Are Used C-Dory's Overpriced?
- Thread starter Papillon
- Start date
Salmon Slayer
New member
When my wife and I decided to move up from our Bayrunner skiff (great boat that gave us many years of enjoyment) we wanted a cabin with a heater mostly. We saw the C-Dory and got all exited when we saw one at a local dealer until we saw the price.
We ended up getting our 81 Angler for $8500 which included everything from electronics to a new Zodiac and downriggers (we have since repowered to a 4 stroke). We absolutely love the boat and are continually upgrading it. Part of the enjoyment is the individual modifications that almost everyone up here does to their boat.
A couple weeks ago we were trolling in the Spring King Salmon derby and it was cold and rainy but we had the diesel stove going and were cooking bacon and eggs......the smell was driving people nuts when we passed them!
Knowing what I know now I would have paid a lot more for the boat and I have had several people ask me if I was interested in selling it.....never got that from any of my other boats.
Andy
We ended up getting our 81 Angler for $8500 which included everything from electronics to a new Zodiac and downriggers (we have since repowered to a 4 stroke). We absolutely love the boat and are continually upgrading it. Part of the enjoyment is the individual modifications that almost everyone up here does to their boat.
A couple weeks ago we were trolling in the Spring King Salmon derby and it was cold and rainy but we had the diesel stove going and were cooking bacon and eggs......the smell was driving people nuts when we passed them!
Knowing what I know now I would have paid a lot more for the boat and I have had several people ask me if I was interested in selling it.....never got that from any of my other boats.
Andy
Salmon Slayer
New member
Thanks Sea Wolf, it works great and I cant really screw it up...no electrical connections and only one needle valve!
Andy.
What kind of helm seat do you have? Looks like it may take the jolt away in heavy seas or chop.
My wife has orders to bury me in my Classic, or not to sell it for less than $20 grand. My wifes brother-in -law has is eye on it, have to watch what I drink at his house. C-Otter
What kind of helm seat do you have? Looks like it may take the jolt away in heavy seas or chop.
My wife has orders to bury me in my Classic, or not to sell it for less than $20 grand. My wifes brother-in -law has is eye on it, have to watch what I drink at his house. C-Otter
This is my first post, so I want to say hello to everyone here.
The title of this thread was particularly of interest to me. Several years ago I saw a 22 sea-dory in my neighborhood (hernando beach, Florida). At the time I was the owner of a 24 Shamrock, twin 351 gas inboards, tower, etc. This boat and I had been from Hernando beach to marathon Key in 6 foot seas (these are west coast florida 6 footers...close together and very fast) just to give you an idea of the seaworthiness of the boat.
Still, I was tiring of spending several hundred dollars a day on gas to go out 30 miles and back. Plus I missed my old 20 foot shamrock which was easily trailerable with my pickup (this 24 believe it or not wasn't due to the 8500 pound weight and the fixed tower) and got great gas mileage with low maintenance. This boat could due the 30 mile lifishing grounds and back on a 50 gallon tank with plenty to spare for safety, unlike the super thirst of my much larger twin inboard shammy.
Several years ago me and the beast parted ways, and recently I have been considering getting another boat and went looking at new C-dorys based soley on my memory of the boat I saw in my neighborhood. The C-dorys I saw intrigued me. It was simple, looked light on the trailer, had the same type of hull as my old 20 foot shamrock (minus the inboard hardware and keel which I don't want in my shallow water)and had the protection from the sun I needed. I did some research which eventually led me here.
Which brings us to the title of this thread. WOW is all I can say for the prices of used C-dorys. Obviously the boat is in over demand. I cannot make a case for a used C-dory, so if I do take the plunge it will be for a new boat, or a distress sale of some sort. But with the people here scouting for every C-dory for sale on the net, the prospects are dim for finding a used C-dory that to me justifies it's price.
