I don't really consider myself a c-brat since I don't own a C-dory and will not for at least a few more years. My wife and I both grew up in the SF Bay area, in families with boats. (My dad grew up on Mercer Island and his family's boat was the Lawana, which has survived to become the oldest wooden boat on the lake I understand.) We lived in Sacramento for 10 years and now Fort Bragg for 19 years, and have enjoyed boating/fishing in the Bay, Delta, major reservoirs (Shasta!). The Fort Bragg coast is (was?) great for fishing but poor for cruising due to usually rough open coast and distance to other ports.
Our Sea Ray 23 is not designed for coastal/offshore use so we strive to pay extra attention to weather, fuel, and maintenance. However she was affordable to us ($15k) when purchased in 2004, has good build quality, and we have had many good times aboard, including 2 Puget/San Juans cruises.
For the future, the CD25 seems to strike a fairly happy compromise for our uses, except with the relatively flat hull I am concerned about the ride in open coast moderate sea conditions. I have heard the Venture/Marinaut 26 is significantly better in moderate seas. We hope to impose on some real c-brats perhaps next spring/summer, for guest rides on these models!
