26 Venture vs the Classic...Advice please

[Paddy111]

Hello...I am a Boston Whaler owner off the coast of Newfoundland. I'm seriously considering moving to C Dory mainly because of enclosed cabin (many of the same weather issues as you have on the west coast) and heat.

I find the 26 Venture an interesting boat, the spec sheet says the boat has a foam core (similar to Boston Whaler?). In fact the 26' Venture has foam core where the 23 has a composite core, not sure why the construction difference in the same product line!! Actually, I'm not sure what the difference is? Is there someone out there that has a 26' that might discuss why they choose the 26 Venture vs the 25 Classic? I've notice that foam in my Whaler deadens the hollow water sound in the hull, is this the same with the 26 Venture? Is it a portable boat (trailerable) or am I just wishing for too much? Single with kicker or Twin? It also has insulation, is it convenient to use the heater on colder days? Do the windows fog up, how do you deal with that?

Look forward to some helpful comments.
Paddy

[Matt Gurnsey]

I'm not sure why the difference in terminology, but the 23 and 26 Venture are built with the same foam core. I believe this is a different product than used on the Whaler, but am not up on the latest Whaler construction.

Having seen both models, I notice the following differences:

The 25 has much more head room (6' 8")
The 25 has seats in the aft corners
The 25 has the "classic" interior (plain fiberglass)
The 25 has a self bailing cockpit
The 25 has side rails aft
The 25 has two steps down into the cabin

The 26 has a full cabin liner construction (flat floor, not standing in the bilge)
The 26 has a full height transom
The 26 has the padded vinyl interior- more sound deadening, more insulation
The 26 has a deeper cockpit with no need for aft rails
The 26 has one step down into the cabin
The 26 carries its beam farther forward, giving more room in the V Berth
The 26 has a deeper forefoot and more of a modified V Hull design
The 26 eliminates the "hump" in the hardtop- easier to get an inflatable up there

The two boats are very similar, and I have a slight preference for the 26 for the upgraded interior, tilt wheel and teak trim work. I see the appeal of the 25, as well as the lower ($10 - $15K) price when equally equipped.

Hope this helps!

[starcrafttom]

I own a 22 c-dory but will try to answer some of the questions that pertain to all of our boats. Yes all these boats are very trailerable, that the best think about them. You are not stuck on one coast but can still live for extended periods of time. There are several ways to heat a cd or cc so you can cruise in all most any weather. Susan and I have been snowed on in the boat while sleeping over night. We did stay warm and dry. Look up wallas and airtronic heaters on this site for more info.

As for single vs twin? well that is a matter of opinion and ever one has one so heres mine. I prefer a single for many reasons. Foremost is the fact that I fish and like to have a kicker, I don't always use the kicker because the main trolls real nice but its good to have in the right places. A kicker also makes a great back up, we lost a prop on our last trip but was able to make 6 knots with the kicker, I doubt that most twin set ups will make much more speed on one motor but that is also a matter of opinion. I think one larger main with a small kicker weights less and work less then twins. I have rode in a few 25 cd and two 26 cc and the best performer of the group was the 26 cc with a 200 etec. now engine choice all depends on where and how you are going to use the boat. If you do not fish and just cruise then twins may be a good idea.
last question was about fog. yes the windows fog up. I just installed a set of fans above the front windows and that seems to work well. other use rainx and other produces and they seem to like them. Good luck in your search.

[petemos]

I have a CD 22 in Prospect Bay NS, which is about 25 mins south of Halifax. I went with a 18 HP 4 stroke kicker instead of twins. While not the same as the 25 CD (the cabin is bigger, the beam is 8'6" vs 7'8" and it has a standup head) the both seem to handle about the same if you max out the power, I tested both before going with the CD 22. As i'm on the water, did not want to buy a bigger truck to trailer it and just wanted to go fishing and maybe sleep overnight, so didn't make the move up. The rear deck space is the same except for the beam difference, so for fishing it did not make any real difference for me. I have never tested a Venture as they are very had to find on the east coast.
If you can get to NS from Aug 8th or so to the 20th and want to take a spin, let me know and i'll see if we can hook up.

P.S. If you look at the c-dory site, see if there are any owners selling on the east coast. If not, there is a dealer in New Hampshire that has a CD 25 for sale.

Jim

[20dauntless]

We've got a Whaler (20 Dauntless, Dual Console Model) and a 22 Cruiser. Very different boats. We use them quite differently as well. The Whaler is wet slipped for the summer on Lake Washington (we live on Mercer Island, which is surrounded by Lake Washington) and gets used for swimming, skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, etc...

The C-Dory is dry stacked in Anacortes and we use it primarily to get to our cabin in the San Juans.

