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C-Wannabe



Joined: 02 Jun 2009
Posts: 47

State or Province: AB
PostPosted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 12:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The ultimate, niggling wannabe question:

Can a C-Dory 22 comfortably overnight more than three, average-sized people?
If so, how??? (Remember the K.I.S.S. principle and the dreaded $$$ wasting three-footitis disease)

Wayne McCown on his CD 22 "Little Mac" firmly answers the question with words and photos:
www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=1686 page 2

Also see what he does with two folding bikes for ground transportation. Back cockpit table for food preparation etc? Yup, all on a C-Dory 22!

Ohters see things differently:
www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=9115&highlight=mpg
www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=8387
Three-footitis!
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C-Wannabe



Joined: 02 Jun 2009
Posts: 47

State or Province: AB
PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A few more thoughts for wannabes about size and the perfect nautical RV from a piece I wrote some years back on the land version: www.peoplesguide.com/1pages/chapts/notebks/archive/2001/note_archive_06_29-01.html (Carl Franz and Lorena Havens were partial to VW vans and folding boats themselves).

Considering that many folks view the C-Dory 22 as the on-water equivalent of the venerable VW campervan www.tugstrawlerstn.com/pilothouse_boats.html then you might guess where this is going. In fact, the diminutive CD 22 actually offers more living space than a VW Westphalia. After taking our little camper up to Jasper National Park in search of mineral-licking mountain goats last weekend -- me, my wife, our 18-yr-old daughter and little 15lb mutt all stuffed in there -- I decided to pull out the measuring tape to see how the C-Dory 22 stacked up for size against the Westphalia (known to its happy fans by the pet name of Westy).

According to the C-Dory website, the interior dimensions of the CD 22 are 6'3" for the V-Berth (length), 6'2" for the living area of the cabin (length of helm, galley and dinette) and another 4'6" for the cockpit length. All up, that's 17 feet of living area with a useable width of 5'9" or so for a good portion of it. And by adding a camperback, you have weatherproof living space out back, to boot.

The VW? Total interior length from front to back is only 13' with a width of 5'4". The three-feet of rear storage area behind the back seat really isn't useable as living space until the bed is converted so we're down to ten feet. The van's "cabin" area from the back of the front seat to the back of the rear seat is about 6', close to what the CD 22 offers. Its "front cockpit" -- from the windshield to the back of the front seat is 4 feet. Of course, we can also throw in the top bunk when the poptop is up -- that's a full double bed up there. For a look-see at the interior setup: www.mts.net/~rrh/WestyBrochure.html as well as the exterior/interior link on that page.

Unlike a CD 22 with its Wallas stove/heater, my van has no built-in cabin heat and we definitely noticed that when we overnighted across from the Athabasca Glacier at 4 degrees C on Thursday! Since we routinely camp in griz country, I sleep up top in the vulnerable canvas-sided bunk with the girls in safety below. Due to ursine activity, we have never used our stovetop (to reduce food smells inside) and instead use two single-burner stoves which we cook on away from the van. An enclosed CD 22? Cook away in a heated cabin!

Time for bed? I have to get the girls to take the dog for a walk (or sit up front if it's raining) while I make BOTH beds up from stuff stored behind the rear seat. Then the reverse is undertaken each morning before we can get underway. The CD 22? A piece of cake in comparison: The V-berth is made up night and day -- even if a bunch of gear/packed bags are tossed on it while underway. At most, you have to deal with the conversion of the dinette bunk in the morning and in the evening -- again with the heat on! I warm the interior of the van up by driving it for about ten minutes. Shocked

To sum it up: Although some think the CD 22 is a bit on the small side, it is larger -- and has more comforts -- than my old 1989 Westy. I will admit, however, that my front captain's chair looks much comfier than the newer cheapo C-Dory helm seats (yes, I read Jim B.'s comments in the Just an Opinion thread).

Does size matter? Sometimes it does, but many folks do wonderful things with what's at hand or in the budget:

www.vwvagabonds.com/ (referred to in my 2001 piece as Los Ligatos Overland Adventures)

www.windcanyonbooks.com/product_info.php?products_id=130 Continental Drifting (the link appears to be broken in the original piece)

Do whatever works, whatever doesn't, don't!

BTW Fully loaded last weekend, the ol' Vdub still managed to crank out 23.5 mpg over the hills and dales between Calgary and Lake Louise. 'Course that was with a good tailwind helping us along. Laughing
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C-Wannabe



Joined: 02 Jun 2009
Posts: 47

State or Province: AB
PostPosted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Something else to think about on the topic of size and space needed by a cozy couple....

Don Watson wrote the book "21,500 Miles Alone in a Canoe" about his experiences in a 15-footer with an engine tagged on behind. In the next stage of the voyaging game, he married his wife Shirley and continued the adventure with a larger craft called Freedom. By 1988, the Watsons were still plugging along in that canoe-craft which was 22 feet long, 5 feet wide and held 150 gallons of fuel. Their ultimate goal was to do ALL the navigable rivers in North America and then take to land in an RV. Find out more about them by searching Google News. One pic in the link shows the interior with the two of them in in it and the layout sure does resemble a CD 22.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1347&dat=19850108&id=DbISAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5vsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2674,2623073

And make that a 75 horse, not a 750!
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