How to get the wife on board for a C-Dory 22

[RThorn]

My wife is focused on a new travel trailer for camping. Boondocking is great but campgrounds are not my cup of tea with barking dogs and screaming kids and NO privacy.

We are moving back to Puget Sound in the fall this year. I have only started the conversation about how great the C-Dory's are and all of the potential group activities (and dropping anchor in a quiet bay).

Anyone else with a hesitant spouse that became a C-Dory fan after having the boat?

I want her on board (no pun intended). On the other hand it will be my boat and my hobby since I recently retired!

[bridma]

Upgrade the V-Berth with a comfortable mattress and no condensation. Go for a 25 with head and shower. Anything less and you have a hard uphill battle. Good luck.

Martin.

[journey on]

Judy picked out Journey On. We were going to get a large trailerable boat and she had a list of things she wanted. I had no problem getting her on a boat, but list she made might be of interest. As a reference, Judy was coming off 3 sailboats, 2 trailerable and a 36. So her list had weight, like we weren't going to get a boat that didn't make her happy. And the 25 did.

Here's the list, as well as I can remember it.
1. A separate head compartment. No getting up in the night to use the porta pottie under V-berth. Been there, done that and not again
2. An open cooking area. She had been buried in the bowels of a sailboat, with no chance of seeing what was going on.
3. Heat. We had taken our 36 sailboat to the tropics with no air conditioner and to Alaska, which was the coldest winter we ever spent. The Wallis worked, not perfectly, but kept the boat warm. We also have a small air conditioner we stuff in the front window when needed.
4. She felt comfortable in the C-Dory 25, not the 22 or a Skagit.
5. Livable, she could last for up to 3 months on it
6. 2 of us could launch it. That was important to Judy.

My additions, for completeness, are
1. Seaworthy.
2. Hauled by a 1/2 ton truck which I had at the time.
3. V-berth cut out so I could get in and out easier.
4. Honda outboard. This wasn't our choice, but they had a deal and took it. Been a wonderful motor. At idle, sounds just like my Dad's Oliver tractor.

Now, I'm not saying those are enough for your wife (especially since I never met her), but they are points you and she should consider. We've had Journey On for 16 years now, so we must be reasonably happy. Gone from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Islands in it, oh and a 3/4 ton truck. And we live in San Diego.

Boris

[hardee]

If you are into fishing and seafood, tell here there is fresh fish, crab and etc right out the back door.

Tell her you can tow the boat to the KOA once in a while if she really misses the mayhem.

Tell her she will be the admirable. (Sometimes that works

Don't tell her you will need a new truck to tow the boat with, BUT tell her that new truck could pull a camp trailer if you need one . . . . . later

Harvey
SleepyC

[Robert H. Wilkinson]

My wife likes to see where we are going - she didn't want to sit facing aft. Some find facing aft brings on sea sickness. Some brats have found ways to remedy this - cutting out the bulkhead and flipping the cushion. Others have suggested that sitting on the rear seat(facing forward) works good and may be a more comfortable ride - being more centered.

Many brats use their Cdory to "boaterhome" in campgrounds when travelling. The Cdory is the perfect boat for this. I have done this with my boat(not a Cdory) but putting up and taking down a full canvass top is a pita compared to shutting the door and walking away.

Another good point around where I live(Great Lakes) it is cheaper for me to rent a slip with water and hydro for a night, week or season than to rent a campsite.

Good luck, and enjoy your retiremenet.

Rob

[thataway]

I cannot really help with the wife bit, except to introduce her to other C brat wives. You missed the Friday Harbor gathering. Try and get her to a gathering.

I think with her wanting a travel trailer, that the 25, 26 or 255 are going to be the boats to look at.

As noted we "boater Home". all of the way, not unusual to stay in 4 or 5 camp grounds on land on the way to a place where we can launch and do our cruise. We even can boon dock in Cracker Barrell or Walmart parking lots (run the generator all night if necessary with AC (Roof or front window).

You do want a boat with front facing seat. Also cut out bulkhead for ease and less claustrophobia in the bunk area.

My wife started with a van conversion we both did --she did and "owned" as much of the wood work as I did. So it was "hers" as well as mine. We then worked together on building a 38' sailboat--again, she worked along side me every day for 2 years.

