peers/competitors to Com-Pac Picnic Cat?

davlafont

New Member
Are there any boats that are comparable to the 14' Com-Pac Picnic Cat? Or is it unique?

My family has a house on a small-ish lake (3 mi. long by less than a mile wide). It's enough to do some nice day sailing and there's even a state park with a beach that can be a "destination." Unfortunately, there's a very low bridge between our house and most of the lake, so unstepping and stepping the mast quickly is a very important requirement.

The Picnic Cat is very well suited to the conditions. Com-Pac's Mastendr hinged mast seems to be a quick solution for stepping, and the overall size of the boat is in scale with the lake. The Cat Rig looks like it can accommodate a pair of couples or several kids. In all, it's very much what I'm interested in.

My question is: are there other similar designs from other makes? I'm not stuck on the Cat Rig, though it does have its benefits. My biggest requirement is clearing the bridge that might be all of 4 1/2 ft. clearance (our runabout's bimini top comes within a couple of inches of hitting).
 
Are there any boats that are comparable to the 14' Com-Pac Picnic Cat? Or is it unique?

...there's a very low bridge between our house and most of the lake, so unstepping and stepping the mast quickly is a very important requirement.

...are there other similar designs from other makes?
Your situation and criteria are fairly unique, at least in the Americas and especially in a production boat. In Europe you find "River Cruising Sailboat" designs that incorporate a mast lowering system.

The Picnic Cat has a two tier system. It's a gaff rig so the gaff spar can be lowered reducing height by around 1/3, and it has ComPac's folding mast accessory.

You could mimic this on nearly any boat by changing it to a "Gunter rig" and devising your own hinged mast. There are ideas for making this transition at websites like Duckworks and Wooden Boat .


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Thanks Wayne for the insight. I found this very informative artice at Duckworks: http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/04/s/articles/gunter/index.cfm

I'm not sure if a mast short enough to clear my bridge would be long enough to form the basis for a Gunter Rig, but it certainly is food for thought. At this point, I think we're talking about design considerations for a home-made boat project that I may dream about but will most likely never execute.

Thanks for pointing me to some great resources.
 

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