C-Dory vs Cruisers

Don't leave out the Marinaut 215 (cousin of the CD 22!) Like you, my wife and I were torn between larger cruising boats and boats like the C-Dory 22 and eventually, the Marinaut 215.

My wife is in her sixties, and never slept on a boat in her life. Yet she spent 3 straight weeks out in Washington in the fall of 2011 sleeping on our new Marinaut 215; she loved it! In 2012, we had 12 overnight stays on our boat, traveled 1,041 miles, consumed 228 gallons of fuel, and averaged 4.6 miles per gallon. We're talking about real-world mileage statistics here -- not fuel flow numbers.

Although it is a good fishing boat, there are many reasons why the Marinaut is an ideal cruising boat, and it can be summed up as follows:
1) The berth is open, making the cabin feel larger, and when you are in the berth, it is not as confining as if it was enclosed behind a bulkhead.
2) The cabin walls and the manner in which the roof was designed make you feel that you have a lot of space.
3) The fuel tanks were moved forward into the gunnels (called saddle tanks), which frees the space under the splashwell for storage.
4) If you cover the cockpit with a canvasback like we did, it creates another large room. Combined with the cabin, the total usable space rivals that of much larger production cruisers for livable space.

If you want to see how our boat has been set up for cruising, I invite you to look at our "C-Nile" picture album.

Thanks!

Rich
 
How did I stay out of this one?

DDT, for goodness sakes please don't ask about singles vs. twins!

Welcome to the fold. A 22 will not be your last C-Dory!

Charlie
 
Captains Cat":2mymwc6o said:
How did I stay out of this one?

DDT, for goodness sakes please don't ask about singles vs. twins!

Welcome to the fold. A 22 will not be your last C-Dory!

Charlie
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pretty sure I've seen quads on a dory around here. lol
 
Captains Cat":11zwss1d said:
How did I stay out of this one?

DDT, for goodness sakes please don't ask about singles vs. twins!

Welcome to the fold. A 22 will not be your last C-Dory!

Charlie
Click to expand...

Twins make a lot of sense on your boat, because it is a twin hulled boat with a good separation between the two engines. What I find interesting, is that many advocates of twin engines on CD 22's and 25's use their boats in the PNW, which is strewn with logs and other debris. It's scary. I barely missed a deadhead lurking beneath the surface near La Conner, WA. Hit one of those logs on a twin engine equipped 22, for example, and there is a good chance you'll spin two props.

Rich
 
huh, that is a scary thought. after fishing for a few years with an IB/OB, I had thought that I'd much prefer the OB for the saved space onboard the boat and ease of access for maintenance.

question for those I have seen with twins... I'm thinking for my ideal setup, I'd be looking at a single OB + kicker (fishing/trolling). for those with twin OB, how do they troll? just idle down? I may be naive but at least I'm naive... :mrgreen:
 
DuckDogTitus":261lwm30 said:
well, we're sold. :)

we spent all day saturday drooling over boats at the show and our three favorites by far were the C-Dorys, the Ranger Tugs, and the MacGregor (went the other way there, huh?).

In terms of what we'll do most of the time, the C-Dory just seems to be the best fit for us for fishing, travel/towing, and camping. Not to mention budget. Those Tugs though.................... really cool boats!
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I looked at the MacGregors at one time too. I still look at them every now and then. There's a lot of space in that design for a boat that size. The main problem I had with them was poor construction throughout. However, if I could buy that design with much more substantial construction inside and out, I'd seriously consider it.
 
rogerbum":3o23a67s said:
DuckDogTitus":3o23a67s said:
well, we're sold. :)

we spent all day saturday drooling over boats at the show and our three favorites by far were the C-Dorys, the Ranger Tugs, and the MacGregor (went the other way there, huh?).

In terms of what we'll do most of the time, the C-Dory just seems to be the best fit for us for fishing, travel/towing, and camping. Not to mention budget. Those Tugs though.................... really cool boats!
Click to expand...

I looked at the MacGregors at one time too. I still look at them every now and then. There's a lot of space in that design for a boat that size. The main problem I had with them was poor construction throughout. However, if I could buy that design with much more substantial construction inside and out, I'd seriously consider it.
Click to expand...

i like the huge living space and infinite range of a sailboat, but I think fishing would be a pain. either way, I have to (and plan to) learn how to sail... then I'll decide if its for me long term.
 
is anyone here familiar with the 22 cruiser for sale (2001) in vancouver, wa? I emailed the owner a few small questions. I'm just wondering what you guys might know or think about the boat/price. I am thinking its the right option for my family.
 
I seriously looked at MacGregors one time when I was a sailor. My view is, although the builders tried to please two camps, sail and power, they failed in both. The boat is a poor sailor in anything but the lightest of conditions and is a poor power boat due to the design and high freeboard. Nice interior though.

Martin.
 
I keep thinking back many years ago when practical sailor did a review of the macregor 26. The picture of the railroad iron used to hold the deck down while the adhesive dried turned me off.
 
Agree with Bob and Martin on the MacGregors. A friend of mine bought one new in 2002. He was very upset at its condition on delivery. Only kept it 2 seasons and sold it. Even with full ballast it was a fair weather sailor. WOT with the 50hp Honda was about 17mph.

