Change of Boat

[CDory23]

Hi all,

I have been a member since 2011 and a 2003 C Dory 22 Cruiser owner since 2013. I have loved my boat and this forum has been the best I've ever been on. Extremely helpful and great bunch of folks here. I also went to the San Juan Island gathering in, I believe 2017.

My use for my the boat has changed over the years. My Wife doesn't really enjoy sleeping/cruising on the boat much and my main use has turned into day fishing trips out of the Golden Gate and Bodega Bay. As many pros that I love and will miss from my C dory 22 Cruiser the reasons I"m looking to change boats are:

-More deck room for fishing and more people. Also more room for crab pots
-A boat more outfitted for fishing (Compartments) since thats what I"m doing 99% of the time
-Betterh handling in chop which is common where I"m ocean/bay boating ----More speed getting to the spot. (yes I will be consuming more gas) I'm also planning on going farther offshore for tuna in the new vessel.
-Washdown pump with either self bailing deck and/or macerator pump.

There may be other things I have not listed, but I"m currently travelling 50 miles round trip on an average fishing day and plan on traveling further in the ocean and offshore as I said for Tuna. As safely as the 22 has done this for me and provided great fishing days I think a larger fishing boat is the better option for me at this point.

I originally thought Tom Cat to stay in the C dory family, and I"m still looking at those, but they are far and in between used and generally above my price range. Other boats I have looked at are the Parker 2320, SeaSport, Defiance, Steigercraft in Fiberglass and in aluminum the Hewescraft 220 Ocean Pro, and the Raider Coastal.

I also plan on keeping the new boat berthed at either Bodega Bay or Berkeley throughout the year and taking it out for performing the routine maintenance. I have heard a downfall of going aluminum is the corrosion issues, but is that really a problem if you are on top of your sacrifical Anodes?

Any advice or opinions on people who have experience with any of these boats and or what you think would fit my needs the best would be appreciated. Thanks!

[backlash]

I've been around aluminum fishing boats all my life. I do a lot of bay and ocean on good days. Corrosion is a problem with aluminum regardless of anodes. Anodes on your motors will for the most part protect them....Anodes on the boat will protect the hull from being eaten up...Crevice corrosion is the biggest enemy especially with any boat that's painted anywhere. I am fanatical about upkeep on my boats and I have still had problems with it on my Alumaweld. Ultimately if gets under the paint and starts going to work corroding the aluminum and bubbling the paint. Anywhere you have stainless snaps or accessories mounted with stainless hardware is eventually going to be problematic.

All that said I love welded aluminum boats.
My buddy has a 23' Hewes Craft Pacific Explorer that is an amazing boat. We chase Tuna 50 miles off shore, the boat is awesome. It's powered by a Honda 250 that's always thirsty!

If it were me I don't think you can go wrong with a Sea Sport....My retirement boat, I hope.

Posting a link on crevice corrosion below

https://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?p=1100878

[westward]

I have a couple of thoughts regarding alloy boats.

look for a boat built with 5083 or 5086 hull plate. Better than 5052 at resisting saltwater corrosion. Yes on maintaining your sacrificial anodes, which should be a less noble aluminum alloy (not zinc). If it's in the budget consider a quality bottom paint job, with proper preparation, epoxy primer, and non-copper ablative antifouling paint. This will not only prevent marine growth, but will also protect your hull bottom from corrosion while in the water, or if sitting on a bunk trailer. For previously mentioned reasons: less paint better. I have had the paint bubbling and SS snap issues as well. There are several good books on corrosion in metal boats. These describe best practices for isolating dissimilar metals and which metals to avoid completely (incl. anything containing copper). Alloy boats are very durable, but do require some simple alloy-specific maintenance practices to avoid problems.

Best of luck with whatever you decide on!

[Foggy]

A few words about your situation; looking to purchase a new boat.

First, realize the looking, comparing, thinking about and wondering is probably
the most pleasurable and fun part of the process. Oh, I know about beautiful
vistas and pristine days on the water and all that. But once you're used to that,
it can become hum-drum and the tendency is then to find small complaints about
the current boat and think about another "better" one. Considering the pedigree
of vessels listed under most contributors to this forum, you are not alone in this
endeavor.

Considering a fairly good number of boats on your (short?) list, it would be best to
actually ride in any you are serious about.

