Thoughts on not being able to tow a CD25

randykolchuk · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 8:23 am Post subject:

Bottom paint it with VC-Offshore with an epoxy primer. If you use this type of bottom paint and primer combo it never has to be sanded again. If you require another coat, you wipe it off and apply another coat. You never have to sand again.This is on my 25 CD and I have used it on previous boats also. It has really been a good product.

Byrdman · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 8:54 am Post subject:

Sitting here in Savannah GA waiting for Sherryl to get out of meetings so we can get out and enjoy this town...so, boating virtually here looking out the window watching the container ships from around the world go buy...wishing I had C-Byrd here...

I read this with interest because I have been blessed with owning a boat, trailer, and have stored in most all formats. A boat on a trailer takes up, or "looses" it's in the water time. Even if you are good, you live 15 minutes from the ramp.... you have to hook up, get in line (sometimes), launch, use your boat in the water (the reason we buy them), then, recover the boat, haul home, store it. Now, ...that hook-n-un-hook-hauling gig takes about an hour to two hours if things go right. So... if you have your boat already at the marina....on a shelf, or in the slip...you simply drive what ever and get it. Now...on the shelf..you have to be sure to have them put the boat in while they are open. If you are sitting there watching the Tonight show...and get the urge to go get on the boat and look at the moon and stars...you have to wait till the next day. If it is in the water waiting....you are ready to go. I will always have bottom paint on my boats for this reason. And...I hate cleaning the bottoms. Childhood flashbacks that almost took my love of boats away....till I found out you could bottom paint.

I have also wondered why in the world in such a "concentrated area of CD25 owners".... YES.... I am talking about you guys in the Seattle area... Mr. Green

...why you guys do not pool your resources, and 5 or 6 of you buy a trailer...particularly for those of you who do not often travel with your boats. I love to travel with mine. Then, you simply pay to have it maintained at whatever the group decides is proper...and split the cost. Just like a boat...the worse thing to do for a trailer is not use it frequently. I take mine for a ride about once a month just to keep the moving parts moving...and the tires "flexing".

I think the CD25 is a great boat....as is each of the other C-Dory boats. Each has to evaluate their and their families use...and buy the one(s) that fit their needs. As to why folks own 4 cars, can walk to work, and one of the 4 vehicles is not a good tow vehicle (long, 3/4 ton, good breaks, heavy) I do not understand...but that is just the way I was raised. Now, folks lifestyles change....and as this post clearly shows...so do our boating habits/likes/dis-likes/abilities. There are plenty of older trucks that make great tow vehicles. And again... you have a bountiful to die for boating area....that with a C-Dory,,,, you could spend months at a time on board and never begin to see it all...

Get the boat, put it on a shelf or in a slip based on your needs (and impulse....I gotta go somewhere on the boat moments).... and let the tow vehicle and trailer issue work itself out. I feel sure that whoever you buy the boat from, can and will get it in the water for you...if for nothing else just to give you your sea trial and orientation.

GO BUY YOUR C-Dory.... sell one of the 4 vehicles you are not using...and pay for the marina cost....and GO BOATING!!!

Byrdman

nscogin · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:10 am Post subject:

We will keep our boat on a mooring in front of our vacation home on Buzzards Bay, just as we did the sailboat. Like you, we have no need or desire to take the boat anywhere we can't get to by water from the mooring. We'll put it in the water at the beginning of the season, take it out for maintenance (including scraping and repainting the bottom and winterizing the engine) and storage at the end. No trailer or ramp to deal with. The bottom maintenance is no big deal -- most people do the same in this part of the country. If you don't have room for the boat at your house, go for the marina. If you are lucky enough to boat year round, just plan in a haul out for the bottom maintenance once a year.

Norma Scogin

willhave1day · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:32 pm Post subject:

LOL Byrdman. So true. The instant factor is why we are hesitant on putting it on a shelf. Planning for the boat we're going through the motions and there's been at least 6 instances in the past months of "it sure would be nice to hop in a boat and stay the night somewhere". Most of those come as the days get longer and it's 7:30pm. I think bottom paint is the way to go; just can't leave anything in it.

