looking at C-Dory for the great loop

[GaryBryan]

I am interested in contacting a dealer on the east coast about a new C-Dory. I am looking at either the 25 cruiser or the 26 venture. on the C-Dory web site for dealers it lists Three Rivers Marine in Florida as the only dealer on the east coast. I am in Virginia and I am willing to travel to Florida if I need to. when I try to contract Three Rivers I never hear back from them. Is there anyone else? I would like to get some prices on new boats for these two models but cant seem to get any help. Any ideas>

[billyii]

I purchased a 25' Cruiser from Three Rivers last fall and I never had any problems with them calling back, but those things do happen.

I will PM you Mr. Geof Goodell's personal cell phone number plus the other two numbers I have for Three Rivers. Geoff is the sales manager and I am sure he will return your call, unless he is no longer with them.

Boats, especially C-Dory's, and motors are in short supply now and you may have a long wait ahead of you.

If you have any questions, please fell free to ask me.

Billy Horne

[GaryBryan]

thank you billy
I did receive an email from Geof yesterday with the information. it looks like a new 25 for cruiser would run me between $140,000 and $160,000. does that sound about right? and would you recommend your boat for a trip like the loop?
thanks for all the help

[billyii]

It is kind of hard for me to answer your question about the suitability of the 25 for the Great Loop as I have only spent about three nights on my boat. However, IMO it would be great when you consider the alternatives of having a smaller boat without running water, a shower, an enclosed bathroom, cooking facilities and heat, etc. To move up from the 25 to a bigger and more comfortable boat, would mean a lot costlier initial outlay, plus higher fuel costs, maintenance, dockage and insurance, etc. in the future.

A 25, 26 or a TomCat would be my choice and I did do a lot of research before deciding on a C-Dory. My second choice was a Rosborough.

There are many C-Brats that have made the loop and I think they would be able to answer the suitability of the 25 for the Great Loop much better than I can. Some will probably chime in and help you out on this. Also, you might do a search here, on Youtube and the internet as there are a lot of articles, blogs and videos on the loop.

As for the price, it all depends on the options and the demand and supply at this particular time. I think the prices have went up since I ordered mine about a year ago.

[billyii]

It is kind of hard for me to answer your question about the suitability of the 25 for the Great Loop as I have only spent about three nights on my boat. However, IMO it would be great when you consider the alternatives of having a smaller boat without running water, a shower, an enclosed bathroom, cooking facilities and heat, etc. To move up from the 25 to a bigger and more comfortable boat, would mean a lot costlier initial outlay, plus higher fuel costs, maintenance, dockage and insurance, etc. in the future.

A 25, 26 or a TomCat would be my choice and I did do a lot of research before deciding on a C-Dory. My second choice was a Rosborough.

There are many C-Brats that have made the loop and I think they would be able to answer the suitability of the 25 for the Great Loop much better than I can. Some will probably chime in and help you out on this. Also, you might do a search here, on Youtube and the internet as there are a lot of articles, blogs and videos on the loop.

As for the price, it all depends on the options and the demand and supply at this particular time. I think the prices have went up since I ordered mine about a year ago.

[thataway]

The cost of a new C Dory may not include all of the options. You will want at least one Multifunction display, with depth sounder, probably Radar, and current navigation charts. I much prefer 2 displays. The windlass is an essential for me. Same for a full camper back enclosure (depending on the Bimini, from $5500 to $10,000. The proper trailer--Loadrite, with capacity of 8500#.

Yes, a C Dory 25 is a good vessel for the loop. You sacrifice the massive room of a larger trawler type and perhaps a better ride in chop. For the most part the Loop is in protected or semi protected waters. The exceptions are parts of Great Lakes, and the "Big Bend" area from Carabelle to Tarpon Springs in Florida. There probably have been more loopers in 22's than in 25's. Several 26's have also done the loop. One individual as done the loop 5 times in a 22, a slightly different route each way.

Even the 25 has some compromises room and storage wise. We have carried all of the food for a month, and obtained water at least once a week for long term cruising. We were very comfortable on the 25, (and have owned boats up to 62 feet in LOA). But we have done camping, RVing and back packing for many years.

Some advantages of a C Dory are, shoal draft and can get places other boats cannot go. The speed can be 3 to 4 times that of a "trawler", and this is an advantage in some areas. You can almost always find dock space. Not so with a 45' boat.

I believe that the Loop is an adventure to be "savored" and enjoy each town and attraction along the way. All too may folks speed around making a marathon out of the trip. Take 2 or 3 years--explore the interesting parts. Or trailer to the interesting parts, and leave out the un-interesting. There are a lot of "side" trips up rivers and into bays which are great adventures in themselves.

[thataway]

duplicate.

