Boats you have owned

The list is short but starts July 1950 on Baseline Lake, Michigan. It was small and electric but I love it.

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Next

1. 1959 16ft Barbour with 1959 Johnson 50hp

2. Achillis 9ft inflatable with a 1970 Seagull

3. 2003 C-Dory 22ft with twin 50hp Hondas
 
Boats Owned
12 ft wooden dinghy (1965?)
14 ft wooden lapstrake runabout with 30 hp Johnson (1968)
16 ft Glastron with 60 hp Johnson (1970)
18 ft Lincoln canoe (1973)
2-Hyperform 14ft kayaks (1978)
18ft Lincoln canoe (1983)
22 ft C-Dory (2003)
Achilles LT2 with 3 hp Tohatsu (2009)

Boats known/operated
27ft Owens 1964?
multitudes of canoes, skiffs, and kayaks
18ft Hobie catamaran (1970's)

Chartered Boats
36 ft Mainship (1990's)
45 ft Carver (1990's)
28 ft Bayliner (1990's)

Mike "Levity"
 
14' Jonboat used for hunting flooded pasture at the duck club
17' Boston Whaler
21' Fiberform
17' Wooldridge Sport. Fantastic boat, hated to part with it, but I was bitten by the CD bug
22' C-Dory Cruiser

It's been fun.

Rick
 
I have owned numerous boats sometimes more than one at a time and here it goes in order as I can recall.
1. 11 foot Avon w/15HP Suzuki
2. 14 foot Campion with 35HP Mercury
3. 18 foot Starcraft with Merc 90
4. 15 foot Achilles with 50HP Tohatsu
5. 20 foot Alumaweld Jet Boat
6. 22 foot Alumaweld Intruder with Twin 50 Merc
7. 26 foot Searay Sundancer
8. 21 foot Seaswirl Striper
9. 22 foot Bayliner Trophy W/A
10. 14 foot Avon
11. 21 foot Bayliner Trophy
12. Zodiac MK IV
13. 26 foot Hewescraft Alaskan
14. 24 foot Osprey Long-cabin
15. Zodiac ZED
16. Seabo Inflatable
17. AX Inflatable
18. 23 foot Wooldridge Pilot House
19. 26 foot Fish-Rite Seawolf
20. Stabicraft 859SC
21. C-dory 22 or Venture 23????? :xseek
 
Including boats from my youth that my Dad bought but let me use as if I had paid my share -- lucky boy. :)

195-something 16' Chris Craft cuddy with Evinrude 35 and later 50
1960 Dorsett 16' El Rey with Evinrude 75
1970 16' Correct Craft Torino - Ford 351/Volvo Penta -- fast
1973 19' Caravelle Pompano - Ford 302/Mercruiser
505 sailboat
1986 Century 3500 Sport LX - Mercruiser 260
2007 C-Dory 25
 
I had missed out on this one:
Grew up around the docks in San Pedro Calif on weekends.
Father had a 14' racing boat until about 1939 and a 26 foot fin keel sail boat from 1939 thru 1965 I raced as skipper at age 13 on.

First personal boat was in 1947: it was an 8 foot skiff made of 1/4" plywood, which my dad and I made. Weldwood Glue, ring nails, and copper sheathing at the chines. Rig about 40 sq feet, and a dagger board.
8 foot pram with 2.5 hp air cooled sears motor
13 foot "yellow Jacket 25 hp Evinrude.
16 foot ZinCraft: 35 hp Evinrude
27 foot Owen's Sea Skiff 350 inboard
29 foot Columbia Defender First cruise to Mexico
About this time began a collection of inflatables and dinghies--over a dozen in all)
16 foot plywood runabout (Chesapeake bay) 40 hp Johnson
Coronado 35 Sloop, Ablin Diesel--first long cruise to Mexico
Newport 30
18 foot Ray Hunt Design deep V runabout--owned for about 20 years 115 hp Evinrude
Coronado 45, modified to rate "2 tons" for racing IOR
Coronado 32
Bayliner 23 (weekend boat while in the boat building business)
Custom self built 38 foot cutter Sabb diesel
62 foot Garden Ketch (sailed 41,000 miles over 4 years full time cruising, including Europe, East Coast US, 2 Atlantic Crossings
23 foot Reinelle "convertible"--open boat with a small galley, slept 4.
Islander 23
Cal 46 (cruised over 35,000 miles including 4 trips to AK, all of the West Coast 3rd Panama Canal transit to Florida
Thunderbird 18 90 Yahama
GradyWhite 20 Adventurer 225 Johnson
Symbol 42 Motor Yacht twin Cat 3208
Carver 32, single diesel
Rinker 270
C Dory 22
C Dory Tom Cat 255
C Dory 25
C Dory 22
Fatty Knees 9' sailing dinghy
2 Sabots,
Lasser

