Cape Cruiser 26

[neilc]

I posted here last week regarding this boat and you were all very helpful. Well I think I’m going to purchase a Cape cruiser 26. I was hoping to lean on Forrest’s experience since he owns one but I can’t raise him with email. Probably out fishing.

Sooo, if I may, I would like to solicit comments from the very knowledgeable people who helped me last week.

The boat is offered for 60 K with a new 150 HP Honda with upgraded digital instrumentation and on a Easyloader or King tandem trailer with surge brakes. Price seems very reasonable even given the hull has no warrantee. Any comments?


I have combed this site for any problems people may have had with this hull and haven’t found any. Have I missed anything?


Any comments on the power? For an additional 100 LBS on the transom I could upgrade to a 200 or 225. Worth the money? The boat is rated for a max of 250 HP by the builder.


The two 50 Gallon fuel tanks are also right up against the transom. So with fuel and a 200 HP and 20 HP kicker, there is close to 1600 pounds back there. Does this sound excessive or not?


This could also be a problem with trailer tongue weight and towing but I'm guessing the wheels can be moved fore and aft to compensate.

Thanks so much for all your help and I will look forward to meeting some of you on the water,

[starcrafttom]

why get a honda when a e-tec 200 weights less then a honda 135??

[Wefings]

its a good boat at a dealer like price , Ill leave it at that .Be prepared to pay for and wait for service .

We put 150s on 25' C dories all the time and 26 Ventures will get a 175 unless other motor ordered, some like the V6s 200/225, [ we have never done one]but Id save the weight for other gear, like the kicker .Most are very happy with 150/175 [ 4 cyl, 4stroke ] performance .The etec is a viable option [ although I see it as a hot rod motor] , we sell em , but I still would go V 4 4 stroke on that particular boat . Personal opinion.
Marc

[Wandering Sagebrush]

[Wefings]

Oh by the way ,you slide the bow stop forward and crank the boat up [forward] on the trailer to it to increase tongue weight , pull it back to reduce it . 10% is good .Do it after the boat is rigged and loaded .
Marc

[Les Lampman]

[Larry H]

For more information on Cape Cruisers, here is a link to a web site with Cape Cruiser owners, discussions, lots of photos, etc.

http://groups.msn.com/C-DoryRedFox/_whatsnew.msnw

[forrest]

Forrest is back. I've been fishing at Westport. I wanted to go to the Neah Bay Gathering but that is twice as far and I could only go midweek. Anyway I would be happy to answer any questions you may have starting tomorrow morning. It's time to wash the fish smell off so the lovely Mrs. Gill will stop saying "you stink".
Forrest

[forrest]

Neil,
Here's the answer to some of your questions.
Total weight, boat, motor, and trailer: 7420#
Trailer: 1800# with spare and side guides
Boat had on board at the time of weighing:
200 hp honda
15 hp kicker
100 gallons fuel
30 gallons water
rear helm
holding tank empty
3-10# downrigger balls
2-15# downrigger balls
2 downriggers
Magma cooking set
ice chest with ice
15-20 cans of food
refer with fresh food
beer and pop
Magma gas grill
clothing and sleeping bags
radar dome
poles and tackle pole holders etc.
shore power cord
and everything else to live on a boat


Now about the motors.
First let me say that EQ Harbor Service did an outstanding job of setting up my boat. I agree with Les that the 150 would be adequate to power the boat. I rarely get above 4000 RPM and have never ran WOT. The reason that I went with the 200 is I like to fish out in the ocean. When you are crossing the bar (Columbia or Westport) and the bar is rough, the last place that I want to be is in a bottom of a trough and be overtaken by the next wave. With the 200 I'm able to power up stay on the top or back of the wave and out of trouble. The 150 may be as good but I will never know. If you are planning on staying in the protected waters of Puget Sound I would say the 150 might be the perfect choice. I had to get out of 5-6 foot chimneys at Duncan Rock this year during halibut season and my fishing partner (4 people on board @ 200 # average) said "I bet you're glad you bought the 200 now". I haven't done a fuel economy test with the GPS yet as I'm always using the kicker as well. I'm planning a cruising run after fishing season and will post the numbers then. I did test my GPS against my electronic gauges and the gauges say that I go a shorter distance than the GPS which will actually boost the numbers that I previously posted. This week at Westport I traveled 201 GPS surface miles, used 7.5 to 9.2 gallons per day (5 days) with the big motor and the rest of the fuel was used in the kicker. According to the gauge I could have gotten by using one tank but I had to switch over to keep the boat from listing while tied up in the marina. I haven't refilled the tanks to see how much I used.
I did notice that with a following sea and a full tank of water in the bow the bow was a bit heavy. I trimmed the motor to 5 and the problem disappeared.

About the warranty:
I have one through the factory. I had one problem that was promptly taken care of. The Cape Cruiser boys are still in business building boats (not CC's) and they do boat repair. If some of you have problems with your post Toland built C-Dorys you might want to talk to them. They are located in the old C-Dory factory. I know they are very busy but I highly recommend them as they use to build them for the Tolands and put out a quality product.
Forrest