a centerboard. This boat has a 5 inch draft with the board up.

10: Our project 23 with a Horizon Cat mast and sail. It also has an electric mast raising system that makes this a very trailable boat. The boat sails great in all wind conditions.

11: The next set of pictures is a boat building project. It is not inexpensive and we are still doing detail work. The idea behind a small trawler or pilothouse boat is that it needs to be trailable, yet big enough to do what's required if you have to spend the night. I built this boat to go to the St. John River in FL and sail with my daughter and her husband. The go part will be down the highway. I may go north to the Baltimore area and sail some with my son when we can. I'm looking forward to good weather and seeing the kids. This little boat with standing headroom and diesel motor can go about any where. The boat currently has a gaff tan bark sail on a mast tender mast that's mounted in the cockpit. I will do a report when we have time to sail the boat. It has been too hot in NC and then we had to miss the hurricanes.

The boat started off as a new Sun Cat Yacht. I purchased the boat from Com-Pac and put it together when we had time. The pictures tell the story better than I can. I like a ballasted boat and a Sun Cat rides the waves like it's on railroad tracks. The boat has an inboard rudder that follows the boat. A lot less helm stearing with a following rudder. The mast is off set a few inches to ease access to the cabin. I don't think the boat will know the difference. A big plus with this boat is that the people in the cabin (house) can talk and look at the people in the cockpit. I makes for a very socialable boat. We made the boat 20 feet long to satisfy Coast Guard requirement. If we decide it's going to be more pilothouse than trawler, we woun't need to make the next boat longer. This boat has a longer keel with it's longer hull.

Part of the detail work will be a paint job. It may have a green hull and a cream deck. The hull color is still pending.

We invested in some parts and pieces and rigged our project CP-23 with a Horizon Cat sail and mast. We also added a small jib to make the boat into a gaff headed sloop. The boat balanced well and sailed well. I didn't like folding the big Horizon Cat sail and we could have used furling gear if the headsail had been larger. The modification did make the 23 into a boat that was really trailable. One person can raise the mast on a Horizon Cat and the mast stays connected when it's down. A big boat that trailers well.

12: As sailors get older, some of them look for a boat with house on top. Our little trawler gives us a place to extend the sailing season and stay on the water longer when it cold outside. Most rag sailors like a solid boat similar to the sailboats that they used for years. A boat that's easy on the knees when you move around. The boat that fits that description is our Com-Pac 16 Trawler.

13: We had a request to build a pilothouse 16 using the house on our trawler. We think it was a good idea. The pilothouse give us more sheltered space and provides 2 side by side seats for people that's not sailing the boat. This makes the inside space more usable. It still has bunks and a place for a head.