A test of the C-Dory 22 Center Console

[JamesTXSD]

Boat Testing... Sunday, November 9th. Joan made a great breakfast. I was about to get in the shower (yeah, it works now), when Marc from Wefings called. I had mentioned to him that if he needed a hand getting his C-Dory center console boat in the water to give me a call. He did. I was just hoping for a ride in it.

Joan and I both grabbed quick showers and went to the ramp on the other side of town (a whole 8 or 9 blocks away). What Marc really wanted was for Joan and I to take the center console boat out to play with.

Our plan for the day was to do some exploring in the area with the truck - we really haven’t had a chance to see anything except this town. Well, the boat was full of fuel, a cool but beautiful morning... why not? The boat slid off the roller trailer easily. I parked the truck and trailer while Marc brought the boat to the nearby dock.





Marc gave us the once-over, and we pulled away from the dock and ran down the river to the marina where Wild Blue is slipped. The slip next to ours is open, so we pulled the boat in there and got a few things out of Wild Blue. While at the dock, I got this shot to show the relative size difference between the boats.



And an overall look from the bow...



It took a moment or six to get the chartplotter on a screen that looked reasonably familiar and had the information we wanted on it (one of the new Garmins with a sounder). Meanwhile, we ran the boat across the bay, heading for the cut that opens to the Gulf.

I have to say that this is not our kind of boat - we are cruisers, and this boat is really designed for fishing... or so we thought. I expected to not like it, but it turned out to be a blast! If Wild Blue is a Winnebago on the water, this is a Miata. The boat handled well, jumped up on plane in a heartbeat; the Honda 90 really moves the boat nicely (and, this newest version is fuel injected).

It was cool, with temps in the mid-60s; the small windshield provided decent protection, as well as the Sunbrella T-top overhead. We took turns on the helm and walking all around the boat. Good access, easy passage around the console.







The bay was flat calm, so the ride was perfectly smooth, as you’d expect. When we got into the Gulf, there were small swells with chop less than a foot. We trimmed the bow down and the boat went through it smooth and easy. Marc had suggested that the boat could handle more power, but we found the Honda 90 ran the boat into the upper 20s with plenty of throttle left. This boat has trim tabs and they do a good job getting the bow down and keeping the ride very comfortable. In these conditions, it’s a dry boat - didn’t even get any spray on the wind screen.

Well, I have to say we were very impressed with this boat. When it first came out, there was some discussion from the PNW folks that it wouldn’t be good for their weather... bring this boat to the warm Gulf waters, and it’s great! Some of you know how I feel about fish (remind me and I'll tell you about the W.C. Fields quote)... a boat like this is so much fun that I’d consider learning how to fish just for the pleasure of driving it!

Best wishes,
Jim B.

[starcrafttom]

the first c-dory I saw in print was a open boat like this. I saw it in a book on trolling for salmon. I have it here some where around the house. On one page is a pic of several boats that would be good in the sound. One of them was open 22 but no t-top. If you are just fishing and like to mooch or throw flys I do think it would be a good boat for the pnw.

[hardee]

Starcraft Tom Said:
"....the first c-dory I saw in print was a open boat like this. I saw it in a book on trolling for salmon. I have it here some where around the house. On one page is a pic of several boats that would be good in the sound. One of them was open 22 but no t-top."

There is a fellow who fishes and crabs out of John Wayne Marina in an Open C-Dory like that. I've seen it a couple of times and talked to him one day when he came over to look at SleepyC. He peeks in here occasionally, he says, but I don't have a name. Sorry, my bad.

Harvey
SleepyC