And I have to digress on my (only 3) cars as I'm proud to have *actually* thinned the herd Smile

We did have a beater ranger for house work (dirt etc) and a Camry for her - it was the only automatic in the herd and she refuses to drive a stick. Got rid of the truck and camry for the 05 Ranger when we were still trying to find "our boat" which was originally going to only be a small day-runner. I was ok with buying a gas hog knowing she only uses it for around town stints and not commuting since she walks to work. We also needed something larger after learning camping with a Camry, a dog, and her kitchen sink were not happening. Settled on a 22 Cdory since our newly aquired truck (i.e. part time wife car - dog carrier - camping mobile that the camry used to be until the dog came along and I now had to clear a space for her) would do everything we wanted. 6 months later we discovered the 25 was more desirable. So much for the truck towing something.

Sold a car and a truck, bought a truck. Her truck. The other 2 cars...a beater escort for my commuting (my 'ol college car just won't die) and what is affectionately referred to as "his other wife" an 88 Thunderbird turbocoupe (290hp/390ft lbs at the tires - 28mpg). We just got back last week from driving it to a car show in Carlisle, PA. Got 5th...

Lord believe me when I tried to talk her into something larger because "you never know what we'll tow" and again it would not be a daily commuter. But..here we are.

Very valuable information from everyone!

Sea Angel · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:38 pm Post subject:

Byrdman is SO right!

Here in VA Beach there are all the typical options.

There is one driver in our household and one car. I looked at the truck/trailer combination and found it would task 7-9 years to break-even with the dry storeage cost. I have trailered for abt 14 yrs and found the ramp waits very agravating , both at launch and retrieval. The bigger the boat, seems the longer the wait, here.

I looked at the dry storeage and found them closely priced for a yearly contract. Each facility charged by length and height. Where I ended up I pay abt $75 more per year, but the distance from the facility to the water is the shortest, abt 100' from the storeage rack to the water.

It is not a closed shop for service and there are socials each month to bring members together. This facility has NOT dropped any of its customer's boats. There is a membership break on the fuel cost at the pump and I can call ahead and have the boat placed in the water before I get there; except Sat & Sun..

A work rack with power and water for washdown is readily available. If I'm not able to wash her before it is put away, the crew will give the boat a 'once over ' with the hose before it goes back in the 'barn'. I have no need for bottom paint. If I want to stay in the water for a week or so, for any reason, a slip will be assigned. I get all this for $3245/yr. It matches our needs and the boat does not see the WX as it would on an anchor or berth.

The security and care by the crew is as good as I could possibly ask for. If a hurrican comes through the area, Sea Angel is tucked away, high and dry, in the steel building.

I hope I gave you some added food for thought on the cost benefits of another side of the equation.

ffheap · Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 5:24 pm Post subject:

Hi Folks,

Yesterday, while walking my dog on Nantucket, I ran into a friend who has a 23 or 25' Grady White.

He was pulling it out of the water and I asked him where his mooring is. He said he did not have a mooring, that he trailered his boat to the water every day. Part of the reason was that he did both interpretive trips and fishing for hire, and that it was easier to pull the boat everyday than to bring the stuff to the boat everyday. He said that he would load the boat at his house.

I watched him pull the boat. The tow vehicle was a 4 wheel drive Ford 250 pickup I believe he purchased used. The trailer was a roller trailer. He backed the trailer into the water, ran the boat up on the trailer. He would then attach the winch line to the towing eye. (He had the winch line attached to one of the rollers under the bow so he did not have to pull it all the way out to attach it to the towing eye.) He then pushed a button on an electric winch and the boat come right up. He would stand in the water and get his feet and shoes wet, but he probably has another pair at his house.

The whole operation looked easy for him. He also said that he did not have to paint the bottom, and he saved 50 cents per gallon on his gas.

The point is that it is a lot easier than we think, but if you are like me, the thought of trailering your boat and launching and retrieving every time you want to use it is scary. To my friend, it was a piece of cake.

By the way, the Grady White is a lot heaver than the CD 25.

Just as story that might help. Also he gave me a stripped bass for watching.

Fred