C-Dory 16

C

Chinook1

New member
Hi! I have begun to fish the Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound. I have become interested in the C-Dory 16, which seems to be a seaworthy little cruiser and day fisher for my boy and I. Some of me friends have said not to, as it simply rolls too much to be comfortable. Any thoughts?
 
Hey Mike !! They are tuff boats. Looking thru and sorting "Our C-Dorys" at the top of the page.... I see about 7 or 8 known 16' C-Dory boats in AK. Some are the cruiser version, some are the angler version. There are also many...around 2 dozen AK folks who are members of this site, but...they do not indicate what size C-Dory they have. Take a peak and see if any of them are close to you. Send them an email and ask for a ride. Most of us have for sure given rides to folks prior to them putting down the money for one...or more of them. Now, I am not sure if you are saying 16 because of the length, or the price, but, it will be hard to find a sweeter, safer 16' boat than the 16' C-Dory. I loved mine. If it is the price... you can often find with time a older 22 who may have a scratch or two but the structure of the hull is solid as day one. That is one thing good about the simplicity of the C-Dory hulls... they are not real fancy with a lot of things to go wrong with them. Look about... and good luck.
 
Thanks for the response. I cruised the different forums, and enjoyed the posts. I will see if I can get a ride with someone local. I also saw somewhere that there was a C-Dory 16 for sale in Juneau, at least there was in June. Maybe I can get down there to take a peak.

Had a great day in Prince William Sound yesterday on our Klamath 18. Caught about an 80 pound halibut, which was nice.

Hope you are having a nice summer in Alabama.
 
Chinook1 – I have a 16 ft cruiser and do not find the ride uncomfortable. I just finished a 335 mile cruise and had conditions from flat to three foot rollers with a stiff quartering wind and one foot plus wind waves on top of the rollers. Water was continually breaking over the bow and going over the top of the cabin. As long as I did not try to go too fast (over 14 knots) there was no uncomfortable ride to the boat. There was a lot of up and down and side roll but my wife was able to sleep through it. You get an uncomfortable ride when you go so fast that the hull starts to slam down.

The more I am in the boat the I am willing to push it. I suspect I will holler uncle before the boat does.

Byrdman is right about finding an older 22 for about what you will pay for a 16. If money is the issue, go with an older 22. You will get a lot more boat for your dollar. If size is the issue then you can’t find a nicer boat than the 16.
 
Dave, sounds like it was an interesting trip. The 16 appeals to me as a smaller boat that may be easier to handle with just one or two people. Is that the case? Why do you like the 16?

Mike
 
Chinook1":1irz48tn said:
Why do you like the 16?
Click to expand...
Because it is mine.
The 16 is the perfect boat for one person. It is a good boat for two people. Three people and it is crowded, even if the third person is a child or medium size dog. A 16 is easy to tow, easy to launch and retrieve and will go most places (if you are adventurous) that a 22 will. It is a very sea worthy boat and will handle rough water exceptionally well. If you plan on any extended trips (more than a few days) with another person, you will find it too small. I have not had the boat in the open ocean yet, so can not comment on its abilities out there. With the 16 it is easier to go out on the spur of the moment or just a short quick trip for something. There are many people on this site that will launch and retrieve a 22 by themselves and a couple and maybe more that can do the same with a 25.

The 16 is the biggest little boat made. When you look at it, it appears much bigger than it is. I am amazed at how much stuff you can cram in the boat.

A C-dory is very easy to customize and this group (the C-Brats) is like no other group I have ever known. With their help (advise and guidance) you can do just about anything to or with your boat.

I will eventually upgrade to the 22 because the 16 is really too small for extended cruising with two people. The 16 is a fun boat and it has been a great experience.
 
16 Cruiser is a perfect cocoon for one guy fishing alone at sea but for two people, get a 22. Complaints about my 16: anchoring requires death defying acrobatics that with practice could become a Las Vegas show (small bow deck;... solutions:anchor from stern for temporary fishing & for bow anchor, bring rope along side of cabin to haul in from cockpit). Toilet has no privacy from others, weight limit after motor and gas forces prioritizing (ice box with beer or wife?); no easy bait tank solution (weight limits again, I travel with tank empty and then make bait at fishing grounds), size does matter in chop and large wakes; adding big boat electronics to small boat probably makes it harder to resell reflecting the value added. Advantages over 22 or 25 CD: store it in you car garage, tow it behind family 6 cyl van, best gas mileage, pulling into distant island coves... you can tell other yacht owners this is your dingy and your yacht is too big to enter the harbor.

~ Keith, C-Pup16
 
Oh yea,... and after some yacht owner figures out you crossed 32 miles of sea in a 16 foot CD and says "that's not your dingy. You're living on it!" and the yacht club social director (aghast) pulls away the silver tray of salmon and caviar, you can have the last say telling them you came from the mainland on as much gas as they used just to leave the harbor. Then they'll either hate you or crave your C-Dory. One guy offered a deal, ...party on his boat in the harbor while he goes fishing on mine!