2 Sailfish

1 wooden Kayak
1 Hobie Mirage Kayak
3 inflatable Kayaks
 
1st boat. $25.00 16' Skagit w/ 20 horse Evinrude. Even came with trailer Bought at auction at age 40 or so. Should have Set on fire immediately....but still not quite broke yet.

2nd boat Homemade 16' or so ....Made from kit in Popular Mechanics. She was sweet with little dory style cabin. Ski Twin motor.

3rd 16' firberform w/outboard

3rd boat. 19' Sea Ray 1985 with cuddy. Her new owner did a complete restoration.

4th boat. 1985 c-dory. She was a plain Jane w/good low-hour motor. Still working her into cruising status.

I had no history with boats except fishing commercially in Alaska. My son was tuned loose with the fiberform at age 14. Friends thought this was a mistake. Adventure. He remembers this as his finest year. He and his buddy had a full tank of gas and a world of opportunity.
The first boat conked out in a 16 knot current off of the east coast of Vancouver island. The the back up motor also conked out. That was a long time ago and a different world. Glad I'm here to remember that. Got tow from a friendly boater and didn't have to radio the Canadian coasties. Humiliation is a good lesson.

Chris
 
Our first boat of any kind was a 16 foot canoe in 1989 at age 41.  Followed by a scanoe  with  a 3 hp Tanaka motor the same year.

Then in 2000 a 12.5 foot Seaeagle RIB with 18 hp 4 stroke Nissan motor.  We had a fantastic time exploring rivers & lakes in  the Canadian Northwest & Yukon Territories & some in BC.  With one jaunt between Skagway & Haines Alaska.

None of our C-Dory cruising time has been anymore fun only more comfortable.  Our grand adventures on the CD22 started in 2003 & should show others with similar lack of prior boating experience what a great boat the CD 22 is either in the hands of one starting out a novice like us or many year seasoned boating veterans like Dr Bob & Marie.

Jay
 
10' fibreglass, 5hp Seagull.
18'6" Alacrity (sail), 6hp Johnson.
22' Catalina (sail), 8hp Yamaha.
33' Moody (sail), 30hp Westerbeke inboard.
26' Westerly (sail), 18hp Volvo inboard.
15'6" Whaler, 40hp Yamaha.
22' C-Dory, twin 40hp Yamahas.

I also sailed around the world in the early 70s. But I did share the Destroyer with 249 other guys!

Martin.
 
First boat was an 11' inflatable with a 9.9 mercury
Second boat was a 13' glasply with a BF 45. Great boat for crabbing.
Third boat was a 16' 2006 c-dory cruiser. Nice boat but too small for us.
Fourth boat was a 22' 1984 c-dory. Great boat but the tomcat came along.
Fifth boat is a 2002 c- dory tomcat with twin Yamaha 115s. Love the tomcat!
 
My name is Allen and I am a boataholic.

My first boat was a Styrofoam Snark sailboat that my uncle got by smoking enough Kool cigarettes and saving the trading coupons attached to the packs. It sported a sail with the Kool cigarettes logo. It took two seasons of abuse by me and may friends on Lake Erie before the hull disintegrated while three of us were under sail in some pretty wild winds. I was addicted to boats!

