Changes in model year

Snider

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C Dory Year
2002
C Dory Model
22 Cruiser
Vessel Name
Kestrel Dawn
Hi,
I've thoroughly enjoyed reading through the site so far. I'm curious as to what's been the changes to the 22 and 19 as the years have passed? Are there certain years that are more desirable? Did they make an upgrade at some point that's desirable? Thanks, Brandon
 
Snider":113ayp8i said:
Hi,
I've thoroughly enjoyed reading through the site so far. I'm curious as to what's been the changes to the 22 and 19 as the years have passed? Are there certain years that are more desirable? Did they make an upgrade at some point that's desirable? Thanks, Brandon

Or, changes that were less desirable... About 2007, they went to molded cabinetry versus wood (decagard). I just prefer wood. I don't care for the raised/level cockpit floor either.

Other changes (that I like) were the standard opening front window, and reversible passenger seat. Not sure of the year.
 
Good point, thanks. Sometimes when things get lean I understand trying to cut costs. It's good to know these things.
 
I just have a few minutes right now, so a few things off the top of my head. This would all be on 22's as I'm not sure about 19's.

1986-87 -- End of the "flat bottom" Classic 22 and beginning of the still-current, less flat bottomed 22 Cruiser.

Mid-1990's (?) Switch from mill finish aluminum windows to white powder-coated windows (with screens in pilot/co-pilot windows). Also at some point interior furniture went from "wood grained" laminate type finish (over plywood) to white finish that is a bit thinner than "Formica" type laminate. Switch from wooden handrails to stainless.

2000 -- Switch from molded fiberglass lazarette lids (with non-square shape) to squarish, purchased plastic lids. Change from DOR HIN (Tolands) to CDO HIN ("new" C-Dory company). Still in same Kent facility.

2004-ish -- Move to larger, Auburn facility. Sometime around here interior furniture doors went from flush fit to overlaid. I think the overlaid then had a center stile. Somewhere in here a sliding ("Barber") co-pilot seat became an option.

2005-6 (?) Switch from integral type cockpit side pockets to pre-formed plastic ones that fasten into rough opening.

2006-ish --Add flat cockpit sole (a cored sole that is glued/caulked over the original sole which is the inside of the hull. Switch from white Decraguard (plywood) interior furniture to white molded fiberglass interior furniture. First few (?) had more of a 25 style layout but then slowly settled into "final" layout, which is similar to the Decraguard layout but with different compartment doors in some cases (a few changes to the inboard side of the sliding seat as time went on).

2006-2007 (?) -- Cabin/cockpit door gets more rounded corners and becomes thicker and has full length glass (was half length).

2009-ish -- Three hatches are cut into V-berth flats; not sure if all but some (2009 at least) had a couple of bulkheads glassed in under the berths (separated compartments)

There were quite a few other changes, but this is a sampling at least. Also certain options became more (or actually became) standard. Things such as opening front window, sliding co-pilot seat, electric wipers, etc.

As far as a "best" year: My feeling is that different people would have different "best" years. For example, I like the non-permanent cockpit sole, so for me the best years would be prior to 2006 or so. Then too, other things make me like the post-1995 or so models, so that narrows it down a bit more. Trailers can be changed, but that comes at a cost, and I wanted a tandem axle. Etc. etc. On top of that, in anything used, care and condition are a top priority for me, so everything is overlaid with "this all depends on the best overall individual boat I find."

Sunbeam
 
Thank you so much for your reply. Much appreciated. Just looking at pictures it looks to me as if the transom on later models may be a little higher, perhaps to prevent boarding waves at the stern where the motor is mounted?
 
Snider":2qe6lxq5 said:
Just looking at pictures it looks to me as if the transom on later models may be a little higher, perhaps to prevent boarding waves at the stern where the motor is mounted?

I don't believe the transom on the 22 Cruiser (i.e. post-1986) has been changed at all (except for some changes in coring material). The Cape Cruiser 23 has a slightly different design, so maybe that's what you were noticing.
 
