C Dory Quality

Golerud,

Welcome aboard!

You have asked legimate and thoughtful questions that you have every right to ask. Continue to do so.

We had some problems with our boat due to sloppy work at the factory, but have corrected that and have Valkyrie up to snuff. Some problems are going to happen, although they really shouldn't.

If those are a concern, which they rightly should be, consider buying a used 25 which has been given lots of love by a previous owner and has been nicely customized.

However, please remember that all of us here dearly love our C-Dory's, have great confidence in their sea-keeping ability and wouldn't own anythng else.

Regards,

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
My wife and I became members of the C-Brats family in June of this year when we purchased our C-Dory 22' Cruiser from it's previous owner. The Comfy Dory is a 1995 hull and the 75 HP Honda is a 2004. Having owned many used boats over the years, I am familiar with the repairs that typically have to be done to a boat owned previously. Fortunately, the previous owners kept the boat in a covered lift and were good at regular scheduled maintenance of the boat and engine.
I have inspected this boat from "stem to stern" and have been very impressed with the quality of construction. Solid gelcoat with no noticeable stress cracks in the corners where they might be expected. Good attachment for cabin to hull with no discernible loosening or leaks. The cabinetry has held up well (wood pattern laminate) and the upholstery is holding up well also.
The work that I have done is primarily cosmetic and was only to satisfy my tastes, not to repair damage or poor quality workmanship. We just refinished the gelcoat with a product called "Poliglow" and the boat could be mistaken for a much newer one.
Since this the only boat that my wife suggested that we buy (she actually saw it and fell in love with it before I did) we have found a boat that we can both enjoy. We've taken (3) camping trips on the Atlantic ICW and have another one planned this weekend.
I don't know if the quality problems noted in this forum recently are the result of a change in ownership of the factory, but we think our little camper is as perfect aesthetically and mechanically as any boat that we could have purchased.

See ya on the water! Tad
 
While some complaints about relatively minor problems on the TomCat 255 have appeared here, I am pretty well impressed with the overall quality and craftmanship in my boat.

It was unloaded at a marina that sells, modifies, and repairs yachts up to 100 foot, and many old salts remarked about the extra heavy duty contsruction and accessories, eg. rails, cleats, etc.. Many longer, larger vessels have less beefy build and fittings.

John
 
Golerud,

Legitimate questions for sure, but as others have pointed out, questions that have been discussed at length. When a new member’s (as of September 22nd) first post is something that could be perceived as being a negative comment about the C-Dory line, it will cause some to raise an eyebrow. C-Brats tend to be a straight shooting honest bunch, but not everybody out there in Internet land is. A better approach might be to lurk for a while, use the search feature, and get up to speed on current issues being discussed before posting. IMHO

That being said, welcome to C-Brats, I think you'll like it here.

Steve
 
Capt. Jim":34whwzwk said:
Why give Golerud a hard time when it is the factory that is doing things that are not quite right?
Click to expand...
exactly thanks for posting your comments.
The factory needs for more action and less talk on now things will be in some undetermined time. They mentioned ABYC and NMMA cetification and standards. I have not seen it posted on their web site.
 
And while we are in such a mellow mood, how about letting the new guys at the factory get their feet on the ground and see what happens.
 