From there it was a series of canoes – 16’ MFG fiberglass with money earned from shoveling snow in the winter and mowing grass in the summer. Did lots of fishing in that one – finally sold it for what I paid for it when I went into the Navy at 17. From there it was an old cedar strip 17 footer that I found at a garage sale for $100. Needed quite a bit of work but was great fun restoring and paddling. Then came the 16 foot Grumman aluminum. Sold them all before a move to the west coast.
With sailing in my blood and beautiful days year round in southern California to sail, I took out a student loan while in college and purchased my first real sailboat – an Able 20. I finally sold it in my senior year of college as I was spending way more time sailing than studying and was concerned that I might not get that diploma. Also owned an Achilles inflatable as a dinghy to get back and forth to the Able20 on her mooring buoy.

Took a short break from boat ownership to start a family and get on our feet financially. Discovered sea kayaking and my wife and I bought a couple of sea kayaks and spent time exploring the coast of southern and central California. Sailing was still in my blood so, on a total impulse, bought a Kettenberg 32 sailboat. Sailed it for years until we decided that we were no longer into the journey but into the destination. We then made the biggest mistake of our boating lives and purchased a 37 foot sportfisher. It was expensive and time consuming to maintain. It ended up as a dockside condo. I hit rock bottom. Sold it and did not look back but kept the 11 foot Zodiac inflatable that I’d purchased as a tender for the sportfisher.

Had to have another boat so I downsized to an 11 foot Mirror class racing dinghy. Beautiful mahogany plywood and could fly across the water under main, jib, and spinnaker. I called it a Sabot on steroids. Found a couple of Sunfish sailboats on trailers in a cow pasture. Got them for a song and restored and sailed them along with the Mirror for quite a few years. Still had the kayaks and still enjoyed them. After the large powerboat, I didn’t think that I’d ever want to smell diesel or gasoline while boating.

Sold the sailboat fleet when we moved to the Pacific Northwest. Continued for several years enjoying the water with our kayaks. Along the way, as I am a sucker for any boat built of wood, picked up a 1954 Grandy 16’ cold molded mahogany runabout (my Sunday afternoon fair weather cruiser), a 1962 Clipper Craft 12’ mahogany plywood skiff, and a 1962 12’ San Francisco Pelican sailboat. I’m currently in the process of slowly restoring the skiff and the Pelican. In a moment of extreme weakness I also picked up a 1958 Perfomer Seven Seas 16’ fiberglass cabin cruiser which is also being slooooowly restored to its former glory.
To power this assortment of vintage boats I have been lucky enough to have found several old classic outboards of varying horsepower (some running, some not, and some in pieces). Slowly making progress on the restoration of these as well.

Up to this point I’d always wanted a C-Dory 22. I’d first laid eyes on one back in the early ‘90s and decided that was the dream boat. Well, the dream finally came true in late 2011. Still have the kayaks and all the vintage boats and motors but with quality time spent with the C-Dory, I’m finding it more and more difficult to find the time to work on my project boats. My wife has laid down the law on my predilection for the casual acquisition of derelict wooden boat projects and agreed to the C-dory purchase as an intervention measure. I think that I’m finally on the road to recovery.
 
early 1980's livingston 12 w/evinrude 9..9
1986 Glasply 19.5 w/mercruiser 470 I/O (last I/O EVER for this kid)
1991 C-Dory 22 Cruiser w/Johnson 70
1980's westcoaster 14 w/Evinrude 20
2007 C-Dory 22 Angler w/Honda T40's
1985 C-Dory 16 Angler w/Honda 50 EFI (current)

I'm likely not done yet, but I sure do love the little C-Dory 16!
 
What a fun thread...all of a sudden I see fellow C-Brats in a whole, new light.

Until now they(you) were just other C-Dory Guys (and Gals).

Here I go...

Before I was even born (1958) my dad bought his first boat, a SeaSwirl P-14.

Evidently, he built some kind of plywood house on it as my mom referred to it as the "chicken-shack boat". Sturgeon fishing in the '50s.

As the story goes, they were out at the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers when their motor( a Johnson) died and left them at the mercy of an oncoming freighter. Dad became a Mercury man.