[GaryBryan]

thank you Bob. Alot of great information. I agree with you I am in no hurry to just get around the loop. it doesnt really matter to me how long it takes. I really dont have a need for a larger trawler type of boat. most of the time it will only be me. ill be joined by my wife as her schedule permits.

[Pat Anderson]

We did the Great Loop in our 2005 CD25 Cruiser in 2017 (and stopped by Thataway's home in Pensacola a couple of times, Dr. Bob and Marie are very gracious folks). In 2005 CD25 Cruisers were a LOT less expensive than they are now. We are in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island for a C-Brat Get-together, and one of the owners of NMI, the company that builds C-Dorys, is here and he was saying a BARE CD25 new is going to cost north of $160,000.

For the Loop you will definitely want full camperback canvas that turns the cockpit into another room. A big cooler and a 12 volt freezer like an ARB. A 2 kw generator and a charger to keep the house batteries up for those bad weather lay-overs when you can't cruise. Something for cooking and heat, and perhaps AC.

Then you get into the things Dr. Bob (Thataway) was mentioning. Anchor and windlass are essential. Trim tabs for sure. A VHF radio is necessary, perhaps one with AIS so you can see what tow is coming around the bends on the river system between Chicago and Mobile. Then the navigation stuff. Dr. Bob has Cadillac equipment, we did our Loop with VW bug equipment. An iPad running a navigation app (we started with Garmin Blue Chart, which is no longer available, and finished it with Aqua Map, but Navionics is sort of the gold standard for iPad apps). You cannot do the Loop without a depth sounder. Our 2005 Raymarine C-80 was our depth sounder and odometer, but not chartplotter, as we did not have chart chips for the East and the type the old C-80 used are no longer available. How much this adds to the base price of the CD25 depends a lot your choices, and prices for everything have gone UP since 2005!

If you can buy used, you can save a LOT of money, and it MAY come with most of what you need. The first place to look is Wefings Marine in Eastpoint, FL, owned by Marc Grove. Marc is no longer a C-Dory dealer but he deals in consigned C-Dorys. Tell Marc that Pat Anderson sent you!

I blogged every day for 226 days, and the link to our blog is in my signature below.

[gulfcoast john]

Hi Gary,

We are AGLCA (greatloop.org) Life Members and one-way Segment Loopers since 2017. We’ve only covered 3,000 miles and 200 locks of the 6,000 miles and 100 locks on the official route. But we’ve cruised the northern Gulf Coast dozens of times on Cat O’ Mine and 13 previous trailer boats over the past 40 years. The official ‘longest’ Loop took 11 years, but we are going to KILL that record at our present rate of cruising the ‘good parts’ multiple times and skipping the boring sections. We’ll be trailering back up to the Chesapeake again this summer for more cruising there…and yes, you could cruise there for many months and not see all the best sections.

I wrote an article on the AGLCA website on Segment Looping in a non-oversize trailer boat (pages 14-21) here:
https://cdn.ymaws.com/greatloop.org/resource/collection/F1C462C9-A648-43A1-9A9B-6E27279F6026/Great_Loop_Link_December_2021.pdf

PM me to exchange phone numbers to talk about any questions you may have. I agree with everything said so far, including how especially in this boat sellers market accepting a well equipped used boat makes sense. As an example in the TC255 world, a Brat posted about spending over $200,000 on a Three Waters Marine new TC255.

This well equipped model (with 2018 engines and awesome dinghy pkg) was less than half that at $98,000 and sold fast (Credit to Bob for noticing it).
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=30671

Unlike buying a new car, there is usually no stem to stern warranty on new boats. Outboard engines have become just about as reliable as auto engines with proper care and maintenance despite living in saltwater. Many decades ago, we had a new Evinrude 120HP 2-stroke. It was always in a bad mood. It was a one-mood machine. The only thing it hated more than running smoothly was to start successfully, and always did either in clouds of foul blue smoke. The only place it liked to be was in the shop, but only during boating season. The warranty didn’t help much way back then.

Wow, how things have changed for the better! Our total repair bill for twin 2010 Yamaha F150’s over the past nine years is under a Boat Unit ($1,000) excluding replacing worn cracked rigging tubes. Good maintenance is much more, since I don’t do my own any more because in Florida many mechanics won’t do repairs on outboards over ten years old unless you’re an established customer.

Many ladies of a certain vintage (including mine) will insist on an enclosed marine head, which is generally only available on trailer pocket yachts over 24 feet. When you get over 27 feet (Ranger/Cutwater) you enter the oversize realm and require permits from every single state you wish to trailer through. Half the Loop is saltwater, and raising an outboard leg is desirable.




Hope this is helpful. Good luck in your search! Again, PM me if you’d like to talk!

John