Rosborough, C-Dory, Rosborough, C-Dory....oh the tough calls

[bshillam]

Well the wife says go for it, your choice. I have.located a really nicely equipt RF-246 auto pilot kicker etc. Or a fairly basic CD 25. Both having less than or close to 500 hours. CD has a 150 and the Rosborough has 225. I really am drawn to the RF because of the layout in the salon, excellent seating, it just makes sense to me. But I love the economy of the CD, past history with the brand, people and the fact it was made here in our back yard.

How many use the shower in thier CD? Would you buy yours again today having the experience you have now? We are 90% of the time going to he on the Columbia for day trips and overnights with a few long weekend's thrown in.
Towing only a handful of times in a year. Travel with just my son and I or the whole family, wife, son, and dog.
Tow rig is rated 10k. 3/4 F350 V10. I know either way when towing my mileage is going to be dismal and that's ok.

Thoughs, extensions, objections, rebuttals, and what not.

[bshillam]

The year difference between the newer CD or slightly older RF is about four years.

[journey on]

The only question I'm going to answer is about buying another C-Dory. I'd buy another C-Dory 25 in a heartbeat. It's the ideal boat for our use, which is going places and cruising. It suits our needs perfectly, it's dependable, it's simple and it's our boat. And it's cheap.

The Roseborough is a great boat, and any American V-8 will tow either boat. No comment on the V-10. We spent a couple of week on Journey On on the Columbia and came to the conclusion that it's a wonderful place to cruise.

Boris

[Sunbeam]

I've always thought the Rosboroughs were really cool boats. Of course I like C-Dorys too

I can't remember how this was, exactly, but when I was out on a Rosborough a few years ago, there was something about the dinette I didn't like. I can't recall the details, but it seemed really low (or something like that?) as compared to the windows?

I'll have to look and see if I took any photos (plus maybe the one you are looking at is different).

Are you going to launch/retrieve/tow a lot? If so, how do they compare?

[bshillam]

Moore it in a slip and tow retrieve several times a year.

[Sunbeam]

Well, I took photos of everything BUT the dinette that day, but I did find a similar photo online of a another Rosborough. I think the reason the dinette is low is because part of it goes under the helm seat when made up as a bed (IIRC). Anyway, might not be noticeable to you, and/or you may be looking at a different layout, but I wasn't fond of the "low" dinette (much as I loved the rest of the boat). Kind of felt like sitting in the basement vis-a-vis the ports/galley/other seating.

[thataway]

The question about the shower on the 25. In Alaska, I probably used the shower a couple of times in a month--the rest of the time it was either a swim, a hot springs, a marina, or a spit bath. To me (remember that I am a little larger than some), the C Dory 25 shower was just a little smaller than the Tom Cat--where I did use the shower regularly.--only a few inches difference. Also in AK, the condensation in the boat is an issue.

The plus of the dinette in the Rossi, is that it makes into a decent double bed, vs the smaller dinette in the C Dory 25.

[Robert H. Wilkinson]

Not to bash the Cdory but personally I would jump all over the Rosie. They are a beautiful, sea worthy boat that is built like a brick outhouse! My home port is on Lake Erie and I would love a semi displacement hull when the chop is up and I am either getting pounded on plane or relegated to displacement speed. That is a jump from 5 to 20+ mph. no happy spot in between. I would like to be able to choose my speed in smaller increments.

The Rosie hull will last a lifetime but like the Cdory finding a used one for sale in your area is rare. A testament to their strength and ability is the fact that they are sold to numerous government and commercial interests all over the world. The molds for the 246 and the Sea Skiff 22 were sold to Eastern Boats around Oct. 2012 and are now marketed under the name Rosborough USA. From what I have heard Eastern is doing the name proud and producing a quality build. I believe Peter Brown is still the manager of direct sales(in Canada anyway). He is very accommodating and believes in total customer satisfaction. They offered a well equipped 246 with a 250 Yamaha at the Annapolis boat show in 2013 for $133K - might be more now.

Most of the Rosborough's are fitted with an Armstrong bracket or hull extension. This increases the cockpit 'space' as well as the other inherent benefits of a bracket. Their hull can also handle and perform well with a wide range of power options, depending on your intended use. The 225 on the boat you mention is a good(common) choice. We had a 246 follow us on the Trent last summer. He was our lock partner through several locks(from Hastings to Campbellford) and despite a strong wind at the top that was blowing other boats off the wall and despite the fact he was single handing - the 246 looked like it was riding on rails. He didn't even leave his seat at the helm! The sliding door at the helm is one of the things I love about this boat. He used a single line from a midship cleat to hold the lock cable. His boat was powered with twin 50hp Yamaha's for use as a slow, fuel efficient cruiser. Told me it liked to cruise around 9 knots. I included a few pictures of it in my Trent Severn album.

Similar to the Cdory they have a fairly shallow draft - compared to the average 25' boat. The only downside to this boat I have seen raised here on the Cbratts was by Dr. Bob who had some concerns regarding the length of the berth. I believe he found it to be a bit tight for tall owners.

Regards and good luck with your hunt.