The speed difference is very noticeable between the two, but not a big deal. Our Whaler cruises faster than the C-Dory will go. The trip from the marina to the dock at the cabin took about 40 minutes in the Whaler and takes about an hour in the C-Dory. This is made up by the far greater comfort in the C-Dory, however. The pilothouse is wonderful. If it's hot and sunny outside, it's cooler and shaded inside. If it's cold and rainy outside, its dry and warm inside. You'd never think of driving a convertible with the top down in the rain, so why do we accept this while boating?

C-Dory's are often panned for their ride. I think this is a non issue, however. We've found that the C-Dory, thanks in part to its slower speeds, is more comfortable in chop than the Whaler. Rather than having to choose to pound through it at 20+ mph in the Whaler, or slog through it at 6, the C-Dory hull allows you to choose an intermediate speed. With the tabs down and the engine trim down (aided by an SST hydrofoil) the C-Dory can plane very slowly and be comfortable in pretty nasty conditions.

Both boats are very safe. The Whaler has the advantage of being unsinkable, but the C-Dory design has the advantage of being able to take much more green water over the bow before having any problems. Because the forward 2/3 of the boat are completely enclosed, any water that finds its way up there simply drains off, before collecting and creating stability problems. My biggest concern would be striking a log at high speeds and holing the boat. I believe that any hole of significant size below the waterline in the C-Dory would result in it sinking fairly quickly. This is true, however, of almost all small boats besides Whalers.

Regarding the foam core of the Venture series, it is very different from Whalers Unibond construction. It's my understanding that the foam core in the Venture boats serves the same purpose as the balsa core in the classic C-Dory's and doesn't provide significant flotation.

Fit and finish is better on the Whaler.

We rode on a Cape Cruiser 26 before they were taken over by C-Dory and they are nice boats. FWIW, the 25 seems to have more interior space, but that may just be an illusion. I think it feels wider than the 26.

If you want to have the same type of speed as your Whaler and a much better ride, look into the 255 TomCat. We sea trialed that boat and it handles wind chop phenomenally, but it costs a lot more than a 22 and can't fit on our dock.

Good luck with the boat search and let me know if you have any other questions.

[Paddy111]

[petemos]

There is a 2007 25' and a 2008 22' for sale in New Hampshire at the c-dory dealer. The 25' has been there for 2 years and when i was looking last year it was the same price. I would think it should be in the low 60's high 50's now. The 22' may be high depending on what engine they throw in. It's not a loaded boat and i would think things are not moving well these days. I would think they would throw in a trailer and some other stuff and still come in at around their listed price.
That's my take.
As i stated before, if you can get to Nova Scotia in mid-Aug you can check out my 22'.



Jim

[20dauntless]

Yep, the 20 Dauntless and 21 Ventura are pretty similar.

I don't know which boat has more absolute stability. I know I don't want to be in a position to find out. I will tell you that I've been in some pretty nasty conditions and never felt unsafe in the C-Dory. We often cross Rosario Strait with a beam sea and even in 25 knots of wind and pretty steep three footers and the boat is fine.

You can pack a lot of stuff in the cabin of the 22. A few weeks ago we had 6 people, 2 fully grown golden retrievers, and a 12 week old chocolate lab in the cabin of the 22 on our way to the San Juans. 3 people can easily sit down, and the rest were standing or laying in the V-birth, but it sure beat sitting outside freezing on the Whaler! 3 or 4 people really wouldn't be a problem for day trips I don't think. We have a single Honda BF90D. A fantastic engine that has no problem pushing the fully loaded boat and uses half the gas that our Whaler does, mile for mile (our Whaler has a carbed 2 stroke Yamaha 200).

Last year we paid a little under $56k out the door, with tax, but no trailer. Our boat has the high top, Wallas stove, interior handrails, dual batteries, anchor deck pipe, and trim tabs. This price also includes full electronics (Raymarine C80, 2kw radome, Icom VHF with DSC, Himminbird depth sounder). We probably spent several hundred more on lines, fenders, anchors, etc...

[Paddy111]

Thanks for the leads. I'll keep your invitation in mind if I get to NS this summer.

[Paddy111]

You mentioned (Dauntless) that you have some concerns about puncturing the hull and sinking. Do you carry an inflatable on the roof? Seems like a good idea given the added concern? I have a British Columbia dealer who has two 23 Ventura's in stock. He is willing to sell then for about 70k each Canadian with a trailer. Seems like a reasonable price given the engine is a 150 Yamy

[20dauntless]

I have an 8 foot inflatable that I have carried on the roof and towed. I generally only do this when cruising and when I need the inflatable to get to shore where there isn't a dock. In reality I think the C-Dory is a very safe boat. I've never heard of one sinking from striking a log. This isn't to say it can't happen, but I certainly don't think it's likely.

It seems to me that most sinkings occur due to failed through hulls. My 22 has one through hull (the drain plug) that is unlikely to break. As long as the engine is running the pumps should keep up with the flow of water coming in from that through hull if something were to fail.

In case I ever end up in the water I keep a PLB, portable VHF, portable GPS and strobe light on or in my lifejacket.