Just thought I would share the prospective of a interested boater instead of a current owner. C-dorys seem to make a lot of sense in many ways. One of my concerns however is the balsa core construction in light of all the boats now with no wood products whatsover opn the market today. I was hoping to get totally away from wood construction boats on my next purchase.
So here I sit, trying to get a handle on which direction to go. One of the appeals for being a C-Dory owner is the "harley" mentality that seems to exist. You people seem to congregate around the brand of your boat and that certainly is an interesting concept.
Anyways, cheers to all. Please Wish me luck in my eventual decision.
The title of this thread was particularly of interest to me. Several years ago I saw a 22 sea-dory in my neighborhood (hernando beach, Florida). At the time I was the owner of a 24 Shamrock, twin 351 gas inboards, tower, etc. This boat and I had been from Hernando beach to marathon Key in 6 foot seas (these are west coast florida 6 footers...close together and very fast) just to give you an idea of the seaworthiness of the boat.
Still, I was tiring of spending several hundred dollars a day on gas to go out 30 miles and back. Plus I missed my old 20 foot shamrock which was easily trailerable with my pickup (this 24 believe it or not wasn't due to the 8500 pound weight and the fixed tower) and got great gas mileage with low maintenance. This boat could due the 30 mile lifishing grounds and back on a 50 gallon tank with plenty to spare for safety, unlike the super thirst of my much larger twin inboard shammy.
Several years ago me and the beast parted ways, and recently I have been considering getting another boat and went looking at new C-dorys based soley on my memory of the boat I saw in my neighborhood. The C-dorys I saw intrigued me. It was simple, looked light on the trailer, had the same type of hull as my old 20 foot shamrock (minus the inboard hardware and keel which I don't want in my shallow water)and had the protection from the sun I needed. I did some research which eventually led me here.
Which brings us to the title of this thread. WOW is all I can say for the prices of used C-dorys. Obviously the boat is in over demand. I cannot make a case for a used C-dory, so if I do take the plunge it will be for a new boat, or a distress sale of some sort. But with the people here scouting for every C-dory for sale on the net, the prospects are dim for finding a used C-dory that to me justifies it's price.
Just thought I would share the prospective of a interested boater instead of a current owner. C-dorys seem to make a lot of sense in many ways. One of my concerns however is the balsa core construction in light of all the boats now with no wood products whatsover opn the market today. I was hoping to get totally away from wood construction boats on my next purchase.
So here I sit, trying to get a handle on which direction to go. One of the appeals for being a C-Dory owner is the "harley" mentality that seems to exist. You people seem to congregate around the brand of your boat and that certainly is an interesting concept.
Anyways, cheers to all. Please Wish me luck in my eventual decision.
Gregfl.... I too was worried about the balsa thing, but you just have to see the condition of these boats after decades of use and thousands of miles - most can be shined up to like-new condition easily. I had the good fortune to meet briefly with El and Bill last year. Looking for their old 22 ft C-Dory in the State Park, I could only find one that looked just like new... No bottom paint, thousands of hours running on the water..... and it looked like a new boat.
As far at the balsa. We touched on this on another thread. The balsa cubes are small and oriented on end with the grain going from the hull bottom to the inside bottom. As such, it is not subject to the spreading rot problem of woods used parallel to the bottom, whether plywood or solid wood. The test of C-dory toughness is on the water in all those boats for all these years. Also, the true cost of a boat is the purchase minus the sale price. For most C-Dories there is not much difference if they have been maintained at all.
just some thoughts, John
As far at the balsa. We touched on this on another thread. The balsa cubes are small and oriented on end with the grain going from the hull bottom to the inside bottom. As such, it is not subject to the spreading rot problem of woods used parallel to the bottom, whether plywood or solid wood. The test of C-dory toughness is on the water in all those boats for all these years. Also, the true cost of a boat is the purchase minus the sale price. For most C-Dories there is not much difference if they have been maintained at all.
just some thoughts, John
I have been involved in a project to develope non destructive testing equiptment for marine surveyors for the last several years. I also have surveyed over 200 hurricane damaged boats in the last 18 months. I have also been involved in construction of balsa cored boats in the past. I was on board a balsa cored sail boat which hit a container in 8 foot seas and 50 knots of wind off Baja during a race. Any normal laminated boat would have sunk. This perticular boat is made of 3" x 3" balsa planks, fiberglassed inside and out. It has made two circumnavigations and over 200,000 miles at sea in its 30 years. Even hitting the container, the hull was not breached--the balsa absorbed the shock.
