16 footers, a comparison. Angler vs Cruiser.

You mentioned buying a used boat. The C-Dory 16 "floor" is the hull, so it is easy to check for dry rot, patched old holes, and general condition. I would not hesitate to buy a used C-Dory, but would require the seller to let me gently tap the hull with a rubber hammer. (If my tump thump thumps suddenly change to squish and causes a dent, I'd pass on that boat!)

Choosing a boat offers a lesson on life about trade-offs. You become smarter (or more nuts) even before you hit the water.
 
Permatrims are not needed at all on an Angler...

Sneaks":2x6v549i said:
Lookin good. So far it appears Permatrims are mandatory on both models, 50 hp is adequate for all around use, and the biggest choice is whether a forward bunk is needed or not OR whether it will be used primarily for fishing or not. Cool.

Spousal unit immediately crashes when exposed to sea breezes and the alarm system I have requires a crash pad as well so I'm leaning toward the cruiser.

Thanks. So what range can one expect with 12 gallons of fuel assuming on plane and not WOT?

Don
Click to expand...
 
Well...so far, nobody has mentioned the biggest advantage the Angler has over the Cruiser. It's without a doubt, the best looking boat C-Dory has ever made. It's studly enough to impress the most macho of your fishing buddies, while still being the ultimate chick magnet in the product lineup. :mrgreen:

On the more serious side...

Agreed with the other Angler owners - no Permatrim is needed on an Angler. It's as near a perfectly balanced boat as I've been on, and motor trim is more than adequate for any for/aft adjustments.

Power - we've a wimpy 40HP Yamaha on ours, which doesn't give us near the top end I've seen others reporting. But, it's more than adequate for two guys and complete fishing gear. The days we can run wide open are far and few between.

Protection - yes, the Cruiser has more cabin protection from the elements. However, depending on what you want protection for, it may be a non-issue. For the humans, there is plenty of cabin protection in an Angler - neither sun nor rain are an issue in any weather I've fished in.

And lastly, an issue that applies to both models - the trailer. I'm a die-hard bunk fan, on all of the larger C-Dorys. On the 16 Angler or Cruiser, I'd go rollers as it improves upon the already greater launch opportunities of the 16. If you only launch from improved areas with docks, that's obviously a non-issue. But from shallow beaches or other places where one wouldn't think of launching a 22+ - toss on a pair of waders, and you can get the little boat in/out of just about anywhere with rollers and a good 2-speed winch.
 
If you plan just day uses with a fishing buddy... go with the angler for the extra elbow room in the cockpit while casting and fishing.

Mostly a lone wolf fisherman? Plan to overnight in the marina or at anchorge with the wife or a girlfriend? The cruiser is a nice set-up for that (though I've just experienced the former). My wife Kimiko likes the little table of the cruser. It lets her set up a meal and have a place to drink her tea while I fish. I guess on an angler you could use a folding cot, a folding table and folding chairs and a canvas tent enclosure create a home on the water as good as a cruiser, but then you'd lose deck space from storing al that.

16 ft C-Dories come with single axle trailers. I had surge brakes put on mine but tired of replacing them at great cost, almost every year and a half. Each time they were serviced, the old brakes were just rusted crumbs. Clearly, I was driving with no functional brakes without realizing anything different. The drum brakes also would stick (rust fusion) if the boat was parked in my garage with wet brakes. I'd wake up at 3:30AM eager to go, but the boat would not budge for me to move it into position to hitch it and leave the garage! (I learned later to tap the front surge component on the trailer tongue to release the brakes.)

This year I finally removed the trailer brakes. I have not noticed any problem with normal towing for their being gone. My Honda Van brakes are good enough. It's tow capacity is 3,000 pounds, and that is for a trailer without brakes. I sure hope though, that I'll never experience a freeway speed panic stop ! Since I drive just 7 miles to my marina, that risk is less of a concern to me. If you drive far at high speeds, then maybe brakes are worth the initial and continuing cost.

DOES ANY 16 FOOT C-DORY OWNER HAVE A TWO AXEL TRAILER? Many freeways I must use in Southern Cal are cement. Over the years, trucks have made slabs sink and turned these old freeways into wash boards. Towing C-Pup is like a tug of war on wash board freeways. It feels like a force is pulling me back and then letting go over and over. I think a two axel trailer would smooth out the ride and cause less bouncing, which I worry may damage the boat. Someone told me a dual axle trailer also improves gas mileage, which I don't understand. Although I never plan a beach launch, I have launched at Irvine Lake which is a gravel (mostly mud ) "ramp". Four tires may be less likely to get stuck than two on such soft launch sites.

Keith
C-Pup16 in Los Angeles
 
The pulpit on a 16 ft cruiser inclines up at a degree that prevents an anchor from self launching. I connect the bitter end of my anchor line on a rear cleat, running it through rollers along the side of the boat cabin. For a while now, I have kept the anchor in the cockpit. When retrieving it, I swing the boat around to grab the anchor line with a boat hook and then haul it in over the gunnel. I believe that I finally have a set-up for the perfect self launch of the anchor with chain from the upward inclining pulpit. I'll give it plenty of sea trials at the Catalina C-Dory Adventure this month. If it passes, I will post a photo on my album.

What's your solution to not have to go onto the bow deck and kick the damn anchor off? Yea I know, the bow hatch window... but my boat is so full of stuff that is not my solution of first choice. I fish in nasty neighborhoods where the big bad fish live... next to thick kelp beds, breakers, and boiler rocks like Johnson's Rocks at Catalina's West End. If my engine dies, I need that anchor down immediately! Not after digging my way through the v-berth to open the bow hatch and twist my torso like I'm a yoga swami, or after playing Cirque du Soleil getting to the Bow Deck on a bouncy sea.

16 ft C-Dory men and ladies, what's your solution to a guaranteed quick deployment of the anchor?

Keith
C-Pup16 in Los Angeles
 
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