ISO 22-25 C-Dory Cruiser

[C&D in TN]

Our last post got lost in the great crash so here we go again.

We are looking for a 2006 or newer 22 to 25 foot C-Dory Cruiser.

Our dream boat would have heat, trim tabs, fuel injection (no carbs), single main engine, a kicker, elevated radar, auto pilot, air, and within our pay grade.

We're located in Knoxville, Tennessee, where we have a M-F 8-5 business so that means we can only travel Friday evening to Sunday night so we can be back at work.

Looking at a boat in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, etc. is out of our range unless it's a heck of a deal and a patient seller. It's hard to find airplane tickets on short notice lol.

[Dreamer]

I think the big question you might ask yourselves is, Do I want an enclosed head and shower? Available only on the 25 or a TomCat. That makes a huge difference in the amount of time you spend on the boat.

You may find that you have to rely on a survey and inspection by a third party to get the right boat. Good luck in your search!

[ssobol]

[gulfcoast john]

Clell and Donna,

Welcome to C-Brats! There is a treasure trove of information here, use the Google Search bar on the left to search for specific issues.

Roger makes an excellent point in that your first decision should be ‘A: can we both get by with a porta-potti for the types of adventures we plan on this boat, or B: do we require a separate head/shower enclosure?” This is most often determined by the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor). Eleen’s WAF for option A is close to zero, but many other couples have made it work.

If B is your answer, you will only find that on 25 foot and over LOA pocket yacht trailer boats, regardless of brand. (I researched this issue in Jan 2022 when our TC255 was the only trailer boat at the AGLCA Rendezvous and Looper Boat Crawl in Ft Meyers).

Start there and be flexible in your other options and exactly why you would want them.

Attending just one day of the March 7-9 Hontoon or Oct 2-6 gathering (very close to Knoxville) would allow you to see multiple models up close and personal…many more than any dealer ever has in stock.

Best of luck in your search!

John

[colbysmith]

I'm just curious. I remember in your post before the crash, that you mentioned you would be using the boat for SAR. (Search and Rescue). Do you mind expanding upon that a bit? Specific water way? Trailer to various locations? etc. Might give us a better idea exactly what you are looking for. I loved my 22, and found it was a very easy boat to trailer and maneuver. I now have a 25, which is also easy to trailer and maneuver, but is a tad bit bigger and about 3000 lbs heavier. I still tow it with out problem behind a Ford F150. You are probably really restricting yourself if you are not willing to travel. Although you may be able to find something within a long day's drive. Colby

[thataway]

I had commented that with SAR, if on the water, it would be more stable, and a better place for other crew with a 25. Also with "other crew"--SAR folks, the enclosed head would be a must.

Also some of the good new depth sounders have great down scan and side scan sonar--valuable for SAR in Lakes.

Also if victim recovery, you want a powerful hoisting davit.

Both are fairly easy to go bow to a beach, but the 22 has the edge here. You can easily install a removable bow ladder for on and off, when Bow too the bank.

[C&D in TN]

Sorry for such a long post.

We don't plan on using the boat for extended cruising but having the ability to do short weekend runs would be nice. Mostly we plan on using the boat during the day. Head wise we can go either way, porta potty or built in. Not really looking forward to dealing with a portable but you have to do what you have to do lol. Shower wise we can always jump into a marina if we had to and use their facilities if need be or the good ole 2 liter coke bottle/shower head lol. A 25 would make things a lot easier in some ways but not others.

What we are actually tooling up for is doing side scan sonar searches for people that have disappeared along with their vehicles. It involves an immense amount of side scan trolling time along with scuba diving on objects we locate to verify what it is. Some of you may be familiar the YouTube creators group called Adventures With Purpose or maybe a couple named Team Watters Sonar.

What we actually need is an aluminum 18' to 22' cabin boat like a Scully work boat but it has no head, no fridge and no ability to prepare any food and they go for about $90k bare bones. Aluminum boats are also hard to heat and hard to cool. That wouldn't cut it for us on long cold/hot days on the water. Much of what we will be doing will be during the winter months when the water is at its lowest on our TVA river systems and possibly a few lakes. During the winter months the water is clearer, not as deep and a lot less drama as the boat traffic is at its minimum. The C-Dory with its shallow draft, low height and minimal creature comforts to maintain seems to be the best boat we have found so far.

A Ranger Tug 23/25 also looks pretty good to us but they have more weight 6500 lbs dry, more draft 34", more height over 11 feet on the trailer and they are much harder to put in and out of the water. They are also a much more complex in that they have many systems to maintain especially in the plumbing department, (over 7 water pumps) that would have to be winterized each time we used the boat in the winter months. We're not ruling them totally out but we should.

