C-Dory in Rough Seas

Dory Denny

New member
My wife and I are in the process of buying a 2005 C-Dory 25 that we will name, "Dory Denny" ...the nicknames of our two sons, Dorian and Denton. We are extremely impressed with C-Dorys and bursting with excitement! Also, I'm honored to join your site.

I ran across this very cool video of what I believe is a C-Dory (the following boat) in rough seas (Seward, Alaska). Can anyone confirm and tell me if it is a 22' or 25'?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X0NYyZT ... ure=colike
 
Dory Denny":1ahhj4wc said:
My wife and I are in the process of buying a 2005 C-Dory 25 that we will name, "Dory Denny" ...the nicknames of our two sons, Dorian and Denton. We are extremely impressed with C-Dorys and bursting with excitement! Also, I'm honored to join your site.

I ran across this very cool video of what I believe is a C-Dory (the following boat) in rough seas (Seward, Alaska). Can anyone confirm and tell me if it is a 22' or 25'?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X0NYyZT ... ure=colike

Seward kicks up like that every afternoon (usually) & that is not rough seas! & yes a 22' :lol:
 
I certainly wouldn't call those "rough seas" and there is no "small boat in trouble" that i can see. Lots of hype in that copy!

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
Valkyrie":219cp464 said:
I certainly wouldn't call those "rough seas" and there is no "small boat in trouble" that i can see. Lots of hype in that copy!

Nick
"Valkyrie"

I don't see a small boat in trouble either. I see a smart C-Dory owner taking the smoother ride provided by the boat in front.
 
The C Dory skipper is being smart and getting in the wake of a larger boat. The boat is going down waves and wind--and even in rough weather the C Dory does this very well. It is going into the waves and wind, that it takes a bit more punishment. But as Bill says--slow down, and put the bow down when going into it.
 
The C-Dory will take way heavier seas than the passengers can. As said before......slow down and it will safely get you home even when not following a larger boat wake.
That is less than typical afternoon chop in Seward.
 
I have the bruises to prove the boat can take way more than I can. C-Dories can fall off larger waves with no real problem for the boat. My body however can take a week to recover. I much prefer the 2 to 4 foot seas with 8 second periods. Then I run at 20 knots and love it.

I have been out in heavier seas than the video but not in as much rain and wind. A few weeks ago I got caught out in small craft warning 20-25k winds which was no real problem, but I did the same as the video and tucked in behind one of the whale watching boats(60 footer) on Monterey Bay. Sea-Cruz would have been fine in the open but I find comfort wherever and however I can. The whale watching boat was running at 7-8 knots to keep their customers happy, which was perfect for following them in. The lead boat in this video was running so fast I would have had a dilemma about following it going that fast or running at 5-6 knots solo.

Would most Brats run that fast to gain the benefits of following or would you have dropped off and run alone?

Ron
 
We did the same thing going to our cruise club gathering out in the Gulf seas were 3to 4 ft We followed a 32 Sea Ray which was going about 15-18 mph I think he was just about on plane .We followed and had a nice ride with one or two waves breaking over our boat No Problems

Yes I would follow a bigger boat
 
I wish I could have gotten the video of 4 larger boats following my 22 from Culross Passage to Passage Canal. As we got further west the seas dropped from 4-5 to 2-3 and they all passed me. I don't think it was the smooth ride but the direction I was going. The seas would be on the starboard beam if you took the most direct course. I was quartering into them traveling northwest. It was still an interesting sight.
 
We have done the same thing a time or two when returning to bellingham bay. Sometimes the wind and tides can make the bay very snotty. Nothing dangerous just a rough ride, so find some big boat and follow 'em in with much less agitation
 
As others have noted, that is very near Seward in Resurrection Bay. While I won't say it is always like that, it is very nearly always like that; especially coming back in with a wind with a southern component. I wouldn't call it bad, just inconvenient......It didn't even look that rough to me and I would say much of the bouncing around was probably from all the cruise vessel traffic as later in the video things calmed down a lot.

Outside the bay (not pictured) it can be horrible and was probably much worse than what you witnessed there.....I would assume that the captain of the C-Dory 22 followed the 6 pack boat around Cape Resurrection and came from Johnstone Bay (40 ish miles away from the dock) or beyond after some good halibut fishing.

I have kissed the dock in Seward before and been so happy to be out of the gulf. I have also had over 1000 pounds of halibut, salmon, rockfish, lingcod, and p-cod (more than just me fishing of course) in the back of my 22 when coming back from over that way.....It is worth going over there, but when things kick up, it is a very unforgiving place.

As others have noted, there isn't a boat in trouble anywhere in the video. Heck, I'm kind of surprised it wasn't me being filmed......
 
BTW sometimes following a large boat can be rougher if you have to go too fast. My experience is that the boat in front of you will bounce up and down causing a large wave (that follows it) as it goes through the seas. It is similar to a wake, just not perpendicular. Sometimes it is better behind the lead vessel, sometimes it is just better to slow down and enjoy the ride. I just depends.....
 
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