Rob

[ghone]

Only been on two Rosboroughs. Impressive boats
The dinette is as usual (even on the C Dory's) poor in ergonomics
The seat to back is 90 degrees and table is very close so you won't sit there long Most uncomfortable and lower than I like in relation to the windows
Most production boats have bad dinette ergonomics
The seat bottom needs to slope front to back and back needs to be 90 to it. It takes an inch or two drop front to back to be comfy ( see good living room chairs)
On our 22 the dinette is good even though not correct as we have space to get back from the table We also get the cushions out and use scrunchable pillows
In the Rosborough I felt bent forward while seated, quite a bit out of comfy
Nice boat otherwise, much more power needed, bigger inside, very capable likely a bit of a challenge to load and tow
not on my list to buy
I'd suggest go aboard each and lay in the berths make a coffee in the galley have the coffee at the dinette and jump in the shower and wave arms around
Ignore ooh and aah stuff, can you sleep, eat, lay about etc cruise them?
Bob and Lorie (blind bay bob) love thiers
George

[san juanderer]

The last posting is very accurate about the boats cruising character, like " on rails". The keel is a significant influence. The boat you have found with a 225hp, is a great combination. Personally I have found the berth is very spacious. If more length is needed, remove the hanging locker, remount the rod bracket and now you have enough berth length for a 7 footer. I did this to mine. The feel of the interior salon is very generous, and the dinette makes into a very generous double bed. You will not be unhappy about the sea-keeping ability of the RF246.

[bshillam]

Funny story, so I went to look at one this weekend that wad not for sale. I even offered to take it off his hands, but he insisted it wasn't for sale. I knew the birth might be a squeeze, so I laid down on the shorter side, starboard. And found it was just enough. I'd have to say, any 5'11" and above might find it a bit of a squeeze. The wife and I will probably play footsy in the night, but otherwise it wa a nice fit. One of the nice features I liked was being able to stand in the vbirth area. You wouldn't dance, but there's enough room to dress. That isn't going to happen in a CD. I really like being able to use the head without waking the wife. As well, 33 gallon holding. Not that that is going to come in handy but once or twice a year when we have a week vacation. Everywhere I looked I was pleasantly surprised. From how the wires were chased to how they protected the water lines and ran them in an open pipe in the case they developed a leak. Also, the storage was awesome, from cockpit boxes to lockers in front of the pilot and co-pilot seats.
When I stared my search I rally thought the CD was a good fit for the family. But the more we talk and anyalize how we boat and what we want out of the next cruiser I do believe the RF-246 is the one.

[JamesTXSD]

Both are very capable 25' boats. From my perspective, the Rossi looks and feels like a bigger boat. The C-Dory will likely be more economical to operate.

Merv (Grumpy), who may see this thread, would be a good one to contribute some observations, having owned a very nice Rossi.

Regarding the CD-25 shower: we used ours regularly, when cruising and during the 3 summers we lived aboard while working in Friday Harbor. It is snug, but functional. You have to make a few modifications to make it more user friendly, like a shower curtain that actually keeps water out of the cabin, and a "seat cover" to keep water out of the toilet when showering. We would squeegee and wipe down the shower after every use to keep the humidity down.

I am 5'9" (ish), and just fit in the CD-25 berth. Plenty of width, but you will be "playing footsies" in that berth, as well.

I have been in/on several Rossboroughs and remember always being impressed by the fit, feel, and stoutness (is that a word?).

Of course, the C-Dory has this great owners group for support.

Good luck with the decisions. Both fine boats.

Jim

[Grumpy]

Can't compare the CD25 directly since we had a 22 but I can confirm that the RF feels like a much bigger boat.
Ours had the hull extension and 2 x BF 135's and for a 25 ft boat it fits (just) in a 30 ft slip.

Built like the proverbial brick out house.

Unlike the CD 22 the RF is quite happy heading into seas but can be "twitchy" with quartering or following seas. You have to get the speed and corrections right but once you learn it all is well.

The sliding cabin doors help a lot with docking, you can just reach out and snag a cleat. The keel "remnants" do help keeping it straight but it is taller than the CD and the wind will catch up with you.

Both great boats. It really comes down to personal preferences & details.

Lots of pictures in this site under Kingfisher II.

Any questions I will be glad to help.

Merv (Grumpy)

[dumy]

Just sold my 2008 RF 246. Great boat. Yes- I definitely would buy another one.
Ron

[Byrdman]

Have had the pleasure of traveling on both the CD25s & RF-246's. Post 1997 I believe is the year that Bob changed the RF-246 hull...in that..the keel was much deeper & wider. The post 1997 changes were basically made as to allow Bob Rosborough to build a great 25' working hull capable of cruising at 30 knots for the business day for the government agencies. Same time Bob designed his "power hull extension"....which added enough buoyancy to float twin 150 4-stroke motors to push the vessel at their required speeds. BINGO! Great set up, great hull...and I think about 10% of those hulls were commercial boats and that is where Rosborough found his niche in the boat building world...the heavy built commercial boats. They ran the "civilian" RF-246 set up as a cruiser...and it too sold great until he had populated the NE of America with them. Sort of followed what the Tolands and others did with the C-Dory boats up in the NW. Then the new hulls were competing against great used hulls vs new hull pricing 1st owner depreciation. Then, Rosborough built enough of the cruisers to keep his quality builders employed while waiting on another batch of government contract boats.
The boats do the same thing...basically...the RF-246 all around smoother in all water conditions but will cost you a bit more to run in a 100 mile weekend.
Want smooth ride and tougher better built/engineered boat...go Rossi.
Not in a hurry, can change speeds/travel plans to handle chops above normal or weather that just comes up...and want better fuel economy... do not want to stand up to dress in the V-Berth... go C-Dory.

Now...just how many hours are you going to spend "moving and traveling" which is where the Rossi shines brightest...but...each mile will cost you a bit more. Not going to do but 250-300 miles in a year... it is not that much fuel cost difference. Going to travel 350-600 miles a year.... you may want to run some numbers on fuel cost....if that is an issue.

Both are nice boats, both have plusses and minuses.
I loved traveling in both.
I did like that heads up RF-246 I built for sure...but it's owner is down in Ft. Myers FL area....loving it! I took from 1st generation CD-25, current CD-25, current RF-246.....and a mix of other nice boats I have enjoyed...and built the heads up RF-246. I do wish I had not sold that boat.

Happy boat hunting.