| Com-Pac Yachts/Hutchins Co., Inc. | |
| Type: | Privately held company |
| Founded: | 1972 |
| Founder: | W.L. Hutchins Sr. |
| Hq Location City: | Clearwater, Florida |
| Hq Location Country: | United States |
| Key People: | Gerry and Richard Hutchins |
| Industry: | Boat building |
| Products: | Sailboats |
Com-Pac Yachts is an American brand of sailboats, made by the Hutchins Co., Inc., a boat builder based in Clearwater, Florida. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats. Over time the brand and the company have become synonymous.[1] [2]
The company was founded by W.L. "Les" Hutchins Sr. in 1957 and started building sailboats in 1970.[1]
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 Com-Pac 19 was designed by Bob Johnson of Island Packet Yachts in 1979. The largest boat built by the company was the Com-Pac 35, a 1990 Charley Morgan design. In 1999 the company started making small catboats and discovered an untapped market. The newer designs incorporate stainless steel centerboards and use a unique mast, sail and boom folding system that allows quick transition from the road transport trailer to the water and back again.[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]
By 2021 the company was producing 12 designs. There were 11 sailboats: the Com-Pac Picnic Cat, Com-Pac Sun Cat, Com-Pac Sunday Cat, Sun Cat Daysailer, Com-Pac Horizon Cat, Com-Pac Horizon Day Cat, Com-Pac Legacy, Com-Pac Legacy Sport, Com-Pac Eclipse, CP 23 Pilothouse, Com-Pac 23/IV and the Com-Pac 27/3. They also produced one powerboat, the Com-Pac Launch.[3]
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]
Summary of boats built by Com-Pac Yachts:[1]