New Dory, New user, Unbelievable story!

[AK Angler]

On my 16 footer, there is no anchor locker. I don't know if any 16's have 'em. But, I do have a triangle shaped "bulkhead" in the foreward portion of the bow storage. Looking to install an anchor locker, I removed this panel and found a chunk of floatation foam. It seems the panel is just there to protect the foam.

Oh, one more thing. Be sure to calibrate your compass. And know the declination where you'll be using her. It won't matter that you have one on board if it's not indicating properly or you don't adjust your heading to compensate for declination.

And congrats on your purchase. I think you'll be quite happy.

[thataway]

Congratulations on the "new" boat. Most lever type of plugs will have a small nut in the center, with a treaded rod which goes to the lever. Tightening this nut, or by holding the nut and turning the lever will expand the plug, just like the T type

Definately get a chart of the area you boat in--There are some nice waterproof charts which fold and are more durable for this area. Definately get at the very least an inexpensive hand held GPS--and check up on plotting your lat and Long--it can get foggy up there all of a sudden, and you may need the Chart, Compass and GPS to get home safely.

Also be sure that you have all of the required coast guard items, including a fog horn, lights, life jackets, flares etc on board.

For an Anchor rode you should probably have at least 12 feet of 1/4" chain, plus several hundred feet of three strand nylon Rope. 3/8" would be adequate for this size boat, but 1/2" is easier to "handle". Although the Bruce is propular in this region, in the smaller size I prefer a Delta Quick set--this in preference to the Danforth or Fortress in your area because there are lots of rocks.

I would refasten the bow bulkhead using stainless steel screws.

Also I would acquire a Marine VHF radio--full size 25 watt unit. Good safety item. I personally have a kicker on all of my boats--for the 16 a 3.5 hp would be enough to get you home in case of loss of the main power.

Also include some minumal tools--a spark plug wrench and extra set of plugs, a sent of end wrenches, a cresent wrench, a multipurpose tool, such as letherman or Gerber, a combination screwdriver, etc.

Also a small first aid kit is advisable. Also a length of line, which could be used as a tow line.

I would second that suggestion about taking a Coast Guard auxiliary or Power Squadren course.

You live in a beautiful part of the world and you have purchased a wonderful boat--enjoy it to it fullest!

[Robbi]

Island Fox, Congratulations on your new boat and the adventure that brought her to you. I also am a neighbor of yours and will keep my eyes open for you on the water. You will love your new boat, and you have received some great advice from some of the best boaters around.

About charts. Even if you plan to just cruise in the area around Fox Island, there are a large number of rocks and reefs that are far from any shoreline. They are where they "should not be"! They will spoil a good day on the water. Look at the Map Tech book on Puget Sound. $49 at West Marine or Boaters world.

See you on the water. Robbi

[teflonmom]

The best advise you have already received-take the Power Squad or Coast Guard Aux. boating course.SAP!! Read these posts and gain as much info as possiable on the Dory. Get the charts or better yet a chart book for your boating area.

A simple compass and a depth finder for sure. For less than $200.00 you can get a hand held GPS. Learn to set up way points by Lat and Long from your charts and you can go just where you want.

C Dorys are wonderful boats have fun. We are new Dory owners but are fast falling in love with our little cruiser after about 12 years of bigger boats.

[lupette]

Yesterday, I went to the marine supply store and got all the bare necessities:
2 plugs (t-type), flares, whistles, distress flags, bumpers, a nice book map of waterways in WA, salt water flush kit and muff, danforth anchor and 150 foot of anchor line. (I'm sure there was more than that but that's what I can remember for now.)

My husband, my son (16) and I decided that for the first trip we would just go around Fox Island and see how things went. We launched from the Fox Island Bridge . . . piece o cake! Reading all the do's and don'ts must of helped here cause this went VERY smoothly!

Motor started easily and ran super! The evening was glorious! Super nice sunset and (almost) full moon over Mt. Rainier. What a great time! Even the return to the boat dock and re-trailering went off without a hitch (heh)!

Thanks again to all of you who gave us such thoughtful and helpful advice. Now we just need to learn to fish!

