Happiest day in this boater's life

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Pacificcoast101

Member
You know the old saying about the two happiest days? Well, I've had three boats and was not thrilled when I got rid of them, but last weekend was definately a high point in my life. I am now the proud owner of a Tomcat!
I've been wanting one since 2006, putting money aside, not going to movies, restaurants, sporting events, concerts... My fiancee Merry and I went on a sea trial last Saturday in Ventura, California. Despite the 7-9 foot swells, the boat cruised along without blinking. I would not normally go out on a day like that, but the boat handled even better than I imagined. As soon as we got back to the dock we made an offer, which was rejected. We felt as if our world had crumbled. I told Merry we should eat ourselves to death. :(
The next morning she decided we had to have that boat no matter what. She sold some of her remaining stock and called the dealer back. He accepted our next offer. It is now getting bottom paint and a radio. We went down to our empty slip tonight, smiling and making plans for our first cruise to Catalina on our own boat.
We thought about getting a cheaper boat, but we knew we would never be fully happy with it. The Tomcat has everything we wanted, and we plan to make this the last boat we ever buy.
I'll add a gallery as soon as No Pressure is home.
 
Thanks Bob. You and your Tomcat Tales have been an inspiration to us along our journey toward this day. Merry worked at Harbor UCLA for 32 years before retiring last year, so she now has time to truly enjoy a boat.
 
Welcome and congrats
I was at the Harbor yesterday talking with Victor, I asked him where the TC was- he said it was getting bottom paint.
Will you be in Ventura or Channel Islands Harbor?
 
Congratulations! And welcome to the West Coast TomCat Litter. You'll love the boat. It looks pretty basic in the photos. A blank canvass that you'll add to and modify for many years. I'm sure you have checked out many TC photo albums. The best mod we did was cut the hatch covers for the forward hatches in half. See the storage solution album.
All the best,
 
C-Hawk":3seay6j9 said:
Welcome and congrats
I was at the Harbor yesterday talking with Victor, I asked him where the TC was- he said it was getting bottom paint.
Will you be in Ventura or Channel Islands Harbor?
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We're down in Redondo Beach. We'll put it back in the water in Marina del Rey once the paint is dry.
 
You know we really need to add more Tomcat's to the East Coast to balance out.

Ha ha - welcome to the club! It is among the best I have found.

Roger's description of 'canvas' is very fitting for new C-Dory's. Enjoy the ride and post pictures of your adventures.
 
Welcome to C-Dory ownership. We feel that C-Dorys are a great boat for SoCal and we thoroughly enjoy Journey On. Werever you are, on a mooring at Catalina, anchored off Santa Barbara Isl, or moored at Santa Cruz Isl, the C-Dories are a very comfortable boat. You can fish from them, snooze in them and they're good sea boats.

Did you get a trailer? we certainly enjoy taking ours to new places: Journey On Travels.

Good Luck and Enjoy, Boris
 
Life's just not fair.....I want one too, but it's not happening.... But hey, congrats on your purchase and I look forward to reading about your adventures up here in Alaska.
 
journey on":yqxx30k6 said:
Did you get a trailer? we certainly enjoy taking ours to new places
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We debated that for a few years. We would have to buy a tow vehicle and store the boat somewhere, so the extra costs plus $9,000 for the trailer helped our decision to keep it in the water. We dive as much as possible, so I have always enjoyed storing my gear on the boat, turning the key and leaving.
We will have the hassle of haulouts for bottom paint and any repairs to the motors, but in the long run it will be more convenient for us.
 
Humm, Excuse me, I need to go change, :mrgreen: ( I got that drooling thing going again) :wink Like Roger said, " Blank Canvas" with lots of room for exclusive personalization.

Interesting name for a dive boat huh? "No Pressure" :smile

And welcome to the C-Brat community. AT Tom Cat speed should only take a couple of days to get up here to the PNW and add a few islands to your list of cruise destinations :twisted:

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
No Pressure arrived today with a fresh bottom paint and full tanks of gas. Special thanks go to Niki Phongpitag at Catalina Yacht Anchorage for taking care of all of our needs and answering hundreds of questions, plus driving the boat down to Redondo Beach from Ventura.
Merry_admiring_her_baby.jpg
Merry admiring her new baby
 
Phil and Merry, welcome to the cattery! I know you will have a great time with her.

BTW am trying to figure out how the swim ladder is attached on your boat. On all the others I have seen it is horizontal against the transom, above the Armstrong bracket.

Warren
 
Phil/Merry,
We too use the Tomcat for diving. I installed the East Coast Plastics tank holder system: http://www.eastcoastplastics.com/rollcontrol.htm
I used inserts for double tanks as well as single tanks. They work extremely well and I have been fully loaded with gear in relatively rough seas with no shifting.

The Tomcat is really a great platform for diving. It's very stable on the ocean when at rest and of course the large rails/ladder up over the Armstrong bracket is outstanding. The bench seat aft is perfect for suiting up but you will want to put some kind of pad ever the transom and seat to avoid scuffs. I keep a black yoga type mat on the boat and roll it out over the bench seat and transom when we are suiting up. The large hand rails at the aft portion of the cabin are perfect to hand on, look behind you, then enter via backward roll.

I purchased a three step ladder that fits in a fish box. I also made a thin stainless steel rectangle piece to slide into the ladder mount to hold the ladder in place. I drilled holes in each end of this rectangle piece and used a coat hanger to bend a loop from one end to the next to ensure it does not slip out. This has worked perfectly for me.

It's no problem to take 4 divers and for longer trips all gear (except tanks and lead) will easily fit in the forward sponson storage area under your forward berth.

Loaded for bear with four divers, 8 tanks, and full fuel will make her sit a little lower in the water of course and reduce the chop eating capabilities a bit. You will really appreciate your 300 HP in any kind of seas when loaded heavy with gear.

Enjoy!
 
Doryman":gynch3et said:
Phil and Merry, welcome to the cattery! I know you will have a great time with her.

BTW am trying to figure out how the swim ladder is attached on your boat. On all the others I have seen it is horizontal against the transom, above the Armstrong bracket.

Warren
Click to expand...
This one came with the attachment on the outside edge of the Armstrong bracket. It doesn't have a lock, so we will have to stow the ladder when underway. It makes doing a giant stride entry between the outboards very easy.
Tomcat2.jpg
 
Pacificcoast101":32r1wjwr said:
This one came with the attachment on the outside edge of the Armstrong bracket.
Click to expand...

Sorry -- I think we are talking about 2 different things. Yes, the bracket for when you use the swim ladder is indeed on the trailing edge of the Armstrong bracket. However, on my boat and all other Tom Cats I have seen the swim ladder is stowed away against the transom, above the Armstrong bracket. But in the photo of your initial post the ladder is shown in a vertical position. That is what I was keying off of. Am I missing something here? (would not be the first time! :twisted: )

Warren

P.S. Anyone know where to buy those steps?
 
Well congrats again Phil and Merry, a beautiful boat indeed. You'll love her as much as all the rest of us love our C-Dorys. They become family members rather quickly, especially after the first inclimate weather you go through and realize your warm, comfortable and relaxed at the end of the day (at least that's been our experience).

We are divers also here in SoCal, another welcome! There are several of us CD owners that are divers, so you'll definitely need your gear on get-togethers down here. Make sure you pencil in the Catalina Adventure this August, which I'm sure you have. We'll chat and answer questions all day long if you like, after all, you're family now!

Keep us posted on all your adventures, we love them.
 
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