Motor wise we would like to have a single fuel injected motor rather than dual to get us where were going and a kicker to do our trolling (2.7 to 3.2 mph). Our goal is to keep the main engine hours at a minimum. Kicker motors are much less costly to run, maintain and replace.

As far as electronics go we think an elevated radar (so it can see over a roof mounted AC system) would be a good thing to have in unfamiliar waters as well as adverse weather conditions. It may also help us see something coming sooner like a boat or a large tug barge a bit sooner in the event we have a diver in the water. An AIS system on board would help in that situation too. Auto pilot we think may help us hold a better course in wind and currents during our scans. We never have had a boat with radar or an auto pilot system so we have no experience with either of them.
Heat wise we would like something that is built in rather than using something like portable catalytic or propane units.

Our biggest fear with the C-Dory boats are the chance we may end up with one like the fellow on YouTube named Scallywag did. We are thinking it was caused by poor maintenance (we hope). I'm sure many of you have seen his dilemma but for those of you that haven't here's a link to his first video on his channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxuIwrJ-NQo

We have yet to witness a C-Dory up close and personal but it seems that the way they are constructed it would be extremely difficult for even a very experienced top notch Surveyor to identify there is a problem until it was way too late.

A removable bow ladder would be great, good idea. Wonder what it takes space wise to stow one.

Lots of great input so far.
Thank you all!

[ssobol]

[C&D in TN]

Very good point, we definitely agree

[thataway]

As for the bottom balsa core, this degree is unusual. Almost all of boats that have this issue have been used in freeze thaw cycles over a period of time. A little moisture gets into the core; it expands. Next year more water (usually from a screw hole where water stands, which is not properly sealed; More freeze thaw cycles. A good surveyor and moisture meter will tell the condition. My first 25 had the cockpit floor so damaged. I knew it and the boat was sold for 50% of the asking price. I removed and repaired the cockpit floor. I also tried to remove all of the screws which penetrated any floor--by filling with epoxy and / or tabbing the furniture to the floor and side.

For heat a Wallas stove will give reasonable heat circulated by fans. That was the only heat we used in AK on our 25. An Espar (or Chinese copy is not that expensive will give ducted heat where you want it; and more heat depending on size of the firebox.,

Another option with the head is a composting head in the 25 or 26. The urine is corrected in a urinal or the attached and fairly easily removable 1 gallon container and emptied easily into any toilet. The composting part of the system may be good for several months of the type of work you are doing with the SAR.

If you are carrying divers, the best boat will be the Tom Cat, but that is heavier and more expensive. next would be the 25, with a diving ladder bracket on the swim step. The greater beam and size will do better with the weight of the diving gear.

As for the bow ladder, there is a member on The Hull Truth who makes the base plate for removing a folding ladder. See this thread. The member's email: roguecustomsmarine@gmail.com. The latter easily stows flat in the cockpit (he sells brackets for ladder storage (or folded back on the fore deck.). He also now has mounts for a diving ladder which could be used off the side or perhaps even the swim step.

You can use either 4 or 5 step ladder--I recommend the 5 step. there are other mounts , but this is the simplest. They have all of the parts including the ladders.

Ladder deployed



Ladder removed--only these two sockets remain on deck

[C&D in TN]

Great input everybody! Will keep all this in mind in our search forward.

Donna & Clell

[srbaum]

C&D
Don’t scratch the 26 off of your list, as it is very similar in overall weight and length, as the 25.

[Nancy and Bud]

[DayBreak]

Nancy and Bud,

This is a really cute pocket sailboat that appears to sail well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGmjy_aSL10 Nice that it can be trailered. Would be nice to have a cooktop stove/heater but maybe it is offered as an option? Looks to sail well in using the tiller!

[gulfcoast john]

Nancy & Bud & Daybreak,

I was only looking at comparable power boats, not sailboats.

The new Ranger 23 has an enclosed forward head, a 200HP Yamaha outboard, a motor down LOA of 28’5” and 6.000 dry wgt (both same as a TC255) at $146,937 without options, trailer, taxes or dealer prep. I’ll add it as an exception to my rule, although that’s an awful big 23 footer.

https://www.rangertugs.com/models/model-category/r-23/

Any Brat who knows of another exception sing out or PM me; we are always getting asked in our travels about this issue, and I’ve yet to find a way to find every single comparable power boat builder in the world.

If C&D wants one, I’d advise looking for a used TC255 or CD-26 instead, as Steve suggests.

Best of luck in your search!

John