Greetings! In my honest opinion, the details you noticed on the CD 25 are absolutely typical of that model's overall construction. My humblest apologies to whoever may be offended by my saying so. That boat, TGW the Tomcat, (and in many ways the 22 CC, 19 Angler and the new 29 Venture) are marked departures from the boats that made C-Dory famous, the venerable CD 22 and CD 16. The pre-2007/8CD 22 isn't finished to a high degree of finesse, either, but the beauty of the vessel lies in its simplicity. No bilge, completely accessible interior and power/electrical/fuel systems, spartan interior - a tinkerer's dream! Attempts by the Factory to make these vessels "fancy" actually tend to detract from the overall quality of the boat in my opinion . I used to own a Glasply, which was supposedly a "rock solid" boat, but which had all kinds of little problems with upholstery, inaccessible systems, outdrive, etc., which aren't possible on the CD 22 because those systems and features simply don't exist. Heck, I even liked the manual wipers on my old 22 Cruiser, having replaced an expensive wiper motor on the Glasply. Here's the deal: C-Dory marine hit home runs when they designed the 16 and 22. Even the wives liked them! Someone has understandably felt compelled to expand on that success both to serve a wider buyer's market with new models and make the 16 and 22 more widely appealing by making them slicker. Opinions differ on how successful this has been. I don't necessarily think the new models are inferior to their competition overall but they aren't the best boats in their respective categories. The 16 and 22 are pretty much the only boats in their categories. My only warranty items so far on our new 22 Angler are: maladjusted wiper arm position on Starboard electric wiper (there have to be some ironies in life!), and water leak from lack of bedding sealant on Port roof handrail. The overall quality between the old and new boats is a wash: the new boat has a few flimsy details but has a cleaner electrical system, nicer fuel tank hold-downs, and an awesome glass bulkhead door. I'll enjoy making little upgrades and additions myself as time goes on; for me that's part of what I love about the C-Dory anyway. We just spent the weekend in the San Juans and out on Haro Strait and I'm liking the boat more and more every time I'm able to use her. Enough from me. Welcome and good luck! Mike.
 
westward":3c2216ku said:
Greetings! In my honest opinion, the details you noticed on the CD 25 are absolutely typical of that model's overall construction. My humblest apologies to whoever may be offended by my saying so. That boat, TGW the Tomcat, (and in many ways the 22 CC, 19 Angler and the new 29 Venture) are marked departures from the boats that made C-Dory famous, the venerable CD 22 and CD 16. The pre-2007/8CD 22 isn't finished to a high degree of finesse, either, but the beauty of the vessel lies in its simplicity. No bilge, completely accessible interior and power/electrical/fuel systems, spartan interior - a tinkerer's dream! Attempts by the Factory to make these vessels "fancy" actually tend to detract from the overall quality of the boat in my opinion . I used to own a Glasply, which was supposedly a "rock solid" boat, but which had all kinds of little problems with upholstery, inaccessible systems, outdrive, etc., which aren't possible on the CD 22 because those systems and features simply don't exist. Heck, I even liked the manual wipers on my old 22 Cruiser, having replaced an expensive wiper motor on the Glasply. Here's the deal: C-Dory marine hit home runs when they designed the 16 and 22. Even the wives liked them! Someone has understandably felt compelled to expand on that success both to serve a wider buyer's market with new models and make the 16 and 22 more widely appealing by making them slicker. Opinions differ on how successful this has been. I don't necessarily think the new models are inferior to their competition overall but they aren't the best boats in their respective categories. The 16 and 22 are pretty much the only boats in their categories. My only warranty items so far on our new 22 Angler are: maladjusted wiper arm position on Starboard electric wiper (there have to be some ironies in life!), and water leak from lack of bedding sealant on Port roof handrail. The overall quality between the old and new boats is a wash: the new boat has a few flimsy details but has a cleaner electrical system, nicer fuel tank hold-downs, and an awesome glass bulkhead door. I'll enjoy making little upgrades and additions myself as time goes on; for me that's part of what I love about the C-Dory anyway. We just spent the weekend in the San Juans and out on Haro Strait and I'm liking the boat more and more every time I'm able to use her. Enough from me. Welcome and good luck! Mike.
Click to expand...

Westward (Mike)-

I couldn't agree with you more!

The increased complexity in construction and systems involved in the bigger boats has been the primary source of these QC issues, as well as some problems accross the board in all models due to higher production rates.

The simpler CD 22 and 16 are the original source of the C-Dory reputation as a simple, functional, indestructible boat that looks like the salt of the sea itself!

Let's hope to get this all back on track ASAP!

Thanks for saying it so well!

Joe.
 