They barely made it back to the ramp (Kelly Point).

Next boat was a 17' Go-Fast with a 100 Horse Merc (Tower of Power). Dad trailed it down to Ilwaco to fish for salmon. Launch lines and big seas...no good.

Then a 32' Tollycraft(1964 ?). Great Boat.

Moored at Warrenton, Astoria, Ilwaco(1965-1973). We'd fly down to Astoria on Friday afternoon (Beechcraft Bonanza), jump in an old Chevy Nomad Dad kept at the airport, overnight in the marina, and go out for salmon at dawn. I remember waking to bacon&eggs as we crossed the bar. 3-fish limits and in by noon. Magical memories.

Then, dad bought a house on the "flying island", Blakely in the San Juans. His next boats were moored there...1973-1987.

First a 34' Chris-Craft. Sucked

Then a 36' Uniflight Command Bridge.

Then a 45' Cruise-a-Home with Detroit Diesels.

Of course, I watched all this evolve and it influenced me as I considered my first boat.

We had a place in Sunriver, Oregon (near Bend) and starting with Dad's 14' Comet and then a 16' SeaSwirl/Mercruiser 140 I began boating myself in the Cascade-Lakes of Eastern Oregon circa 1978.

My first personal boat was a 1963 Glastron V-142 w/1968 Johnson 55 triple I purchased in 1980.

I trailed it from Vancouver to our house on Blakely Island in the San Juans(launched at Anacortes). I was all about bottomfishing for Lings and Rockfish in those days. Making the run from Blakely to Sucia, Patos, Matia, Parker's Reef daily.

Upgraded to the ultimate shuttle-craft bottomfisher in 1986...a 17' Boston Whaler Montauk/90 Yamaha. 45 M.P.H. standing up.:disgust

When Dad lost his pilot's license(diabetes) we gave up the Blakely House and I needed an overnighter.

I'll never forget the 1989 Portland Boat Show when I first layed eyes on a remarkable boat that offered an enclosed cabin/dinette/vee berth powered by a 70 hp motor and sitting on a single-axle trailer.

That week I drove to Bellingham and water tested a 22' Sea-Sport/305 Chevy (loved it). Too spendy.

Next day, water tested a 22' C-Dory Cruiser and placed my order at the Kent Factory, taking delivery on the Bastille Day bi-centennial, 07-14-1989.

Unbelievably, I was only 30 and I knew I'd found my "Dream Boat" and that we'd grow old together.

That was 23 years ago and still counting.
 
Somewhere in Central California, Jim was, in the back of his mind, thinking of retiring, and fishing, and boats, again/still. I was time to get that retirement boat, and though wife Dorie wasn't crazy about boating, she was crazy about Jim, so she did the good wife thing and just said "Well go ahead honey" and so he did. He set about to put together the perfect "Fish your way to Alaska" boat. He had been getting tired of number 33 anyway and so the new challenge of making this into the perfect "Go North" boat for them was exciting. On previous boats he had had bits and pieces of perfect, but number 34 was going to have it all, all together. The right electronics package, the perfect, amenities for two on board, and all the right gear plus of course, the right fishing gear for every situation. After all, he was going to fish his way to Alaska, and around the Pacific Northwest. With all the specs specked, and all the ads perused, and the bankroll in hand, the obvious choice was the only dealer in the state and so he stated the specs, laid the money down, signed the contract, and labeled the new 22 foot, burgundy -- called "cabaret" C-Dory Cruiser as his 34th and last boat purchase ever. He knew what he wanted, he knew what he was doing, and he knew what would be good and what would work: It was his 34th boat, and he knew. After taking delivery of "Jim's Dorie" he spent some time doing some exquisite cabinetry, adding beauty and function to his perfect boat. Then a trip to the PNW where they could do the engine break in, and shakedown, getting the feel and getting ready for the early spring departure for the fishing trip of a lifetime. It was his 34th boat, and it was a good one.