With that background, I can say that balsa coring properly used, is an excellent product. As DrJohn said the balsa is end grain, and well sealed. Each cell is sealed. Balsa is actually classified as a hard wood because of its cell structure (even though it is one of the softest woods to mechanical compression). The balsa is there to give stiffness--which is essentail in a semi dory hull form. It does this with a very light hull. It is the sandwich which gives the strength. Also, the hull bottom is very thick--there are adequate layers of matt and roving outside of the balsa to make it resistant to impact.
We cut up 20 hurricane damaged boats about 6 months ago. Included in these were boats will all types of cores--including a number which used balsa. Even the balsa which had been exposed to the weather in the year after the damage from being impailed on a piling etc--did not have significant moisture migration. The destructive testing and macro photographs did not show any delamination of the balsa core--I could not say this with either foam or plywood cores.
As for a new vs used boat. I am buying a new Tom Cat 255, only because there aren't any used ones. I have absolutely no reservation buying a used C Dory...for significant savings. Worse case scenerio, you do a little gel coat repair and repaint the color--these boats are built like tanks....
The buyer of my 22 Cruiser E mailed today, saying that NADA shows only a mid 7K figure for the 1992 C Dory. In fact if you put in the "extras" like engines, trailer, custom covers etc, the "value" is closer to 16K---not including the Wallas stove and opening windows etc--which if factored in would bring the value up another few thousand. The bottom line, is look at some 20+ year old XXXX brand and compare the structural condition and what it looks like in comparison to what a new boat of the same manufacture looks like--there is no comparison with the C Dory winning hands down!
Yes, I am biased. I have been in love with the C Dory for almost 30 years, even though I owned a number of boats between the time I first saw one and now. The C Dory just didn't seem right for our travels in crossing the Atlantic and Pacific oceans etc...but I guess some day someone may take that trip! Why not--start at St John's New Foundland....
Regards,
With that background, I can say that balsa coring properly used, is an excellent product. As DrJohn said the balsa is end grain, and well sealed. Each cell is sealed. Balsa is actually classified as a hard wood because of its cell structure (even though it is one of the softest woods to mechanical compression). The balsa is there to give stiffness--which is essentail in a semi dory hull form. It does this with a very light hull. It is the sandwich which gives the strength. Also, the hull bottom is very thick--there are adequate layers of matt and roving outside of the balsa to make it resistant to impact.
We cut up 20 hurricane damaged boats about 6 months ago. Included in these were boats will all types of cores--including a number which used balsa. Even the balsa which had been exposed to the weather in the year after the damage from being impailed on a piling etc--did not have significant moisture migration. The destructive testing and macro photographs did not show any delamination of the balsa core--I could not say this with either foam or plywood cores.
As for a new vs used boat. I am buying a new Tom Cat 255, only because there aren't any used ones. I have absolutely no reservation buying a used C Dory...for significant savings. Worse case scenerio, you do a little gel coat repair and repaint the color--these boats are built like tanks....
The buyer of my 22 Cruiser E mailed today, saying that NADA shows only a mid 7K figure for the 1992 C Dory. In fact if you put in the "extras" like engines, trailer, custom covers etc, the "value" is closer to 16K---not including the Wallas stove and opening windows etc--which if factored in would bring the value up another few thousand. The bottom line, is look at some 20+ year old XXXX brand and compare the structural condition and what it looks like in comparison to what a new boat of the same manufacture looks like--there is no comparison with the C Dory winning hands down!
