BoatsCom Pac Sun Cat 17-2

Com Pac Sun Cat 17-2

Gaff head Cat · Keel/centreboard · First built 2000

A gaff-rigged catboat featuring a keel-centerboard hull and a cuddy cabin, also available as an open-cockpit daysailer

Designed by Clark Mills.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Hull type
Keel/Cbrd.

See her sail

The Com Pac Sun Cat 17-2, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from Practical Sailor

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

TrailerableBeam 2.21 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 680 kg of hull, so roughly 1,300 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 680 kg of hull, with a keel that raises or a draught shallow enough to float off a trailer — she can go back on the trailer at the ramp, not only into the water.Shoal draughtDraws 0.35 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
LivelySea-kindly

Her moderate displacement on a beamy beam gives 11 — a quick, lively motion that feels every wave.

Comfort ratio 11
CoastalBluewater

At 2.54 she sits above the 2.0 line — beamy for her weight, and happiest coastal.

Capsize screening 2.54
LightHeavy

198 — moderately heavy for her waterline, a balanced cruising weight.

Displacement / length 198
EasygoingPowered-up

18.4 — plenty of sail for her weight; lively and quick to respond.

Sail area / displacement 18.4

A balanced, easily-driven cruiser — comfortable and forgiving for coastal work.

What the fleet has seen

The Com Pac Sun Cat 17-2, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Com Pac Sun Cat 17-2 is a 5.3-meter gaff-head cat-rigged sailboat with a keel/centerboard hull, designed by Clark Mills and built by Com-Pac Yachts since 2000. It displaces 680 kg with a 1.4-meter draft and 2.2-meter beam. Com-Pac Yachts, founded by Les Hutchins in 1970, specializes in trailerable, shoal-draft designs, with models ranging from 16 to 35 feet. The Sun Cat 17-2, like the Picnic Cat, uses a stainless steel centerboard to enhance upwind performance.8:03 It features Com-Pac's "mast tender" quick-rig system, an aluminum extrusion with a hinge, which simplifies mast raising and lowering for trailering or clearing bridges.6:57 The company uses hand-laid fiberglass construction and maintains in-house metal and wood shops for assembly.5:44 A variant, the Sunday Cat, offers a larger cockpit and an enclosed porta potty area instead of a cuddy cabin.

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Rig & sail area
Rig
Gaff head Cat
Ratios
SA / displacement
18.4
Displacement / length
198.4
Comfort ratio
10.6
Capsize screening
2.54
Hull speed
5.2 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
389
Hull
Hull type
Keel/Cbrd.
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
First built 2000
Designer
Clark Mills
Builder
Com Pac, Com-Pac Yachts, Hutchins Co

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

RS 216.40 mSame hull family1.1 m longer
Training Sea Cadet Instructors | RS21 Keelboat Sailing – Welsh Harp1:37from City Sailing
Phobos 196.30 mSame hull family1.0 m longerA lightweight, high-performance fractional sloop with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for spirited daysailing
Until What Age Can You Live on a Sailboat? | #SAL #33123:54from Hashtag Sal
Dufour Yachts T66.15 mSame hull family0.9 m longerA lightweight 800kg fractional sloop with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for spirited performance in light air
Who I am and why the sea is part of my life0:56from NAUTICPIOLI
O'day 205.97 mSame hull family0.7 m longerA masthead sloop with a keel-centerboard configuration, offering a stable 5.57-knot hull speed for coastal cruising
The Romance of Sailing, Dan and Hadley Tell All! | Sailing Balachandra E054:49from Sailing Balachandra
Marshall Marine Corporation Sanderling5.54 mSame hull family0.3 m longerA gaff-rigged catboat based on a 1941 design, featuring a shallow-draft keel-centerboard hull for versatile day sailing
The History of Beneteau Boats11:37from Practical Sailor
Sandpiper 154.72 mSame hull family0.6 m shorterA Breck Marshall-designed gaff-rigged catboat with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for spirited light-air sailing
Sandpiper 32 Sharpie Schooner Refit0:04from Atom Voyager

The family

Boats like this

Nearby designs by size, type, and era — worth a look alongside her.

Com-Pac Yachts Picnic CatA lightweight 14-foot gaff-rigged catboat with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for lively daysailing performanceCom-Pac Yachts Horizon Day Cat 20An inboard-diesel-capable evolution of the Horizon Cat 20, featuring a 1.52m keel-centerboard draftCom-Pac Yachts Horizon Cat 20A gaff-rigged catboat by Halsey Herreshoff, offering a shallow-draft keel-centerboard hull and optional inboard powerCom-Pac Yachts 16A Clark Mills-designed fractional sloop with a shallow draft, built since 1972 as a stable and trailerable pocket cruiser

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

Search what's been said about the Com Pac Sun Cat 17-2, or ask a specific question — the answer comes back written out, with links to the moments it draws on.

Search the fleet for boats like thisAsk the fleet about the Com Pac Sun Cat 17-2

The newsletter

New boats, new stories. Every week, everywhere.

One email from the fleet — boats newly added, videos newly analysed. No noise.

Report an issue