Regards, Rob
 
I've seen MacGregors here and there for the last 30-40 years.

The early ones were a minimal, bottom of the line, ultimate inexpensive boat.

Even when I was a brand new sailor, I looked askance at the poor quality of construction and lack of attention to detail.

Fit and finish? Some of those boats looked like they were built as a first time project by kids at a summer camp (!)

This was back in the days (60's & 70's) when just about anyone could build and sell a boat with the hot market and easy money, and the MacGregor's represented the most for the least.

To be fair, I haven't really closely examined the newer boats, and I've never seen a MacGregor 65, which must be built at least structurally strong to claim it's an offshore sailor, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Sorry to be negative. Hope these more recent boats are built and doing better!

I do, however, agree that it would be impossible to build a good, solid sailboat that would also plane well and serve as a powerboat. Two very different design parameters without a common solution!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Relative to the topic, we looked into sailboats in our search for a good cruising boat, discounting this class of boats quickly. One thing that stands out in particular was a 40+ foot Hunter. The interior space was cavernous, which is an apt description, because it felt like being in a dark cave. We don't care if we are surrounded by teak and have granite countertops. It made us feel confined. I'm sure others may feel differently about this type of boat. My wife particularly is aversive to confined spaces. The reason she loves the Marinaut is the large windows that surround the cabin, the bright walls and the open berth. The boat feels open to her. Interestingly, we live in an open-design home with few interior walls and large windows to let in a lot of light. We designed our home to be that way. So the Marinaut was a logical choice for our lifestyle and tastes.

Rich
 
MacGregors seem to be the Rodney Dangerfield of sailing - they get no respect. We had a 26x with a 50 hp Honda. No, it didn't have the build of most traditional sailboats: no heavy keel, water ballast, a (gasp!) BIG motor on a sailboat, light rigging. What it does have is shallow draft (good for areas in south Texas), light weight for trailering, and a lot of cabin room for the money.

They "get no respect" from the people who haven't owned or sailed on 'em. If sailed like a big dinghy, they are a decent sailing boat. I had ours over 11 knots under sail (with a 130 genny) on more than one occasion. That's not going to happen on a 26' sailboat with a heavy keel. Properly trimmed, normal wind, 5 to 6 knots is more average for either.

Not heavily built, but they are not designed for crossing oceans. We occasionally had ours out in more than 30 knots of wind - reefed, furled genny, the boat did fine. The light build means the boat does not have the momentum to punch through steep chop, so it slows the boat. The relatively flatter bottom (again, compared to most keel boats) means it's going to pound in chop... sound familiar to any boats around here? :wink:

I was intrigued by the motoring aspects of that boat (another thing that turns off many traditional sailor types), but discovered it wasn't a great powerboat. Still, there are many owners who leave the mast at home and run them around under power, making it a very inexpensive entry into cabin cruiser type cruising. Speed is greatly affected by weight on that boat, with each additional 100 pounds clipping about 1 mph off the top speed under power.

The tall freeboard on the boat, combined with not a lot of boat under the water, makes it an "interesting" boat in close quarters maneuvering in wind. (Another comment I've heard about other boats.) Put down a bit of centerboard, even in the marina, and the handling accuracy improves.

Regarding the "light build" - they are not designed to be a blue water cruiser. We used ours in the Gulf, Laguna Madre, and various lakes. All kinds of wind conditions. Never had an issue. Nothing broke. In fact, I'm not aware of any of the water ballast MacGregors having hull or rigging issues. Put it next to a 40' heavy keel boat, and the rigging looks like a toy... it was designed for a purpose (being able to take that rigging down for trailering), and does what it was designed for.

It's not the best sailing or motoring boat... but, it sails better than a powerboat, and motors better (faster) than most sailboats. It's another compromise, but serves a definite niche. A bad boat? No. Misunderstood? Definitely. Sailed properly, it can keep up with other boats its size (3rd place was the best I ever managed, racing PHRF). Lots of room in the cabin, especially compared to most small sailboats. The fit and finish isn't stellar, but it was pretty much a "blank canvas" that was easy to customize.

I didn't mean for this to be a big defense of the MacGregors (26x & 26M), but I can understand how someone coming into boating would consider this boat as a contender vs a C-Dory or other cabin type boat. I have to chuckle sometimes, because I've heard many of the same "critiques" applied to C-Dorys from bigger powerboat owners that the MacGregors get from traditional sailors. :mrgreen:

A boat is as good as the owner's choice in meeting the usage. A C-Dory is a great couple's cruiser; a good fishing boat. Easy trailering. A bad choice for crossing oceans. Pull up next to a Nordhaven that plans to go from California to Hawaii, and your C-Dory will seem like a "poor, cheap choice."

Compare the build quality of a C-Dory to a MacGregor, and the C-Dory wins, hands down. But, if you want to spend weekends making lazy laps on a beautiful lake, and want to use less than $1 worth of fuel... the MacGregor isn't a bad choice.

The happiest boat owners are the ones who get the "right boat" for their usage.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
I think we'd better cruise on by that question -- save it for a Gathering, after a few brews, on a comfy dock at sundown with soft music playing in the background ....
:wink:
 
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