First Time Power Boater - needing advice on a 22

[The Other Nathan]

Greetings,

As a first time buyer, I am looking for advice for what to look for and consider when purchasing a used C-dory.

My name is Nathan and I have been a dinghy sailer most of my life. For a stint I owned a 20’ trailer sailer. I haven’t owned a power boat but for the past few years my wife and I have had a membership in a boat club that gives us access to runabouts, pontoons and fishing boats so I am familiar with the operation/handling of power craft. That said, I am a novice when it comes to the maintenance and/or systems that aren’t sail rigging related.

I have been lurking on the site for awhile and recently was in Superior, WI where by chance I saw my first C-Dory in person. It was on a trailer in the Ace Hardware lot. And seeing in person what I had been ogling at online for months flipped a switch in me. Fast forward a week, and that same boat was just posted to Craigslist. https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/boa/d/duluth-1996-dory-22/7368102869.html

The post is for a ‘96 22. The engine hours seem low (but again being new to this I am not sure how low is good or if hrs are easily forged). The gel coat is stated to be faded but not sure if that is an easy fix or not.

Anything about the mid-90s boats to consider? I am assuming the the stove may need servicing and soft spots are likely in the deck.
What is the serviceable life of these boats?
Does the price seem fair? It seems to be on the lighter side for equipment/upgrades. But it does look clean.
Any concerns with it not having electric trim tabs?
Also, the posting makes it seem that the seller is not familiar with the bot or hasn’t operated it. Any thoughts on that?

I am excited that this boat seems like a good fit, but want to make sure I am going in eyes wide open before pying to have it surveyed.

Hopeful to join the ‘family.’ Thanks for your thoughtful consideration,
Nathan

[JonO]

Hi Nathan,

I've just gone through this process.... mine was a long-distance deal which added some complexity and cost. These boats tend to sell fast, so you may want to move fast. If you're serious about it, try to lock up the boat with a down payment while you're doing due diligence. Getting a marine survey by a certified, qualified surveyor should answer many of your questions, identify flaws and give you some peace of mind. As for price, search the FSBO forum and archive and you'll see the range. If the seller was active in C-Brats, it makes obvious sense to check out photo galleries and posts.

There are many threads on how to buy a boat - you may get better results searching Google outside of the website than you do using the on-site search tool.

I noticed the sign in the background of one of the images - Northwest Outlet in Superior was a C-Dory dealer back in the day. Are they acting as an agent for the seller? If so, that might buy you additional peace of mind, as dealers use trust accounts to handle the transaction.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

[PaulNBriannaLynn]

That looks like a nice one at a good price to me. The mid 90s boats were really well built, they hadn't ramped up production to the mid 2000 levels, so the attention to detail was really good in those years. Those honda 40s were very robust and reliable. They had carburetors with small jets that have a tendency to get clogged up if let sit for a long time with fuel in them. Most c-dory owners with this engine set up drain the float bowls of fuel after use if theyre going to sit for a while, and never have any trouble.

You mentioned soft spots are likely in the deck? Are you sure about that? That is a more serious issue.... totally repairable, but expensive and/or time consuming depending on your ability to repair yourself. Being that the boat is in Michigan, with a lot of freeze/thaw cycles, I would be cautious about the floor and any potential water intrusion into the balsa core. I wouldn't automatically discount the boat for that, but would investigate before purchase any potential water in the floor.

The chalky appearance of the gel coat is typical with any used boat this age. You can polish that up with a number of products. I like 3M cleaning wax with polish.

[clayhubler]

[ssobol]

Dual axle trailer would also be nice.

If I didn't already have one, I'd be all over this one. Lots of opportunity to make it the way you want it.

[JonO]

If you can, climb in the boat... not only for a detailed inespection. Check the ceiling height. (I have the taller ceiling on my 22 and as someone over 6 feet tall consider that a necessity.)

A couple more tips:

Ask for service records.

A compression test and a sea trial will tell you a lot about the condition of the motors.

[oldguy83]

I drive by this boat every day, stopped and looked at it thru the fence. No for sale sign. The boat was not their last couple days. Be glad to look at it for you if it's still around. I OWNED ONE FOR 10 YEARS. Jack.

[The Other Nathan]

Thanks all for the tips and comments.

To clarify, I don’t know if it has a soft deck or not, but if it did that would be a concern to note.

It seems that the motors (more due to age than hours) may need some work depending on how they have been maintained /recently used but are a reliable motor when maintained properly.
The lack of winch, modern electronics, trim tabs and bimini/canvas would be additional/initial expenses I’d want to consider to increase the comfort and ease of operation.
The trailer is okay but could be upgraded to double axle and/or to have brakes.

There is a lot I like about this boat and it looks very clean but it also seems to be a blank slate that may take more money than I can currently allocate to customize to the level that most owners seem to enjoy.

I need to make sure the wife is fully on-board (which may take more work than I initially hoped) to prevent this boat from becoming my live-aboard.

@Jack thanks for the generous offer to check it out. Not quite ready to pull the trigger on this yet- I need to do some more research.

-Nathan

[The Other Nathan]

@moderators, let me know if I out this in the wrong forum section.

[thataway]

From the photos, the boat seems to be in decent shape for the year. The gel coat should compound and polish out. I would look carefully around the transom drain.

If the boat was stored under a cover or inside during winter, this would be a plus. No trim tabs because of the twin 40's plus a large piece of Starboard to hold twin transducers for depth sounder.

The fuel tank is definitely after market--and probably holds a bit more than the stock boat.

A few years back, I might say the boat was over priced--but not in today's market. I would consider it a blank slate with the older Eagle sounder and GPS/plotter. If the boat has been around, and the seller is not familiar with the boat--make an offer lower than asking price....after you take the valuable precautions listed by posters above.

[hardee]

Yes, That tank sure looks aftermarket. Nice (and big) but it appears to be screwed into the cockpit sole (ouch -- so look there). The lack of trim tabs could be easily remedied since it has twins Permatrims on both would accomplish much of the advantage of trim tabs, at one third (or less), the cost and effort.

For me the low hours would be more of a concern than an advantage. NON-USE is worse than over use but the caveat there is how it was stored. Those will be carbureted engines, IF they were stored with gas in the carbs, especially untreated gas (and more especially if it has ethanol content in it) the carbs will need to be cleaned and rebuilt with new jets. If the carb bowls were drained dry when it was put away, them might be OK.

Looks to be a clean slate, and for that price, the upgrades will put it into a modern, and still economical state.

Harvey
SleepyC

[garyf]