I agree Westward Mike hit the nail on the head. I'm relatively new to C-Dory's but not to the hull design. I love the shallow draft and seaworthiness. I became interested in C-Dory's several years ago after seeing one at a dealer about 90 mile to the south of my home. Over a few months I became increasingly interested in them but had just bought a new Carolina Skiff strickle for fishing. When I stumbled across the C-Brats site the allure of the stories, pictures and modifications keep me on the computer. Finally about a year ago I bought a new 16 foot Crusier. I literally loved the boat. It was flawless as far as quality. It was my first boat with a cabin open fishing boats have always been my thing. After being caught several times in summer storms I quickly enjoyed the benefit of the cabin. The dog and I made a few overnight trips and at 5.5 mpg it was very economical. I did a few modifications to suit my personal needs. Being able to personalized these boats is part of the allure. After deciding I truly liked the cabin I recently traded on a new 22 Cruiser (at my age and with my health restrictions the fully enclosed cabin is a big plus). While the boat had a few little problems that were easily corrected it's construction is great. I enjoy tinkering and the examples of the modifications others have done in the pictures section is very inspirational. If you simply want to fashion a binocular case from starboard or go to the extreme and cut your vessel in half and add two feet it's doable. Of course if you want your dealer to set it up to your liking this is possible also. I've dealt with two different dealers on my purchases Big Boys Play Toys and Wefings and they have both been excellent to work with. I've had the 22 home from the dealer a week now and have yet to get it wet. I making some modifications to my boat lift to accommodated the larger boat. In that week I can't seem to stay out of the boat and have done a few little modifications to suit my personal needs. I've been over it with a fine tooth comb and the more I look at it the more I like it. I plan to get it wet friday and make a 120 mile trip to break in the new Suzuki. Bottom line is I don't think you can go wrong with a C-Dory the factory has a good reputation for resolving issues and it seems the dealers ships go beyond the call of duty. Marc at Wefings even invited me to use his docking facitlities at his home if I chose to do some crusing around Apalachicola. Not only did I get a great boat but I'm making some great friends.
 
marvin - I know exactly how you feel. I get a smile on my face when I read post like yours.

Don’t know if I will ever make it down in your neck of the country or if you will ever make it up here, but it would be a pleasure to cross wakes with you.

Thanks for the great post.
________
Dave dlt.gif
 
For what it's worth..........

The C-Brats here are surprisingly much like our beloved C-Dory boats and C-Dory (cousin boats) in that we as folks want to be without flaws and constructed to perfection, however we are not perfect but hopefully strive for that goal.

The bottom line is......Love my C-Dory
Love my C-Brat Friends (P.S. You GUYS don't take that "love" part too seriously.... :roll: )
 
Golerud, hopefully your concerns have been expressed to the factory...not just to us on this website. I would urge you to do so. We, C-Brat members, cannot address your concerns and shouldn't even attempt it. We don't run the factory, nor do we do their QC work. Call them!

Caty

edited to direct this comment to the originator of this thread.
 
Dave I'll be in Roslyn Washington in either early Decmeber or January for a quick business trip. Then from June 8 to 14th I'll be in Leavenworth Washington for a Reunion of my old Construction buddies so who knows.

Caty as far as the little issues I had with my new 22 I made the factory aware. Wefing offered to fix them but they were so minor that I prefered to do it myself rather than trailer the boat 250 miles. I figure the factory can't fix what they don't know about and some issues don't show up until the boat is put into use.

Having worked in construction all my life in our world when a job was completed we had a punch list of things that needed to be addressed. With a boat bought and in many cases trailer hundreds of miles back home it isn't worth returning to the dealer for every little issue. I mentioned my issues on the site so others could be aware of potential problems and correct them.
 
marvin - Roslyn is about 15 miles east of where I bought my boat. The seller lived on the west side of Kachess Lake.

I don’t know how flexible your schedule is but if you can move the late December – early January meeting back 30 days, you could make the Seattle Boat Show/CBGT. It is our biggest get together an always a lot of fun. There is a thread already started on it HERE.

If not lets stay in contact.
________
Dave dlt.gif
 
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