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What this video covers

The Hutchins Company, based in Clearwater, Florida, has manufactured Com-Pac sailboats for over 50 years, focusing on trailerable, shoal-draft designs.Watch Les Hutchins founded the company in 1970, commissioning designer Clark Mills to create the original 16-foot Compact Yacht.1:57 The fleet expanded over decades to include models ranging from 16 to 35 feet, with designs by Bob Johnson, Charlie Morgan, and Clark Mills.5:10 While early models featured fixed, high-lift shoal keels, newer designs like the Picnic Cat and Sun Cat incorporate stainless steel centerboards to improve upwind performance.8:03 These cat-rigged models also feature the company’s proprietary "mast tender" quick-rig system, which uses a hinged aluminum extrusion to simplify mast raising and lowering for trailering or bridge clearance.6:57 The company utilizes hand-laid fiberglass construction and maintains in-house metal and wood shops for assembly, while subcontracting hull and deck molding to external vendors.5:51

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