22' Cruiser vs 25' Cruiser

[Will-C]

I am trying to make a decision on what to buy. I like to fish and worry about the cockpit size on the 22' cruiser. How much bigger is the cockpit on a 25' cruiser. (no line drawing on the C-Dory site for the 25'). I mostly east coast coastal fishing in the ocean and runs down the intercoastal waterway. We want live aboard on the weekends. I like the economics of the 22' Cruiser but don't want to be jammed up when fishing. Thanks,
from the newbie

 

[Kent Richmond]

I could be wrong about this, but isn't the cockpit size about the same between the two boats? If fishing is what you want to do, why not look at the 22 Angler? It has a bigger cockpit.
Kent

 

[rogerbum]

The cockpit on the 25 is quite a bit bigger than on the 22 as it is essentially a scaled up version. It does differ in that the 25 has a flat floor and hence puts you up a bit higher (many who have had both and who have fished in both prefer the 22 since the lower center of gravity in the cockpit feels safer.

I regularly fish 2-3 people from my 22. I think it fishes best with 3 - one to drive, one to reel and one to net. If you want to fish more than 3 regularly, I think you want a 25 or an angler. If you have a lot of crab, shrimp or lobster pots, you also probably want an angler. However, the 22 cruise is a good all around boat for 3 person fishing, 2-3 person O/N cruising and 4 person day cruising.

 

[drjohn71a]

Dave,

There is a huge difference in room between the CD 22, the CD 25 and the TomCat 255. However, in all three it is my experience that, over long periods of time, Three ppl is workable, but if you get four or more, someone is always bumping elbows and it gets irritating. I do think 2 would be best for a 22, but what Roger is saying about the incredibly stable feeling of standing below the waterline in a 22 makes bending over the side and general fishing precedures feel much more comfortable than in the larger boats.

They all have an inside seat for each of three ppl, so comfy even in bad weather.

The TomCat has a huge cockpit and cabin and bunk and we've had 8-9 ppl aboard for short cruises, but long term fishing with all the gear, etc, dictates only three for any of those three models in my book. Yes, you CAN do it, but it stresses one's patience.

Good luck,

John

 

[thataway]

I haven't measure the length of the cockpit, but my impression is that the difference between the 22 and 25 is not much. The width is a bit more in the 25. The TC 255 is definately bigger than the others, and the boat is more stable at low speeds.

We found that we put the ice chest or two and a gear box in the CD 22--probably will have one ice chest in the 25. I agree that the lower cockpit floor does give a more stable feeling to the CD 22. (But the boat is not self bailing)

The creature comforts are certainly more in the 25, with the head, shower and foreward facing navigator seat. But the 22 is certainly lighter to trailer. I don't consider the fuel cost between the two boats to be a large part of the expenses in owning a boat. It is always compromises in any boats.