Keith, C-Pup.
 
Another advantage that I think I see with the 22 is that you have a hard top and bulkhead wall too...making it a great boat to close up all the way and heat...and keep a bit drier. And...if your son wants to bring along a friend who may not get to boat often... you have a great opportunity to give a kid some time on the water...and a great anchor system that works on voice command... :mrgreen: Also... a used 22 is way more available than a used or even new 16 in your parts...?? maybe??

I agree with the others on the size of my 16..and I loved that boat...but most of my time was alone in it...or just one other person. I put my big cooler up on the bunk, moving some weight forward, and my "go-to" cooler was actually a couple of tupperware boxes that would hold a 6 pack each under each of the chair boxes. The square flat tupperware boxes with snapping flaps on the sides. They were great....but did not retain the ice too long due to the heat...and the openings.. :beer

I also agree with the being forward on the deck of the 16. I never was real comfortable up there....and all I got was wet if I fell over...not dead due to extream water temps. On anchoring, I'd set the anchor from the aft cleat to ensure a proper hold, then add a couple more feet with a loop in the ancor line. Then, I'd toss a small 1/4" nylon rope over the top of the boat, and pull it thru the hatch. Then, tie the end of the rope in the cockpit to the loop in the ancor rope, and toss it overboard, going forward then to pull the little nylon rope holding the ancor loop back up to the forward cleat on the bow. Then, hook the loop in the rope to the cleat... and.... sort of reverse this gig when time to leave. That left me with the boat ancored with the boat facing into the waves/wind...and a better feeling of not having the stuff slap the aft end/stern quarter of the little big boat. It also allowed me to retrive the sometimes "stuck" ancor from the safety of the cockpit...rather than onthe foward small, always moving/shifting too small for my big ol but to be up there in the 1st place bow area.

Either way you go....you will love a C-Dory boat for many years....again...I think a reason to look into a used 22.
 
You asked if the CD-16 "rolls too much". I rarely take a friend fishing because most sane people are afraid of being in a small boat on a big ocean. When I do offer a friend an opportunity to join me at sea, I tell him to possibly expect an experience somewhat like taking a canoe down the rapids,... while standing up. Depending on wind chop and other boat wakes, you bet a CD-16 rocks and rolls and ...that wears on the calf muscles and knee joints if you're not in good shape. Fish enough however, and you'll be ready for marathons or ball room dancing because standing on a rocking boat shifting your weight all day while fishing is like working out in a gym. That's what I tell my wife. If only I can get in enough hours fishing, it might get my legs in condition to take her ball room dancing someday. ~ Keith, C-Pup16
 
For those of you that own the 16 here's a trick I picked up from the previous owner (who was a professional fisherman) that's worked wonders.

Get a short rope and attach a brass ring to the end. Make it 5-6' long...just enough to tie it to the side cleats. Run the ring through the main line and drop your anchor as usual. The boat will point to the current so get your maximum safety. When you want to pull the anchor just pull on the short rope that you've attached to the side cleats (or anywhere else that's convenient). As you pull the rope the brass ring will pull the main line towards you. Once you grab the main rope you're home free.

I wish I thought of that. I clearly remember slapping my palm on my forehead when I heard this trick.
 
It has to be darned calm before I go forward on the 16 anymore. That deck is too small and the boat can really get to rocking. Sue is small enough to reach out through the hatch to deploy the anchor. I keep the rode coiled behind the pilot seat, fastened to the hull liner by a snap strap that I pop-riveted to the hull liner. When she deploys the anchor I feed out the rode and run the controls and wheel while standing behind the seat. I then cleat off by reaching out the window and cleating off to the midship cleat. I also cleat again at the stern cleat. For retreival I uncleat the midship cleat, then move back to the stern cleat and start pulling in the rode. In the anchor comes. Sometimes it takes two or three pulls to get the anchor to ride up through the roller assembly. The chain will then be extending from the anchor, back on the deck, to the windows. I then cleat off to the midship cleat again and place the coils back in the snap strap. The down side is the chain sometimes goes airborne on the rough rides and smacks the deck, but no damage thus far.
 
I thank everyone for the comments, and I have enjoyed them all immensely. Our season is starting to wind down, and I think I will keep my eye open this winter and see what presents itself. I think either the 16 or the 22 could work for the kid and me (the Anchor system that works on voice command - good one Byrdman), for things like running out of Homer and spending the weekend in Seldovia. I especially like the thought of the 1 or 2 person launches.

By the way, JonBoy is 9, and caught a 93 pound halibut the other day. I think he is hooked.

Going dipnetting on the Kasilof tomorrow. I really love those reds.
 
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