How hard can you be on a C-Dory

[Donald Tyson]

We were on the beautiful Lake Champlain last week. We had some great experiences. Our kids showed up with their new to them SeaRay 240 and us in our CD22.
I didn’t realize how hard the boat slaps in chop. And crossing over we were in fetch containing what we felt to be 3-4’ and rolling waves. The waves threw us around quite a bit until we settled in on the correct speed of 6-7 knts. We crossed the waves on a short diagonal to get the best ride. Soon enough we were able to reach out protected harbor and took our slip. I had heard so much bout the seaworthiness of these boats and I was proud to have battled through this rough stretch.
While out inthe Worst part I looked over at my kids in their SeaRay and they were just leisurely doing big circles around us. Up on plane, blasting along comfortably. They were worried about us as we smashed up and down off plane. At what point does the C-Dory come into its own. Although we enjoyed our passage it was apparent that the go-fast-boat was much more capable and much smoother in those conditions.
Lastly how hard can I drive this boat? Is the slapping as bad for the boat as it sounds and as it feels? What am I missing?
The 22 is a nice boat to cook on and sleep on.

[colbysmith]

It's probably harder on your body than the boat. The C-Dory really does best at just slowing down in the rough water. It can be a miserable ride, but it's a very seaworthy boat! How much gas did they use while doing circles around you?

[Donald Tyson]

ha ha I bet they used a bunch of gas. I know I got almost 4 mpg on this trip and I bet they did not get near that with their 5.7 V8. I have never been out in a motorboat in that rough of seas. In fact I have almost no open water powerboat experience. The boat faired well but I was dancing in the cabin to keep my balance.

Most of the rough water that I have been on in my earlier life was on my 59 Pearson Triton 28 or my friends Albin Ballad 29. They would slice through rough seas well. But that was in the LI sound where you disappear in long smooth troughs. The waves we were in on Lake Champlain were short train congested washing machine waves with the occasional roller.

So being on a boat that slaps so badly was a shocker to me. Once I slowed down properly and got settled in I was still going 1.5 times faster then what the heavy sailboats could sail at hull speed.

Do go-fast-boats like the SeaRay or Crowns get very uncomfortable once conditions are bad enough that they must come down off plane and slog along. It would seem to me that they are high off the water and could get pretty uncomfortable up there once the conditions are bad enough.