Here are a few more questions:

The fishfinder is a hummingbird 200DX. It seemed to be finding fish everywhere. This seemed a bit odd to me and then it went suddenly from about 300+ feet to between 3 ft and 5 ft. It made us think we were about to hit something! We slowed way down and eventually it went back to recording the full depth of the water. We never saw anything below us in the water. Could this be a freshwater fish finder that doesn't operate well in saltwater? Or was there really a shoal or something under us? We were somewhere between McNeil Island and the SW tip of Fox Island when this happened. Any ideas?

To all of you with 16 footers (or anyone who has a good idea) . . . what is the hot setup for stowing the anchor and rope (and chain) ? We do have the factory option anchor roller (?) attached to the bow (I don't remember now what it is called ) but there didn't seem to be a logical way to attach the rope and still stow it neatly with the anchor. Any suggestions here would be VERY helpful.

Also we need ideas for space saving stowage. Anyone? Pictures would be helpful. We have the usual stuff to find room for . . . crab traps, buckets, shovels, fishing gear, etc. etc. Maybe I should start a new link for this one?

BTW- YES we would luv to meet you sometime and exchange notes and view boats! I envy you the x-tra room you have in the cruiser!

[rogerbum]

[Ted Osborne]

Congrat's on you new aquistion. One thing that is a must is a VHF radio. It could be either a handheld, which if you got the kind that would accept an outide anttena would do great or a fixed mount unit.
As for charts, I would suggest Chart # 18445 for Puget Sound. I have most of the large charts, but use this mostl the time. Good luck on your adventures.

[cdlas]

There is a post somewhere among the all on this site that someone has posted their solution to this. I also have a 16 ft. angler have the same thoughts as what to do with the anchor and the stuff that goes with it . Maybe some of the others here will remember where it is at . My remeberer is not as good as it use to be .

[lupette]

Your explanation about the fish finder was is sooooooo helpful. Thank you so much for your time and thoroughness in explaining all this! I am somewhat certain now that the shallow readings were the "looking for the bottom" thing that you described. We were getting deeper as we headed toward and into the narrows just before the bridge. Thanks again.

[Catman]

I keep my anchor and line in the stern, between the battery and gas tank. I toss it from the stern and for short stays simply tie off a stern cleat. If overnight I toss, it hits bottom, I walk the line to the bow cleat.

I believe Da Nerd has found a way to surmount such complexity.

[gljjr]

That fishfinder should cover most of your needs in the sound. Since you were running at speed when the problem occured I would look at the transducer mounting. It is possible that when underway at speed the transducer doesn't get a clean flow of water around it. You can try mounting it lower on the transom or, if it is close to a strake move it so that it gets cleaner water at speed. As Roger stated bubles and air gaps cause big problems with getting good readings!

Like Roger I almost always use a fixed setting on my fish finder. This allows me to zoom into the depths I am likely to be looking for fish. For instance I often fish Sekiu in 400' - 500' of water but the fish are usually less than 80' deep. So I set my finder to only show the top 80' of water.

[Bearbait]

Just remember that when a fishfinder gets confused it won't admit that it doesn't know the answer, it will just keep spitting out useless information. I know lots of people like that.

[jimandlaurie]

Way to go on Fox Island with Island Fox! Catman, Bill and Evelyn with the experiences with Braveheart and Scorpio Lyle, and of course C-Run Robbie have boatloads of great info for you and your 16. And are even nighbors pretty much! Are you members of Fox island Y.C.too? We are at T.O.A. here. Enjoy and hope to see ya on the water. We are gonna be at Jarrell's cove this weekend with T.O.A. but will be on the lookout to do some cruising with our C-Brats too.

[El and Bill]

Rogerbum --
We concur with your approach. We carry redundant GPS chartplotters and that's how we navigate. Yes, we have a handheld compass and carry paper charts for backup, but seldom use either -- and certainly wouldn't use either in bad storm, fog, or night-time conditions -- we have the GPS Chartplotters and they are the very best method of navigating, bar none. (We do have, however, a radar to help in low-visibility conditions -- only had to use it three or four times and even then, like you, we duck the shipping channels), if possible). So, we're with you.

[dogon dory]

Sorry, Folks - Post Deleted By Author