Unfortunately, I never met Jim, or Dorie either for that mater. After their PNW fishing season (80 hours on the OB's -- twins), and heading back to Cal. Jim never made the trip back. We found the boat sitting beside a very unkempt, empty looking home, very deserted looking. It took several weeks to find the owner, who had no interest in keeping the boat, (It had been her husbands 34th, and she hadn't decided how to deal with it yet, after 11 or so months.) But was happy to talk to us. It worked, and we worked out a deal that made us all happy. Our test drive was to peek under the canvas cover and see "yup, it looks like a C-Dory" and all the purchase was by mail. Jim's Dorie was ours.

And now for the rest of the story. Working on the boat, parked in the ally on day a neighbor from the other end of the block comes walking by. "That's a really fine fishing boat" he says. "Yes it is, but I don't fish" I replied. "No, you don't get it" he says, "It's a really good fishing boat, good at catching, I know, I have been fishing on it" OK, so now he has my full attention, and I'm saying "A C-Dory, sure, but this one? It's from California." His name is Adam. "Yup, fishing on this boat right here, back when I lived in California. Jim and I were fishing buddies." OK, so now my spine is tingling and I'm on hyper- alert. Turns out they lost touch when they were moving and my poor neighbor was pretty startled when he saw the boat at the ally parking spot.

I can't list all 33 of Jim's previous boats, but I can tell you this, he was pretty right about picking the perfect boat for number 34. Jim's Dorie morphed into SleepyC over the next year, and I think it is the perfect boat.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon

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I started boating in the mid 50s with the Sea Scouts on the Magothy River in Severna Park, Maryland. The Scouts had a 42' Air-Sea Rescue Boat (all wood) that was obtained from the military. I learned all about the maintenance of wooden boats form my scouting days, however that did not deter me from continuing with boating.

The boats I have owned:

1958 Chriscraft 14' Runabout Kit Boat with 35HP Johnson outboard - my father and I built the boat. I never knew how many screws it takes to make a boat and no electric screw driver.

1960 Glastron 13' Ski Boat

1989 Regal 18' Bowrider

1990 Regal 23' Aft Cabin Cruiser - this was probably the boat we have had the most enjoyment from to date. It got us into cruising. We took the Regal from the top to the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay and most places inbetween over 6 years.

1989 Cruisers 32' Express - we purchased this boat in 1997 to increase our cruising comfort. We should have stayed with the 23' Regal.

1994 34' Silverton Aft Cabin Motoryacht - we purchased this boat in 1999 and it really taught us the meaning of "bring over another thousand" (boat). At 0.5 MPG and with all the systems & electronics to maintain our cash flow really went into that hole in the water. All in all we had a great time with this boat traveling throughout the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays and never felt uncomfortable in any sea conditions.

2006 16' C-Dory Cruiser - My retirement boat for fishing and day cruising around Ocean City, Maryland. Traded in December 2011 on a new 22' C-Dory Cruiser.

2012 22' C-Dory Cruiser - we purchased this boat to get into our dream of long distance cruising. Waiting for warm weather to get started.
 
1974 21' Glastron BR
1988 14' Grumman V hull
1985 19' Stingray BR
1992 14' Alumacraft jon boat
2002 14' Alumacraft V hull
2003 18.6' Doral BR
2005 22' C-Dory Cruiser
 
Previously Owned:
1969 13' Boston Whaler 30 hp
1967 17' Boston Whaler 75 hp
1973 20' Mako 150 hp

Currently Own (yard getting crowded):
Starcraft 14' duck/fish boat 9.8 hp
Rebel 16' sailboat (mostly a yard ornament)
2006 18' Lund Alaskan SS 90 hp
2009 20' Lund Alaskan SS 115 hp (great boat!)
2002 28' Stanley Pulsecraft custom aluminum landing craft T/115 hp
2006 22' C-Dory Cruiser 90 hp
Kayaks - 2 Tomcat Tandem inflatables, 1 solo Strike, 2 Perception flat water, 2 whitewater
Canoes - 17' Sawyer, 16' Ranger, 14.5' Native Ultimate Tandem
WW Rafts - 16' Udisco (retired), NRS E-135
About to Buy:
2012 WM HP-310 dinghy
 
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