Has Anyone Seen the Arima SR Explorer 21?

C

C-Nile

New member
Hello fellow C-Brats,

Has anyone walked aboard or seen close-up, the Arima SR Explorer 21 Hardtop? My wife and I are in the market for a new boat, but there are no dealers in Connecticut for C-Dory's anymore. I don't know what it is about the East Coast, but there are few well made, moderately priced and economical Pilot House choices around here. It's really frustrating. There seem to be no Arima's in stock for me to view either. I'd hate to fly out to the West Coast just to take a look at a boat, so I was wondering what any of you think. The boat we are interested in would have a fully enclosed cabin, enclosed head (in a 20' boat!), small galley, and a large birth. On paper, it looks fantastic. I'm thinking of powering it with 150 HP Honda or Suzuki. So any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

p.s.: We love our CD 16 Cruiser, but it's become too small for our needs. I don't want to get another balsa core C-Dory, particularly after having to shell out money 2 years ago to fix a spider-like crack on the floor which caused water to leak into the balsa core. The boat was under warranty, which as everyone knows went out the window with the prior company, and I don't want to take the same chance that I would have similar difficulties with a new C-Dory. We are also considering a Marinaut 215 as an option, but my wife seems to like the Arima better in terms of space and amenities. Unfortunately, we can't see any Marinauts in Connecticut either, however, we do have an Arima Dealer who is local, albeit he does not have this particular model to view.

Thanks!

Rich (a.k.a. C-Nile)
 
I had a 2002, 21 Arima HT (not the explorer)

It has a better and quieter rough water ride than the C-Dory 22 but will not stay on plane at as low a speed. Burns a little more fuel than a C-Dory. Bilge pump access really sucks. The hardware and upholstery that Arima uses is not high end like C-Dory. The windows are not diamond seaglaze and had major paint peeling problems in the past. The C-dory layout is much better as a cruiser, I think. The wheel house on the Arima is not as well designed as the C-Dory for water runoff (no perimeter drip) The seats in the Arima were too low (all except the helm) causing passengers not to be able to see out and then get sick in rough weather. Arima has great factory support for the DIY'er.

If you go with Arima get the lightest engine you can. I had the 130 honda 500lbs and a 9.9 kicker and the boat was ass heavy.

My $.02 worth...

Stefan
 
Thanks Stefan. Actually, your information is aligned to a certain degree with what I just learned outside of this forum. My wife and I are very impressed with the new Marinaut 215 with respect to fuel efficiency and space, and that the Arima is not everything it appears to be on paper. The people at Marinaut (Dave, Ben Et. Al.) put a lot of good engineering and care into their design, and of all the boats out there, it looks like it is the best boat for its size that fits our needs, namely a great bay boat that you can comfortably use for 1 or 2 overnight trips. Long Island Sound has hundred's of miles of coastline to explore, and this boat should fit that bill.

Thanks!

Rich
 
Several of my friends have that boat here on the Oregon coast. Good fishing boat, but I would not call it a good cruising boat at all. The cabin is small, and not fully enclosed unless you buy the Alaska bulkhead. If you buy the bulkhead, then you can not install the saddle tanks for extra range. I think they are well constructed, but not as good as the CDory, and as previously mentioned, the bilge access is awful. Also as mentioned, butt heavy with a big four stroke. I think I would look at an Etech if considering that boat.

We've taken them well offshore (63 miles) chasing tuna, and I always felt safe.

I had the Arima 17 Sea Ranger (soft top), and again it was a good fishing boat, albeit it got small fast when you fished more than two people. I am much happier with the CD 22.

Steve
 
I looked on C-Dory Factoryweb site for dealers, and they have a couple: New York (I assume that's near Connecticut?) has Long Island Yacht Sales, New Hampshire has Y-Landing Marina, North Carolina has Mobile East Marine.

Don't know anything about them, since I'm on the other coast, but it's worth a try.

With the cabin, the C-Dory is great for cruising the east coast, out of the rain, lightning and you can have air conditioning with a generator or at the dock. And don't forget the Wallis stove/heater. Judy loves it AND it's worked well for us.

Arima used to be next door to C-Dory. The biggest they now advertise is a 21, with a small cabin. I wish them well, but it's a different boat.

Boris
 
The hard top Arima I was in at the boat show had a ridiculously low top. If it had a hatch over the helm, I could have seen out the top better than through the window.
 
I would fly out and look at four boat lines. CD Venture 23, Marinaut, Arima, and Campion. I doubt if you will go home boatless. :)
 
With a lot of experience in both -- I've owned several of each brand, and I have fish over 1,000 hours with my partner in his 21 Arima, I'll try to be as objective as possible.

They are both great boats -- I much prefer the Arima for fishing, and it handles our PNW chop better than the CD. My 22 Arima had decent cruising capabilities and my 21 Arima was VERY limited for cruising. The CD 22 cruiser is a great cruising boat and acceptable for fishing. Lots of arguments on this point, I know, because many folks fish the CD cruiser, but if you want to fish more than two -- tight! My son-in-law and I both currently have 22 Anglers, and they are great for fishing, crabbing, shrimping, etc., and adequate (barely) for cruising.

So the decision, as always, must be based on how you will use the boat. Buying a new one right now is questionable IMO. With low production numbers, manufacturers are faced with much higher product costs because they must buy in smaller quantities, and the current low volume cash flow is stretched thin to support their normal expenses.

HTH, Dusty
 
I sell both here in Fl but haven't stocked Arima for a while but can order them . They are very seaworthy and as described more oriented towards fishing . All the boats mentioned are good boats . If I can help you with C Dory or Arima please let me know .

Marc
 
My two cents...

I really liked the Arima on paper and seriously thought of getting one, but waited to see on in person at the Seattle Boat show.

Those of you who've met me, I'm no towering giant at 5'9" but I could barely stand up in the cabin of the 21 HT. It seemed micro sized to me. The Mrs said, "If you hit a wave while moving about in this boat, you'll smack your head and get knocked out." Well, I don't know about that but it was just too small for her and I.

It is probably the perfect boat for others, but not my cup of tea.

-Sarge
 
Rich, I understand you being a little gun shy about C-Dorys but the chances of encountering the same problems again are astronomical. I would encourage you to keep your options open.

Steve
 
Thanks everyone. As for buying a used C-Dory, we have considerable trepidation with that balsa core. We simply don't want a balsa core boat, so all C-Dory's are off the table. The Marinaut 215 is all high density foam and fiberglass, and we're leaning toward that boat. As for a Rosborough 246 -- it's a fabulous boat. We just toured through one in Essex that was in immaculate condition. However, it's a monster at 6000 pounds and uses a lot of fuel. My wife and I like smaller albeit spacious boats with shallow draft, and want to stay within the confines of Long Island Sound. When we went into a CD 22 several year's ago, we felt confined. We liked the CD 16 better, because the open berth gave us a perception of greater space. It seems to us that the Marinaut 215 has created that same affect, and should get twice the fuel mileage of the Rosoborough. It seems to be very thoughtfully designed, and the range is staggering for a boat of that size -- approx. 400 + n. miles.

Rich
 
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