Performance Differences between C-22 and C-25

[Forfun1960]

I am looking to purchase a C-Dory with in the next few months and wanting to travel alot for extended trips from rivers to intercoastal and some offshore when weather is right.

Favorite place to boat is the San Juans. Will be just me and the wife mostly but my 2 adult children and their spouses enjoy day trips with us.

So wondering the overall performance differences between the 22 and 25?

Such as how much overall space increase is the 25 or 22? Does it feel like alot?

Seakeeping differences?

Shower in the 25 vs no shower in 22?

Fuel mileage for long trips?

What else should I be considering

[colbysmith]

I have the CD-22 Cruiser, and have also been on a few 25's. Regarding performance, this past summer, I cruised the Inside Passage with a 25 buddy boat. We both appeared to get the same mileage at displacement speed, of about 5-6mpg. On plane I will routinely get around 3.1-3.2 mpg. I'll let a 25 owner share what they get. My 22 has a porta potti stored under the V-Berth. I don't have to go looking for a pump out, but I do have to find somewhere to dump it. Any outhouse, RV dumpstation, or rest area will do. My shower is a camp shower hung out on my roof. The 25's have the enclosed head and shower, but many of the owners I know use camp shower bags as well rather than soaking the head. The 22 is very comfortable for 2 people. Even rather large people. More than that it gets a little crowded. The 22 only weighs around 5000 lbs on the trailer, so easy to tow behind many tow vehicles. The 25's are closer to 9000 pounds on the trailer. Or so I've been told. My friends from the Alaska trip are here visiting, and they stated that they didn't think it looked like my ride was much worse than theirs in some of the rougher sections of water. The 25 has a 100 gallon fuel tank to my 40 gallons, so their range is a little farther. My suggestion is get a ride in both. If you are going to have your family out more often than not, the 25 is going to provide much more room. Colby

[Avidmagnum12]

I had a 22 and it was a great boat but after a few days it got a little “small” for me. So a lot has to do how you are using a boat. Are you by yourself or are you planning on a lot of travel with someone else. Do you mind a portable toilet? Do you plan on going on long trips? Colby suggestion to get a ride on both is rock solid. He has a very nice 22 that he is extremely happy with. My wife likes the larger size, head, additional storage, refrigerator, hot water heater and lots of other little things about the 25. The 22 has a good ride and should handle the same waters as a 25. I did find that wake I run right through with the 25 I would turn into with the 22.

My friend Rick bought a 22 first and after he toured our 25 he sold it to buy a 25. We’ve been traveling over 4 months this summer putting on over 200 hours on our main and not tired of living on the 25.

Lots of questions to ask yourself but first get a good look at both.

Best luck with your search.

[ssobol]

Depends on your required level of comfort and intended mode of use. We have a 22 and have been on it for up to two weeks at a time (2 adults). If you are outdoorsy and can handle camping a 22 is quite comfortable. If you need more creature comforts a 25 might be better.

A 22 is more portable than a 25. Most midsize SUVs, vans, and trucks can tow it. A 25 is close to twice as heavy and requires a much more substantial vehicle to tow it. We like being able to go to a lot of new places so a 22 is a better fit for us.

In our use, we are never that far from civilization. If we were doing expedition cruising to remote locations a 25 might work better. We'll cross that bridge if we come to it.

[kaelc]

We moved from an 18 Hewescraft to a 25 Cruiser and the price difference was painful but mostly worth it for a family of 3 and often fishing with 3-4 people. If we were just a couple I would stick with the 22 and retire a year or two earlier as the cost really increases to buy and maintain the larger boat.

Haven't used the shower yet, but the stand-up head is quite worthwhile in my opinion and in my wife's opinon. If you are over 6 feet it is tight!

[localboy]

We own a 25. At 8-10 knots you’re burning ~5 gph. Up the
speed to 12-14 the fuel burn increases to ~7gph. Sweet spot is between 3500-4500 rpm on a Suzuki 150. We usually cruise at 4K rpm and that will put us at ~12 knots, current etc dependent.

The 25 has so much more room, not just length but internal volume too. The head/shower was a huge selling point for The Admiral. No need to go to shore or use a porta-potty.

We have done three week trips, just the two of us. We are still working stiffs. No issue. It’s a good couples boat for long trips. I’ve had 3 adults and one kid on board and it got crowded.

Of course, bigger boat = bigger tow vehicle. I already had a 3/4 ton diesel so it was a non- issue. But if you don’t...

[journey on]

Well first off, we're too old for porta-potties. And I like cold beer and hot water. That's why we have a 25.

Sleeping a lot of people in a C-Dory 25 is as follows.
2 in the V-berth
1 on the table
1 on the cabin floor
2 in the cockpit and pray it doesn't rain..

It works, but for the people sleeping on the floor, it's a hard surface.

Any 1/2 ton pu with a V-8 can tow it. One doesn't need a diesel.

Boris

[localboy]

[Foggy]

The truth is for a boat on water, length is ride.
Hull shape also influences ride.

C-Dory's are not "open water" boats that can comfortably handle much
past 3' or so head seas as their hulls are rather flat. Been "pounded" recently?
Deep "V" boats cannot be discussed with C-Dorys as their intended purposes
differ too much; i.e., not in an apples-to-apples discussion.

