Boat Review: Com-Pac 19 (Revisited)

Twenty years later we take another look at the still popular Com-Pac 19 sailboat

We first reviewed the Com-Pac 19 more than 20 years ago in our issue #1. Since then we’ve evaluated 120 additional boats, so we thought it was time to revisit and update a few of the earliest reviews.

Going back to our first issue to reread our review of the Com-Pac was like stumbling across a love letter written two decades earlier—would we have the same feelings this many years and boats later? The answer is, fortunately, mostly yes— even if testing so many boats in the interim has slightly tempered our enthusiasm. The text below includes excerpts from the original review, along with our new comments, and some additional quotes from Com-Pac 19 owners. —Eds

The longer you study the Com-Pac 19, the more sense it all makes. The hand-laid fiberglass deck and hull. The eight-hundred pound fixed, shoal keel. The roomy, low cabin, high coamings and relatively small cockpit. All are characteristics of a boat designed to handle some pretty heavy weather. We suspect this boat can go almost anywhere a capable skipper chooses to take her.