I remember from my youth, an aluminum hull running across the water can sound
like being inside a tin can (I was very small in my youth). If this is a non-factor,
have at one.

Then there's the mono vs multi hull issue; specifically, the ride. Monohulls move
in a somewhat predictable manner given a steady wind and sea state. Not so in
multihulls. Here the hull/water interface(s), being wider apart and multiple,
result often in an uneven jitter, side-to-side motion that is noticeably different
from water action on each hull contacting it at different times.

Aye.

[hardee]

Another alternative to SeaSport and for serious off shore or big water fishing is the Ocean Roamer. They are FG boats that are built to take the big water, chop and off shore, with nice amenities too. And they come in sizes somewhat UP for the C-Dory line, 30 - 33. The dealer is on Lopez Island, WA., Island Marine Center. Really nice folks.

https://www.islandsmarinecenter.com


From right to left: 2 Ocean Roamers, 2 SeaSports, 1 CD-22

I love my C-Dory --- But, if I ever won the lottery, it would be an Ocean Roamer 33 outboard. There is room to live in just one of the storage bays under the deck.

Harvey
SleepyC

[westward]

Harvey: in fairness, the Ocean Roamer isn't really in the same class as Hewes, Raider, Seasport, etc. If one had that kind of budget to work with there are many soft-riding boats which could be considered (such as the Aspen cat, a larger Armstrong, etc.)

[Foggy]

Then, if you really wanted to move up, try and find a used Tiara, like the 3200
open with a hardtop I just sold...

Aye.

[PaulNBriannaLynn]

We owned and loved a Parker for a little while. The things I loved about it were it was really heavy, so it handled rough seas like a champ. The build quality and fit and finish was top notch. There was not much to dislike about the boat. The reason I came back to a C-dory was fuel burn. The Parker had a 150 gallon tank in the floor, and when I'd go to the fuel dock to fill up it was around $700. That seemed to be every other trip or so. It became tough to justify going out. But I loved that boat. If money was no object I'd consider a 28' Parker extended cabin, and customize the interior for cruising and fishing.

Steigercraft are also really heavy well built cabin boats. US Corps of Engineers has a fleet of big Steigers on the Atlantic coast that are really impressive.

Considering the price of all these, even used, a used and well loved 255 TomCat doesn't seem that expensive, especially since I'm spending your money. Speaking of that, that Ocean Sport Harvey posted is reayl what you want. Those are amazing. I saw those up close in the San Jauns and what more could a guy want than a super luxury fishing yacht with bow and stern thrusters. I bet you could justify it with all the Tuna you'll be bringing home

[thataway]

We had a neighbor in Pensacola, who went out every single day fishing on a Parker 28. Good fishing pilot house boat. You want a deeper V boat for the offshore chop, especially. in your area of SF and Bodega Bay.

[rogerbum]

[hardee]

[B~C]

I don't know much about them but, if were going to up size I think a hard look at a Glacier Bay cat would be in order. I've ran 30' Tomcats and for many summers a Baha Cruiser King cat. The added weight and tunnel height of the Baha make for a lot nicer, quieter ride. They stopped making the Baha cats some years ago and most of them had inboards and a poor layout for cruising, great fishing platform though. I think the glacier Bay offers up a nice size trailerable cat with a enclosed cabin and outboards

my $0.02

[forrest]

CDory23,
Sea Sport 24XL with marine head and outboard power would be my choice of the boats you have listed. Darn fine boat they are (and the only one that would trade my boat for).

[bschell]

Hey CDory23,

Sounds like my story, we also had a 2003 22' bought it new sold it 2017 late that year. We use her from the San Juans to Mexico, many 10 day trips to lake powell, had close to 3000 hours on her. Then, I got the itch like you, sold her to a man up your way in Benicia, ordered a new boat had it built (had to wait a year for the build) the way we wanted it. Had the boat for two years now it's a Wooldridge 26' super sport offshore pilothouse, I love this boat I point it towards the bluefin tuna at San Clemente Island or the yellowfin off San Diego and she just goes no questions asked. I am gonna put her up for sale here this month? I can't get the wife to Catalina like we did years past and the new dog? well she does better sleeping on the bed at home, I thought she would love the boat, nope! on to the next adventure. Good luck with the new fishing boat.