Com-Pac Horizon Day Cat 20 Buyer's Guide
The Com-Pac Horizon Day Cat 20 on the used market is the Com-Pac interpretation of a catboat lineage that began as the Herreshoff America, redesigned by the Hutchins brothers with a shallow keel, centerboard, and modified deck and rig. What you are buying is a 20-foot shoal-draft pocket cruiser with a wide body, a gaff rig, and a kick-up rudder—a boat built for quiet anchorage-hopping rather than speed.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Horizon Cat's belowdecks arrangement is consistent across the class: two berths and a forward compartment for a porta potty. There is no galley or enclosed head, and the boat's volume is expressed in the cockpit rather than the cabin. Four can sit in this cockpit in comfort, and the generous 8-foot 4-inch beam and lack of overhangs are what make that possible on a 20-foot hull. Boom gallows hold the boom when the sail is lowered and make the boom the ideal ridge pole for a cockpit tent while cruising, so most boats will have that feature as original equipment.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Original equipment centers on the gaff rig with normal reef cringles for a single traditional reef and a kick-up rudder. Drawings show wheel steering, so some boats may carry it, though it should be verified afloat. The gaff rig minimizes the complexity of the standing rigging, and no major rig reinvention should be expected or needed. Because the published record documents no owner upgrades or refit campaigns, equipment should be assessed as supplied—boom gallows, single reef, and the shallow keel and centerboard hull form Com-Pac added to the America tooling.
What to Inspect
The documented record carries no known structural defects, flooding paths, or drainage problems for the Horizon Cat. The only design changes from the Herreshoff America hull form were the added shallow keel and centerboard and the modified deck and rig, which the source presents as straightforward revisions rather than risk areas. A buyer should confirm the centerboard and kick-up rudder operate freely and that the gaff rig's single traditional reef hardware is sound, but no documented chronic issue governs the class.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
For the shopper, the practical checklist is short and grounded in the record: confirm the 26-inch board-up draft shallow keel and centerboard function; verify the kick-up rudder; check the gaff rig's single reef cringles; confirm two berths and forward porta-potty compartment below; and expect a comfortable four-person cockpit with boom gallows for a tent ridge. The Horizon Cat is a stable, well-detailed pocket cruiser—not a performer, but an honest shoal-draft catboat.
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
3 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Boats Horizon 23 | 22.75' | $ 8,836 | 20 | 5 |
| Reid Marine 20 | 20' | $ 13,933 | 20 | 4 |
| Horizon Horizon Cat 20 | 20' | $ 29,500 | 19 | 4 |