Yes, I am biased. I have been in love with the C Dory for almost 30 years, even though I owned a number of boats between the time I first saw one and now. The C Dory just didn't seem right for our travels in crossing the Atlantic and Pacific oceans etc...but I guess some day someone may take that trip! Why not--start at St John's New Foundland....
Regards,
WOW if we didn't have a C-Dory after reading these posts we would sure be prospects. Really we have owned several nice boats in the last 15 years. A Nimble Nomad, a Monk 36 Trawler, a Rosborough 246 Trawler and now our 22 C-Dory. This is for sure the smallest and lightest of our boats, but the joy of wakeing up in a nice cove and wiping down the boat is all the same-except the Monk took 2hours. Our 22 trailers like a dream and launch and load are easy at almost any ramp.
PS I don't have to winterize a water heater either.
I think that dorys will continue to hold their value for many years. There is just not anything to go wrong.
PS I don't have to winterize a water heater either.
I think that dorys will continue to hold their value for many years. There is just not anything to go wrong.
Teflonmom makes an excellent point--nothing to go wrong. The systems are so simple. I had one inquiry asking if my 22 had been surveyed. Tracing the history thru the 4 owners, I don't think the boat had ever been surveyed. The person asking the question said that he had seen a boat with some delamination--upon asking about the area, it would appear that the boat took a severe blow;maybe in docking. Also he mentioned high moisture meter readings around the brass strip and the engine bolts. Any metal near a moisture meter will give a high reading--even just being in the proximity and does not necessarilly suggest that there is water intrusion into the laminate or core. Unfortunately the moisture meter is often missused--and is really the only semi objective measurement that most surveyors take. (There are a hand full who use IR and ultrasound in high end surveys and commercial work).
Basically a C Dory is a skiff, with a cabin house on it. Very simple.
Basically a C Dory is a skiff, with a cabin house on it. Very simple.
Greg: Minnow Creek Drive -- didn't get your pm.
James: Douglas Creek, Medicine Bow Range, 43 miles S.W. of Laramie on 230 - turn off on Fox Park Rd and head in 7 miles to the creek. We're making a film on gold-dredging (a 3 year project thusfar). The C-Dory is bunkhouse, office, & cookshack all in one.
James: Douglas Creek, Medicine Bow Range, 43 miles S.W. of Laramie on 230 - turn off on Fox Park Rd and head in 7 miles to the creek. We're making a film on gold-dredging (a 3 year project thusfar). The C-Dory is bunkhouse, office, & cookshack all in one.
Hey, that'sclosetoone of our favorite spots. We've spent a lot of time in the Snowy Range, just west of Laramie and Centennial, at Brooklyn Lake.
Great camping, hiking and trout fishing. Also, camping there in July two years ago, we never had to go to town for ice. We wouldjust take the cooler and shovel to the nearest snow bank and fill it up.
Nick
"Valkyrie"
Great camping, hiking and trout fishing. Also, camping there in July two years ago, we never had to go to town for ice. We wouldjust take the cooler and shovel to the nearest snow bank and fill it up.
Nick
"Valkyrie"
The Snowy Range is right next door. We're right on the Colorado/Wyoming line. It can snow there just about anytime (and has even end of July). Rob Roy Reservoir would be the place to put a boat in and has good trout in the Medicine Bow Range.
So as not to hijack the thread: just another reason to pay a little more for a C-Dory -- you don't have to buy an RV, popup, etc., if you don't want to.
So as not to hijack the thread: just another reason to pay a little more for a C-Dory -- you don't have to buy an RV, popup, etc., if you don't want to.
It's not far, to get there you'd go back out to 230 and go down across the Colorado line, turn right (towards Rawlins) and go N about 7 miles to a turnoff to the left (West). Don't know about the fishing, haven't tried it or been there, but that area is on the list to explore if I have the time.