Les Hutchins had started as a farmer and trained tool and die maker, but became an inventor, designing many automotive accessories and parts and even a folding high chair. He established his first company in St. Louis, Missouri, doing metal-stamping and fabrication work, making parts of the automotive industry under subcontract. Hutchins ended up owning a number of patents and registered trademarks.[2]
In an attempt to diversify his company's interests and also to move into a field he personally enjoyed, Hutchins decided to enter boat building in 1970. Focusing on the smaller end of the boat market, Hutchins's goal was "to build a small but highly efficient sailboat that would appeal to people who didn't want to invest too heavily in a boat, yet one they could easily trailer behind a compact car." His intended customer was retirees moving to Florida, who would want a small, inexpensive boat that could be kept at home in a garage on a boat trailer.[1][2]
The first design produced was the Clark Mills designed Com-Pac 16 in 1972, followed by another Clark Mills design, the Com-Pac 23 in 1978. The Com-Pac 16 was originally marketed as "The Com-Pac Yacht", but was later given its length designation to differentiate it from the rest of the product line. The boat building enterprise became Com-Pac Yachts.[1][2]
The company has its fiberglass hulls and its spars both built by subcontractors.[2]
When Les Hutchins retired, his sons, Gerry and Richard Hutchins took over the company. The company remains a small-scale producer, building only a few hundred boats a year.[2]
In a company profile for Small Craft Advisor magazine, writer Dennis Boese described the company, "Com-Pac Yachts has endured and prospered through lean and boom times of the sailboat-building industry. The Hutchins Company's unique ability to meld classic design and high quality with new and innovative technology virtually assures its continued success."[2]
A catboat is a sailboat with a single sail on a single mast set well forward in the bow of a very beamy and (usually) shallow draft hull. Typically they are gaff rigged, though Bermuda rig is also used. Most are fitted with a centreboard, although some have a keel. The hull can be 3.7 to 12.2 metres long with a beam half as wide as the hull length at the waterline. The type is mainly found on that part of the Eastern seaboard of the USA from New Jersey to Massachusetts.
The El Toro is an American pram sailboat that was designed by Charles McGregor as a sail training dinghy and yacht tender, first built in 1939. It is now often sailed as a singlehanded one-design racer.
The Com-Pac 16 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Clark Mills as a small cruiser and first built in 1972.
Cascade Yachts was a pioneering U.S.-based builder of fiberglass monohull sloop-rigged sailboats ranging in sizes from 23 to 42 feet (13 m) in length. It was founded in 1954 in Portland, Oregon by a group of local sailors interested in experimenting with fiberglass sailboat construction.
The Buccaneer 200 is an American trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Alan Payne and first built in 1974.
The Cal 25 is an American trailerable sailboat, that was designed by C. William Lapworth and first built in 1965.
The Naiad 18 is a Canadian trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Mark Ellis, first built from 1984 to 1986, and named for the mythological water sprites.
The Com-Pac Sunday Cat is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Clark Mills, who had previously designed the Optimist.
Watkins Yachts and Marine was an American boat builder, based in Clearwater, Florida. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.
The Com-Pac 25 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed as a cruiser.
The Freedom 39 PH is an American pilothouse schooner sailboat that was designed by Ron Holland and Gary Hoyt as a cruiser and first built in 1983.
The Com-Pac Legacy, also called the Com-Pac Legacy 17, is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed as a pocket cruiser and first built in 2006.
The Com-Pac 23 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Clark Mills as a pocket cruiser and first built in 1978. The boat has undergone design changes over time resulting in a series of improved models.
The Com-Pac Eclipse is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by the Hutchins Design Team as a pocket cruiser and first built in 2004.
The Com-Pac Horizon Cat, also called the Horizon Cat 20, is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Halsey Herreshoff as cruiser and first built in 2002.
The Com-Pac Sun Cat, also called the Com-Pac Sun Cat 17, is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Clark Mills as a pocket cruiser and first built in 2000.
The Companion 21 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Aborn Smith Jr. and first built in 1981.
The Herreshoff America, also called the Herreshoff America 18, is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Halsey Chase Herreshoff as a cruiser and first built in 1971.
The Pearson 23 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by William Shaw as a cruiser and first built in 1978.
The Pierce Arrow 18, also called the Preston 19, is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Mark Leonard as a pocket cruiser and first built in 1982.
↑ Com-Pac Yachts / Hutchins Co., Inc. (2021). "Welcome to the Com-Pac Idea". com-pacyachts.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
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