anyone having C-Dory built by NMI?

G

geodans

New member
Hi,
I'm wondering if anyone has recent experience in having a C-Dory built by NMI? how did you go about it and how was your experience?
I recently called and their reflex seems to be to shunt you off to a dealer, but still waiting for a return call from production Mgr.
I've seen posts here where people have had a boat built for them by the factory, is that a thing of the past? Do you really need to get a middleman involved now?
 
Hi,
I had a 22ft cruiser built by NMI this year. I had a great experience with them and Michael Millison (production VP) was very helpful (maybe because I was having the first electric C-Dory built??). I first contacted Michael in August 2023, placed my order in early October and they finished my boat in April 2024. NMI modified the cabin to meet my needs and eliminated much of the stuff I did not want.

I do know that there is a waiting list for boats built by NMI that seems to have become even longer than when I placed my order. Michael is very busy and often travels to boat shows and to help C-Dory owners in the field, so there may be a delay in his responses. Also, I think that if you want to work with NMI directly you need to be very specific as to what you want. Look at the descriptions on their boats on their website and be prepared to be specific in describing what you want. If you email them saying I want to buy C-Dory xxx they will most likely respond to you quickly.
 
you built a WATT??? OMG that's fantastic!I didnt think that was possible, I mean the batteries, the weight, shore charging only I assume, or do you also use a generator? I can't imagine a solar panel being much help compared to what it takes to push a boat through water...
I'd really like to know more, have you written about your project?
 
I have been cruising electric in Puget Sound for 26 years now. I had three 26 ft St. Pierre Dories before the C-Dory. Electrifying a cruising boat is not that difficult if you are content with cruising at or below hull speed (like sailboats). I have two 3kW outboards on my C-Dory, which is more than I really need. At 5mph I need 2kW and 5.8 kW to get to my maximum speed of 6.8 mph.

With Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries, weight is no longer an issue. I have four 48V 100AH batteries that weigh a total of 360 lbs. They fit exactly in the space next to the transom that is usually reserved for fuel tanks (see picture in my album - WATT NOW). The weight of the batteries is about that of two full fuel tanks that would fit into this space. Also the two outboards only weigh a total of 100bls; a lot less than a gas outboard. At 5mph my range is about 50 miles of a charge. At 4mph I can go almost twice that distance.

The other advantage of electricity is the price of the "fuel." Looking at some of the fuel consumption data on this site I estimate that it costs about 40 cents to travel 1 mile using gas at 5mph. On the other hand the cost of electricity is only 4 cents/mile!
 
OOPS!
I missed answering some of your other questions. First, I have written a book about electrifying cruising boats and it is available at Duckworks Boat Supply. It is called "Plug-in-Boats: a primer for converting to electricity.".

I have talked about my experience and hard won knowledge at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival for the last three years. I will be doing that again next year (I hope).

I also wrote an article in the April 2021 issue of Small Craft Advisor about my earlier St. Pierre Dories.

I don't use a generator because our cruising is usually between local marinas with shore power, and here is Puget Sound the are closely spaced; usually only 10 to 15 miles apart.

As you surmised, solar panels on a C-Dory would not adequate to provide all the electricity needed. There are however, some boat designs available that allow one to cruise only using the sun (see "Solar Sal" as an example).
 
I'm not having a boat built but did have a conversation with the factory lately. I asked them to increase the sponson height on the new TomCat's to fix a lot of the issues on the boat, namely the lack of draining in the "self draining" cockpit. He (Greg Little) said the new cockpit floor was raised up 2 inches to fix that.
 
I also have spoken with Greg and I am going up to look at a couple of tomcats under construction in a couple weeks. He said they have added 2” at the hull to deck joint so the entire floor is 2” higher now. I believe he said that the last 3 boats have been built this way.
 
Good news with the increased height of the sponson on the Tomcat. This has been an issue with the original 255 design. I have nothing but good things to say about Greg Little at NMI. Greg took daily photos of our 23 Venture during construction (see our photo album) and suggested additional items to consider in the build. NMI is very proactive to make sure the customer is happy with their purchase. They really do stand behind their product!
 
Gary, just to be clear the tunnel height is not increasing, only the floor is getting additional height above the tunnel.
Did you buy direct from NMI or through a dealer?
 
Thanks for the clarification on the tunnel height. From my reading on past C-Brats posts, it seems like an increased tunnel height would be good to lessen the effect of 3 ft. pounding swells in the open ocean. I guess that has not happened and so the current design must be good on tunnel of the 255.

We bought our 2017 C-Dory 23 Venture Sport from Sportcraft Marina in Portland, Or. although the correspondence over the phone on the construction was with NMI. Sportcraft installed the motors, electronics and anchor/rode. Sportcraft also did an amazingly good job with the final outcome of the finished product.
 
I believe that increasing the height of the tunnel would be preferred to simply raising the floor height as an increase in tunnel height would fix both problems. Scuppers flooding and bridge deck slamming. But that would involve a serious modification to the mold, I believe. Adding 2” between the two ‘halves’ of the boat fixes the one problem without the substantial cost and effort of retooling.
I have contacted sprtcraft in the past for Honda engine parts and they have always been great to deal with but are no longer a dealer for C-dory.
 
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