22' Cruiser; 'The Sculpin'

[CanDo]

Hello Shipmates,

For my first post I thought I would ask if any of you fine C-Dory people have any knowledge of a 22 foot Cruiser named 'The Sculpin'? I am on my way, Monday morning, to have a look at her and hopefully hitch-er-up and trail back home to Florida. After looking at pictures, from an Email, she looks to be a pristene and well tended vessel.

Now, finally after three misses on buying one it looks like I'll finally be able to look for some of you out on the water, rather than with binoculars from the shoreline. Will keep you posted and "Yes, I'll get pictures just as soon as possible. This is almost as exciting as when our first born arrived. Now I will most likely be slamming everyone with questions.

Be safe friends.

Paul (almost onboard 'CanDo')

[Molly Brown]

Congratulations Paul! Where abouts is "Sculpin" based? We're getting enough Dory's in this part of the country to have a CPod gathering someday...we were up at Caladesi State Park a year or two ago. Nice area. You'll have to tell us about any great anchorages you discover once you get out and about after you aquire "Can Do".

[CanDo]

Okay...... here we go again......

I will not be the owner of the C-Dory Sculpin at this time. I can't seem to obtain enough information about the true condition of the vessel or even an 'equipment included' listing from the seller. Thus; I am not going to venture all the way to Detroit. So the search continues.

And I will this time contain my exuburance and post only upon my sucessful procurement and include photos.

Sorry about the false alarm.

[Byrdman]

Paul... Be patient my friend. A used C-Dory in the SE is a hard find. I live in Montgomery, AL, was in a school in Coco Beach, FL for 3 weeks, found one for sell about 50 minutes north of Daytona...but, I was able to talk with the original owner who I bought it from about the condition and all on the boat. This was mid day on Friday and I did not get out of class until 1700 hours Friday, and was able to get him to give me 1st cash bid if I would be at his home Saturday morning 0800. I was, and I did. Then, had to wait a week for the school to complete, fly home, get tow vehicle, drive back North of Daytona, load/clean boat, haul her back to Montgomery, AL... That was a long day.

I was able to do this because I had done my research, knew that the boat holds its value, (as long as it has not hit the pavement or received any other type of abuse....to include some "wonderful American rigging...". .the motors I wanted 4 stroke, Honda prefered due to their known good longevity/echonomy/low maintenance...and a good trailer. His trailer was not what I consider a trailer, but they had a boat show going on and a gentleman bought a new package boat that had a trailer he did not need so the dealer sold us that trailer for about $800 for new trailer, and he and I split that. Perfect deal....but, you need to be willing to travel at the time I feel sure. The new 25s are gaining popularity, so I look for more of the 22s to be on the market... and the new TC255 is about to hit in about a month or two... which should also open up some more sales of used vessels. These are great boats and tuff boats. They are worth the wait...but be poised and ready...for a little travel. I did go to Oak Harbor, WA to pick up my 2nd C-Dory... Great trip and got to see parts of the country I have never seen...and met some great folks too at the Jan05 Factory Gathering...and plan to make the Barley Gathering mid Jul05 also...

[Byrdman]

Also... you might want to give this a day or two to give the folks in that neck of the woods to chip in... who knows .... I bet someone knows info on the boat.

[gljjr]

Paul,

Buying a boat long distance is a chore! What I did is got a survey done from a licensed surveyor that was local to the boat. Then once I had the survey in hand with the pictures and hull condition I called and talked to the owner and we agreed on a price. Yes this took a LONG time. But we are both satisfied with the deal so that is a good thing.

BTW: Have you looked at www.boattraderonline.com today? There was a 2002 22' in Tampa today. http://adcache.boattraderonline.com/6/5/5/79734055.htm

I also found the "Sculpin" on BoatTraderOnline also. It looks to be pretty nicely equipped. Too bad the owner didn't want to work with you!http://adcache.boattraderonline.com/6/2/7/79828427.htm

[Bearh]

We got a survey on "Snowdon" before we drove from Annapolis to Three Rivers, Florida one February weekend, just before the largest snowstorm to hit the mid-Atlantic in several years, to see her in person, pay the man, hitch her up, eat a grouper sandwich, and turn around to drive home. It was worth it, even though the boat was in fine shape, and as the salesman said, the survey turned out to be extra money spent. For peace of mind while dealing at a distance, it was money well spent. Good luck. I found the surveyor on line by searching marine surveyors near the town in Florida by the way. The Net is very handy for finding these things. Bruce Holly

[gljjr]

I agree Bruce! The survey was definitely worth the cost. For me it amounted to if I was looking at a boat with a good hull. Everything else I can probably fix but it has to be in good enough shape to make it worth while. The only way to know if there is moisture in the transom or bottom of the hull is to do some readings with a moisture meter or start drilling small holes. Since those meters are really expensive and a round trip airline ticket would have been several hundred bucks the survey saved me a lot of money! It found things that should be looked at and things that I will probably look at in the future that I know I NEVER would have thought of.

Having a survey done by someone you hire is insurance that you know what you are buying before making the final deal. I had to put money down on the boat to hold it while I got the survey done. I was fine with doing that as it meant the boat wouldn't get sold out from under me.