27LC in PDX

Here's a photo of the 27LC. I sure would not want to be the bow rider!!!

VP697009_6a1.jpg
 
That's a one-of-a-kind custom boat built by either Marben Marine and/or the Tolands. LC= Long Cabin Model.

I'd guess it weighs ~7000-8000 lbs on a trailer.

The 200 hp Yamaha is probably a 2 cycle, but a very good motor. I'd much rather have the outboard than one of their customs with an inboard (much more difficult to repair and replace).

Note the BIG, TOUGH LADDER and DIVE PLATFORM on the stern. The boat has been set up for diving.

It was for sale here about 2 years ago. Sneaks (or somebody, else, maybe it was Charlie) is probably still in love with the gal on the bow.

I think it's about 8 feet wide, as it was made before vehicle laws allowed 8-1/2' wide vehicles on the roads w/o permits.

Looks like it has a larger stove and refrigerator in the galley as compared to a 22 or 25.

I'd have a Sunbrella cover made to fill the space in front of the motor and around the engine well to keep water from the stern from going down into the bilge and battery area (see photo).

It's a lot of boat for $28k!!! And a one-of-a-kind conversation piece!

You could put 26 and 27 (26, 27) in the search engine and probably find threads about similar custom C-Dories.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Sea Cowboy is the Extra Long cabin 27 (As is Haileighs Comet). My boat is the Long Cabin. I don't have the stand-up head in mine. My boat weighs about 6500 lbs and I tow it with a '93 F250 Diesel 4x4. I really wish I had gotten a 1 ton truck with a turbo instead. Other than that is tows just fine. The original owner of my boat towed it with a 3/4 ton Chevy Suburban.

According to some previous posts by one of the Toland's there were a total of 24 of the 27 footers built (mine is #3). Most of them were shipped to Alaska.

One thing different about the 27's is that they have self bailing decks and it is 2 steps down to the cabin. They are 8' wide and have a flat bottom like all the classic hulled C-Dory's.
 
How do the longer boats handle? The L to W ratio is under 4:1 (3.75), which historically is not too lean, but these days boats are a lot beamier. Is there a point where a long low trailerable boat becomes unseaworthy or does it become too long for the road first?

A 27 or 29 foot boat would have a lot more room for a better galley and head as well as more stowage and fuel. I am having trouble getting my wife to consider downsizing from a yearly charter for a couple of weeks to the purchase of a smaller boat with much less ongoing expenses that we could use more often. I would gladly buy a 1-ton truck to pull a 35' trailer if I could sell Herself on the deal, she just doesn't think she could stay onboard for more than a couple of nights on any of the boats I have shown her. She's game for a long cruise: we are bareboating a DeFever 59 this summer for 3 weeks, so life afloat isn't a problem. I think it might be the idea of having to sit on the toilet to take a shower that is upsetting.

We can afford to buy a decent twin diesel cruiser for a few 100K but I just can't see spending all the other money that goes along with owning a "big boat". Heck, the yearly bills over a decade would buy several CD's and I can't see spending that much for a boat that is stuck on one coast. But we don't want to feel like we are camping out for 2 months as we explore SE Alaska or the Chesapeake Bay, either.

Sorry to hijack the thread but it is so rare to get much info about trailerable cruisers over 25' that I thought they had never been made before. Did they just not work on the water, is that why there are so few?
 
Welcome aboard Westfield,

Well, I read your post to my wife - she said, "They started at the wrong end of the scale!" :wink: Very few people would have a problem on a 59' luxo boat. Moving down in size to a 25 or 27 foot boat takes some MAJOR rethinking of priorities. With our smaller boats, it isn't what you don't have, it's what you can do. I can stand up or sit down in the shower in our head... go without a shower for a few days, and she'd be delighted to sit down and shower! OK, that was tongue-in-cheek - hope she has a sense of humor. :wink You already know about the trailering aspect. In the first year and a half of owning our 25, we went from coast to coast to coast with the boat. Winter in the Florida Keys or the Tropical Tip of Texas and summer in the PNW. Along the way, we went to great places like Lake Powell, Flaming Gorge, San Francisco Bay, Yellowstone, Lake Tahoe, etc. We have spent up to 5 months at a time onboard our CD-25.

If you look at it as "stepping down", you will not likely be satisfied with the experience. If you see it as the opportunity to see quiet coves that deeper draft boats can't get into, get under bridges that taller boats can't pass, and be able to experience different waters easily thanks to the trailer... well, it opens a lot of new horizons.

Having said that, it isn't for everyone. If you aren't both onboard with the idea, take a pass. Save yourself the frustration of trying convince her that she's having fun. But if you have that couple hundred thousand budget, you can always get one of these boats for travel AND get a midsize trawler to keep in the water nearby.

Wefings, in Florida, is a dealer who has a 25 Cruiser available for charter. You can try before you buy. It's not the Inside Passage, but it is beautiful turquiose water, white sand beaches, and warmth. She may not want to go back north. :wink:

Now, none of this is exactly on-topic regarding your question about the stability and trailerability of the 27 foot boats. We've towed longer sailboats with no problem. In my personal opinion, beyond 30 feet, a trailerable boat, travel trailer, cargo trailer, etc. becomes a lot of work on the road. The stability on the water depends on the design, hull shape, and water conditions.

If you want to see how some of us are using these boats, check out Bill and El's Halcyon Days website (link on the lower left of the home page here) or the Grand Adventures forum.