I realize many C-Dorys have successfully made many open water passages
and I'll bet my bongles the weather was mild/moderate, w/o significant head
seas or the crew later vowed never to do that again.

Interior dimension is a comfort and personal preference issue plain and simple.

Why do you think most people who buy a 20 odd foot boat later move up to a
larger one (IMHO)* and not down to a smaller one?

Aye.

* Just check out some of our members posts containing their boat biography...

[ssobol]

There are a number of people here who had 25s and moved down to 22s. I expect that there are couple who buy a boat that fits them when they are younger. Then have a family and need a bigger boat for some years. When they become empty nesters, they go back to a smaller boat because they no longer need the space and find a smaller boat easier to manage and care for.

We have a 22. My wife is hinting at a Ranger. I'm not sure that the hassle factor of a bigger, more complex boat is worth the upgrade.

[JamesTXSD]

When we were looking to buy a C-Dory, we went to the Seattle Boat Show. Back in 2006, the factory had every model on display at the show. I was thinking: 22; we spent a lot of time crawling around that boat. We then looked at the 25... it is significantly larger; much larger than the 3' difference might have to believe. More beam. More weight. Just more. I recall the discussions that the $30k difference in price (back then) was mostly about the enclosed head. It is so much more than that. You get more amenities: most of the 25s have a fridge, a full 30 amp electrical system, hot and cold pressure water (and a water heater), more storage, more beam, more height (6' 10" in the cabin), a bigger V-berth, bigger cockpit... and, yes, an enclosed head with shower.

Think that head/shower isn't important? Would you stay in a motel that didn't have a bathroom? We have spent up to 6 months at a time on the boat. Every night. In our case, that absolutely would not have happened if we had gone for the 22. For full disclosure, we have moved on (no longer have the CD-25), but not due to anything wrong with the boat.

The 22 is a great boat. The 25 makes extended cruising far more comfortable. On ours, we added a microwave, TV (cable and satellite capable), a shower curtain, a portable generator (Honda 2000i), full camperback, electric over hydraulic brakes on the trailer... it took us from the Pacific Northwest (Including being our "home on the water" while we worked for a whale watch company) to the Florida Keys. San Francisco Bay to the Erie Canal. New York City (via the Hudson) to Lake Powell. Yellowstone Lake to Desolation Sound. The trailer and a proper tow vehicle give you unlimited possibilities for couples' cruising.

For us, the difference between the 22 and 25 was like having a hard-sided tent vs an RV on the water. Again, no disrespect for the venerable 22 - many folks have had great adventures with those boats. The 25 was just a better fit for our use. Don't underestimate what additional "elbow room" can do for spending happy extended time onboard. The interior volume is something like 30% more on the 25 over the 22.

Performance wise, the 25 will give you a better ride (it weighs more than a ton more than the 22). You will pay for that better ride and stability with more fuel burn (bigger motor/hp) and the need for a more robust tow vehicle.

Good luck with the decisions.

[bridma]

I had a 22 for 6 years. Loved that little boat. Note the operative word.....little!
IMO the 22 is great for day trips for a couple and maybe a couple of kids, and great for a single person (just ask Harvey). Fine for a couple on extended trips 7 to 10 days, (but with problems, read on). The Admiral and I did lots of 3 week trips. Yes we are still married and still talk to each other........lol
We found the longer trips challenging. While one person moves around the cabin, the other person sits in a seat out of the way. Being caught in several days of rain in the middle of nowhere while at anchor was miserable. We never had a cockpit canvas. Even if we did, I would not want to sit there if the sun has gone down and it is cold. Or if we are under attack by mozzies.
Two of you sitting at the table looking at each other 3ft apart all evening! Well, you better love the person you are looking at. Another problem is when both of you are sitting at the table, the 22 being a much lighter boat, the boat heels to Port. We would stuff a cushion under one butt cheek to try and sit level. No fun for 2 or 3 hours at a time. After a week or two the Admiral complained of sore hips, she was in a lot of pain. After 6 years she said enough is enough. Either we get a bigger boat or I'm done boating. So we sold the 22 and moved up to a Camano Troll (great fuel economy for a pocket trawler). We now boat in luxury.
Anyway, back to the story. If I ever return to C-Dory's it would be a 25 or a Tomcat.

Martin.

[colbysmith]

As folks share fuel performance numbers with you, pay close attention to if they are talking mpg or gph. Ie, earlier I stated my 22 and a friends 25, got 5-6 mpg at displacement speeds. That speed we were going was about 5-6 mph using about 1 gph of gas. If somebody is going 10 kts or about 12 mph burning 5 gph they are getting about 2.3 mpg.

[Easyvictor.14]

Another option in the C Dory line, the 23 Venture! My 2008 Venture is in between the 22 and 25, but has a different hull shape, porta potty, fridge, water heater, A/C, 30 amp shore power and a Honda 2200 generator.
Suzuki 150 produces an awesome 4 MPG at 3800rpm and about 19-21 mph.
Math works out to 5 GPH at 20mph. With 60 gal tank (2x30), That’s 10hrs of running at 20 with 10 gal of reserve fuel. Not many 23’ planing hull boats can match those numbers. Very comfortable for 2 people, 6180lbs including trailer, tows easy with a 1/2 ton Ram.

[kaelc]