I personally think that the molded in cabinetry is a step forward. It eliminates those galvanized angle brackets and screws, both into the hull and between the various pieces. I've replaced several rusted brackets with stainless, but I had to make the angles myself.

Also, molded cabinetry tends to make the boat structurally stiffer

Different thoughts for different people.

Boris
 
journey on":gdazn8df said:
I personally think that the molded in cabinetry is a step forward. It eliminates those galvanized angle brackets and screws, both into the hull and between the various pieces. I've replaced several rusted brackets with stainless, but I had to make the angles myself.

Also, molded cabinetry tends to make the boat structurally stiffer

I'm neutral on the choice as applied to C-Dorys. There are some things I like and some I don't like either way. A couple of comments on your points:

1) I agree the mild steel brackets on the "stick built" cabinets were not good. That said, they are not a required feature for stick-built cabinetry, so I see them as a dumb move that could (should) have been corrected, and not an inherent feature of stick built cabinetry (though C-Dory never changed it that I know of). Stick built cabinetry can also - and often was - tabbed in (though C-Dory's was not).

(Question: What did you replace your brackets with (that you made?) I debated between tabbing mine in and doing something else. Ultimately, I decided I'd like to be able to remove/replace the individual pieces, and plus it was going to be a pain to remove the Decraguard finish for the tabbing bond. So I'm using sections of fiberglass to replace the ones that held the cabinets to the sole. These are glued to the sole so no holes into the core. I haven't replaced the upper ones because they are in okay shape (still silly though). I was looking at possibly using a Kreg jig to screw them together (but it's low priority since they are fine now although irritating to think about)).

2) Strength. I agree that in theory (and often in practice) tabbed fiberglass bulkheads and even furniture can provide extra (or even immense) strength. But, if they aren't engineered that way, I think they are more like a "liner" and are probably not very structural in C-Dory's case (not that it can hurt though). I had a sailboat with some molded liner/furniture that was tabbed in, and even the builder said that it was not structural (whereas the engineered/tabbed bulkheads were, by design). I think the reason C-Dory switched to this method was to save labor and make installation more consistent among a larger number of workers (not that this makes it good or bad).

My own personal list of likes and dislikes on the versions specific to C-Dory (they are sort of opposite so there is some inverse repetition):

Stick built likes:

1) I slightly prefer the way it looks. The idea of a stick built interior in my mind is more crafted boat vs. production boat (that said, it's certainly not highly crafted; still the idea persists and that's one reason I prefer the look).

2) Can be modified without overly obnoxious dust (I do enough fiberglassing as it is). Thick enough to screw into.

3) Could be removed and replaced with something else, if desired (i.e. another wood). Just unscrew, use for pattern, screw in new material.

4) Locker and compartment openings are quite large proportionally to the lockers themselves (I really like this).

Stick built dislikes:

1) The Decraguard overlay is not the most durable (I think the older "wood grain" cabinets may have been more like real Formica, thus tougher). Decraguard overlay seems to be more like a resinized thin paper or something. Nor is it the easiest to clean.

2) As built, no toe-kick area under the galley counter.

3) The mild steel angles (especially those into the sole and other core) need attention, which takes some time.

Molded likes:

1) Smooth and reflective, easy to keep clean.

2) Installed without fasteners (that I know of).

3) Looks like there is a toe-kick area under the galley counter.

Molded dislikes:

1) Looks a bit "shower stall" like to me. Also, I happen to associate liners with an era of production boats that isn't my favorite.

2) Locker openings look smaller than optimum as compared to the size of the locker.

3) Modifying fiberglass is very doable, but I find it obnoxious and prefer to save it for "outdoors" if possible.

4) It bugs me that when they changed from the very first "25-like" molded interior to the one that more closely mimicked the previous 22 layout, it looks they sort of just chopped off the side of the sliding seat and "blended" it in vs. really re-doing the molds (this area changed a bit as time went on, but there is still the vestigial bit, from what I can tell).

As you can probably tell from my list, I could have gone either way on the interior. In fact, of my top two candidates for purchase, one had a stick-built interior and one a molded one.
 
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