Good luck convincing the Mrs. If she gets it, you may find a world of wonderful experiences out there. Keep us posted.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
I don't know about the maximum size of trailerable--but David Gerr designed a 34 foot LOA, 8.5 foot bearm, "trawler". The limit is going to be reached by the length of the tow rig--or so I thought limited to 65 feet. There is a Motor cycle shop which has an RV 45 feet long custom built on a Kenworth diesel tractor extended chassis, and he tows a 37 foot railer--total length of 82 feet and claims in 10 years he has never been pulled over.

My CD 25 on the trailer is 34 feet, and the Tom Cat 255 on the trailer is 37 feet--This includes the outboards and trailer tongue/hitch.

There is no problem with the length to beam ratio--I know of several 55 to 60 foot trawlers with 10 foot beam.
 
In Aug. of 1983 we drove down to Kent, Wash. to pick up our new 22' CD. Mr. Roy Toland was there and I asked him if I maybe should have purchased a new 27' as they were building them then and had one available. Mr. Toland designed all of the C-Dories. His comment to my question......... "the 27' design was not my best result and that I was better off with the 22' ".
For what it is worth. I never had a ride on one but have seen them perform out of Homer, Alaska and they looked fine from afar...???
 
Neat Thread and many ways this link can go.

Bartman: The 27s are nice boats. I had a great opportunity to spend a little time on one during a run out to the Blakely Island gathering a couple/few? years back. Me and Roger were on SENSEI, a great day of shrimping, and found the need for some social time with Halieys Comet/Gary and his wonderful wife on their 27. I fell in love with all the cockpit room .....which once again sent me searching for a big cockpit version of a 25' boat, which led me to getting told by Scot Reynolds and Jeff Messmer at that time...forget it...when asking for a 25' Angler version..and/or ideas of bringing back the 27... ...and back to the Rosborough RF-246.

Now, if most are in service in Alaska, that sort of gives a bit of a thumbs up from my angle...but, I will yield to the folks in Alaska who see/travel on with the 27s...but, I heard no real complaints from Gary on their boat.

Man, as James often does, he again hits the nail right on the head as his comments back to Westfield...... We look at the many, many opportunities our trailerable boats give us...and what I would loose if I did not have one...or three. Westfield, get off the big boat and try going to a gathering or two. Been to them in WA, AL, MS, FL, TN off the top of my head...have plans for CA and the Chesapeake this year.... and more than the boats, it is our C-Brat community that makes this crowd family. It gives us ports of call and folks familiar with the local waters throughout our Great Country. Look around a bit, learn a few of the folks, many, many larger boat owners/users. Yes, my wife too loves the big boats....so, we take a cruise about every 8-18 months... it is just different type of boating. I too had first looked into the purchase of a 32+ Nordic Tug...but, did the math, looked at the restrictions on travel (lack of trailer-ability, cost of insurance, cost of dockage, cost of temp dockage, cost of tying up that much money....) and for what? Room. So, Like James says...we just take a cruise now and then....and I love my boat.

Now back to topic: Interesting to compare our Toland design 27...to the current design (what ever it is called) of the big C-Dory...with the Latham input. Enough said there....and I will again today enjoy a wonderful day on my 25' boat with a large cockpit, and 7'x9' shower and galley area...with 6 on board! You have to love trailerable boats.

Happy Easter All!

Byrdman
 
Thanks for all the advice, esp. the Dave Gerr reference. I will be writing him soon for more information.

I myself love small boat cruising, it's my wife that has the concerns about "cabin fever". While we could wait another decade and probably afford a 50 footer, I would rather start now, we ain't getting any younger, you know. I would rather take a lot of trips in a smaller boat than charter two weeks out of the year in a big one.

The systems installed in boats these days have gotten a lot more compact and it might be possible to design an acceptable mini-trawler that would work for us. I am thinking of gen-sets, heaters, stoves, refers, electronics, etc. Gasoline gen-sets and heaters are available to avoid dual fuel problems and the new outboards are seemingly very reliable. Who needs a big twin diesel cruiser anymore when all you want is a small cottage on the water for only two?
 
The David Gerr Northwest 34 cruiser is at: http://www.gerrmarine.com/power_50.html

This is a diesel powered trawler, with a box keel, on a seabrite skiff body--not really a planing boat--and not designed for outboard power.

It has a larger head, stall shower hanging locker and larger galley, but otherwise, the CD 25 has about the same accomidations, with a smaller cockpit. The cost to build one 16 years ago, seemed excessive--and today I expect it will be at least twice as much. (It could possiably be built of aluminum--or the layout changed to a semi dory hull--but no telling how the boat would perform at a higher speed if that would desirable.)
 
It's not that I want to build a copy of that boat, as you say it is very different from what we are talking about. It is more important that the designer show signs of a similar way of looking at things as me. That he has been thinking "outside of the box", but has a feel for traditional boats too. I think it might be time to take another look at this with a clean sheet of paper and see what today's state of the art might be.

I have been in touch with Caledon Boatworks about a Caledon 29, but they were reluctant to stretch their hull that far: you can pull the stern back a couple of feet at max, after that the porportions all go to heck. I am trying to find a suitable hull, but have not had much luck, it may require a one-off. At that point why not bring in a real designer, it shouldn't cost more than a similar displacement custom sailboat to build. (w/o power and electronics!)

There are also many aluminum skiff builders up in the PNW, one of whom may have some ideas too, but I don't know much about them. There is an enormous amount of marine experience here and I hope someone has some ideas.
 
Have you checked out the Kigfisher boats from Jetcraft. They make larger boats with a 9.5' beam they have lots of room and are trailerable.

Steve
 
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