(I had a lot of boating experience and RV experience before we were married.)

Then I spoiled her with a 42' diesel RV with 4 slide outs--we now have a 25' on a Sprinter Chassis--it is a "compromise". I am fine with a Road Trek Van--she wants another 42' RV. But she was OK coming down from a 62' and then a 46', a 42', 32', boats to a C Dory 22/25/Tom Cat.

By the way, my wife prefers to set in the aft seat of the dinette. That way there is something to lean her book she is reading on.

[davidJ]

My wife just isn't into boating either, but she likes camping, we have a C- Dory 19 and a Scamp 16 ft. trailer. We live less than a mile from the boat launch in Anacortes and I make about 40+ day trips out per year doing fishing, shrimping and crabbing, I'm retired. The 19 and 22 C Dory's are easy to launch and run by your self, but you will soon find friends to go fishing with you. We together like to head over the mountains for camping in the Okanogan area, lots of lakes, rivers, state parks and remote national forest camp areas with plenty of opportunities to fish, hunt, hike, do mountain biking or go to restaurants or just hang out and feed the mosquitoes. for us having a boat and camping trailer has worked well. good luck with your plans.

[T.R. Bauer]

I hear you on that kind of RV camping - YUCK. My advice is if it seems like no matter where you go your wife has to make a trip to the bathroom, then you should get a boat with a proper one. As others have noted, the CD 25 is a really comfortable boat, but a tomcat is the cat's meow

[ssobol]

My wife was the one who said "We're getting a C-Dory." I was wise enough not to argue. So we got a 22 cruiser.

At one point we were looking to upgrade to a 25, but after studying them for a bit, the wife said that the 22 was just fine.

[Bryant]

[Bryant]

For some reason my post was duplicated but because you can’t delete a post I had to delete the duplication and post this.

[Marco Flamingo]

I got the CD 16 primarily for me since my wife is still working. After I did a few trips, she wanted to try it and had a blast. I had already explained the minimalist aspects of the 16. No head, shower, etc., but I had dealt with those issues and she was fine with my solutions. And the decadent aspects. Forced air heat and step ashore convenience.

I don't think she would ever get into boaterhoming. Bathing in the cockpit with a bucket, okay. Sleeping in the boat at KOA campgrounds or Walmart parking lot, nope. I figure that the money we save on gas when towing, ferry fees, etc., we can splurge for motels especially after a long cruise.

I think the sales pitch has to be tailored to the audience.

[ssobol]

[Peter & Judy]

My wife was right along with me when it came to buying a boat. She insisted on a cabin you could see out of and not have to go down below to cook or eat like you would in a Bayliner, so she liked the C-Dory right away. I am lucky to have a 'low maintenance' wife. She loves to hike, backpack, sea kayak and loves sleeping in a tent. No private bathroom required. We often pull our 22 with a truck camper (also no bathroom), so we have to option of being on the boat or in the camper. My wife is a retired physical education teacher, hyperactive and needs to get off the boat often in the kayaks or on shore. This is the most important aspect of boating for her. I sometimes talk of getting a bigger boat once we leave the ranch in Alberta and fully retire on the coast and her reply is 'why'. Her biggest problem is all the upgrades and modifications that my German heritage compels me to do to everything I own. Judy is currently installing headliner fabric in the v-berth and cabin to help reduce the condensation in the cabin in wet weather. I am lucky to have found the right wife, we were married 29 years ago yesterday.

[Foggy]

My experience, summarized, several times over:

If it's truly your boat, and she agrees, make sure you can do it all yourself.
A vessel needs only one captain and one is maximum number needed for this
size boat. Then, enjoy! And remember, "absence can make the heart grow fonder"

Re-evaluate wanting her on board, unless you are sure she really wants to be.
When aboard, agree on her responsibilities and make them within her capabilities.
Make the first several voyages short and pleasurable. Pick your weather.

If she is only giving you lip service about this purchase, complaints will soon
develop and the boat will become a wedge between the two of you.

Good luck with this. Campgrounds, getting there and back, are a far cry from
boon docking on water. Hence there are landlubbers and mariners.

Aye.