How much weight is safe?

F

Fiddlz

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C Dory Year
2007
C Dory Model
22 Cruiser
My wife and I finally took the plunge. This past summer we purchased a 2007 22’ cruiser with 90hp Merc. So far, we are loving it and are making plans for more adventures this coming summer. In looking through the forums, I have not been able to find anything specific about gross weight and specifically, weight in the cockpit area. We hope to spend multiple days on the boat at a time and even a few week long trips. I have seen a few pictures of cockpits loaded with storage boxes, grills, racks with dinghies, plus outboards and fuel. Where is the limit? Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks
 
There are some great folks on here that have done some amazing adventures and I'm sure will fill you in with better specifics.

I can without a doubt tell you there is a limit. On my run out to Nootka, I was there.

It.. Was ..Not ..Fun..

I made the 2 other passengers face plant in the front window to bring the weight forward. Balancing the boat out is the trick and you'll constantly see on this site a reference to bringing more weight forward. The water line on the boat will help you gauge that.

On the run home I shoved everything I could forward. I think she was still as heavy, just balance better. The ride was a comfortable as I could ask for.

Safe travels!

R/
John
Scallywag
 
I don't know how much weight was in Scallywag. We often spent a month at a time on our 22. We would have a chest freezer/refrigerator, an ice chest (thick foam insulation) and at least one box, with canned goods, as well as items like shovel, hatchet, several anchors, large shade with poles and stakes, 9 1/2 foot inflatable boat, outboard for the inflatable. an extra 3 gallons or more of gas, 7 extra gallons of water. This is two people and 1 to 3 dogs.

We have both trim tabs and the Permatrim. Even at Lake Powell (3600 feet elevation) we could plane without much issue. The 25 has considerably more storage space, and we seem to be able to fill it up. Yes, the boat performs better at the end of the trip, with less, fuel, water and supplies...
 
Too much.. Trust me, you can overload it.

Lets just say I had to pull the boat back out of the water after the first attempted launch because I couldn't get her to float. Read " Saltwater filled the motor well".....

3 decent sized guys with a weeks worth of food, gear, maybe some beer....

We lived, but when one of our buddy boats slowed to wait on us and started to wake, I honestly thought if I got off plane I would swamp. Gold river feeds into a 1000+ foot depth. In hind site, I likely wouldn't be worrying about core repair...

Lessons learned...

R/
John
Scallywag
 
A lot is the answer. I store 3 shrimp pots with 2400 feet of line, 34 extra gallons of gas, a 6 gallon jug of water, a tent, some camp chairs, and a full 120 quart cooler all in the cockpit on just about every boat camping trip. And if you plan it right, you can still fish (and add more weight with some nice halibut) after you drop your pots. But, it doesn't end there....we also put 2 hard shell kayaks on the roof and 1 inflatable double kayak up there as there are usually 3 adults and 1 child. The kayaks don't weigh as much as you think - 180 pounds total. And of course, the front berth is packed to the gills too. It's actually sort of embarrassing how much stuff we bring. Somehow, the twins still manage to get it up around 22 mph at full throttle. A 115 or 140 is probably a much better power plant for this type of load, but I'm too cheap. The truth is I need a bigger boat....So bring your crap, you'll be fine. I can't wait to get out to PWS either.....my first trip there is always April 15th.....I'll be on the lookout for you :-)
 
As T R says “a lot” During our SE Alaska cruises in our CD22, when out for 2 to 3 month periods we would have the cockpit loaded similar to this photo.

image_001.sized.jpg

103 gal of gas, 5 gal diesel, Honda 2000 generator, 6 hp Suzuki, several hundred feet of extra rode, 10 extra gal of water, dock chairs & many other. small miscellaneous items. In the cabin & under the berth 400 pounds of weighed foot stuffs with all available space stuffed with other cruising gear to explore away from Marinas for extended periods between refueling & resupplies. The one time I weighed it before our 2015 SE Alaska it came out a few pounds under 5000 with our personal weight added. We have been in some very rough seas at this weight, while towing a motorized kayak & the boat still handled well. We do have as Bob also mentioned Permitrims & tabs, which help. It never has seemed hard to me to keep the boat balanced well enough to handle all the seas we’ve encountered in the 12,000 miles cruised in SE Alaska. The extremely heavy cockpit was never a problem & I only really was concerned if I felt the fore end might be to heavy when out for extended periods & the when topped off over 600 lbs of fuel in the cockpit was getting on the low side. I do feel better now about being able to stay on the back side of a wave if needed with our new 60 hp twins, though with the old 40 hp twins even when the weight was at its highest in 2007, when in 30 knot winds on the Lynn Canal & the tide not cooperating we managed to make a turn between waves to retreat back to Haines. On the retreat, the waves were overtaking us, but the stern would always raise with the wave & no problem keeping the bow from wanting to come around. This was while towing the Mokai & Jolee said it would disappear in the wave behind us & sometimes be just fluttering in the air. The CD22 can do amazingly well when heavy or lite, but it does handle better the more balanced & lite it is.

Jay
 
Okay, it was a lot of beer! :beer

I was waiting for Jay to jump onboard! Read his threads and watch his videos, they've done ton on that boat! https://youtube.com/user/hunkydory03

But seriously, you'll know you over did it when the boat wont float... :lol:

Have fun up there! It'll probably be year after next but a PWS gathering would be awesome. Even Kachemak out of Homer or Seldovia would be a sweet spot.

R/
John
Scallywag
 
I think is not about the total weight but balancing it on the boat. Especially the case on the 22'. The engine, batteries and fuel on these boats are all at the rear of the boat even before adding things like coolers to the cockpit.

When our lovely 200 lb French mastiff was still alive, she rode up in the berth, and that really helped balance the boat. Now we put all out heavy gear, food and drink cans, etc., in crates towards the front of the boat and that helps.

The 22 is really sensitive to where the weight is located. It can carry a lot, but you have to be mindful to balance the weight. I just ordered a new rode with more chain. Not because I really needed it for anchoring, but more weight up front. We had 50 feet of chain and a 22lb anchor up front on our previous 22' and I liked how it handled.
 
John, I’m not doubting you got to much weight in the cockpit or others can too. I think some of what you experienced could have been enhanced by the launching on a ramp, where the stern must lift first without the combined flotation of the entire boat. I can see where that easily could cause water over the motor well with a very heavy stern. I’ve filled the motor well several times by reversing into waves or launching & retrieving with waves even with the boat stern not over weighted.

I’ve run even heavier a time to two on Yellowstone Lake than in SE Alaska. On a family camping trip out to a wilderness camp we had 7 people aboard plus our normal summer at Yellowstone stuff, plus all the gear for shore camping for a week. I couldn’t get on plane & had to have all aboard not moving about the boat. With careful weather watch all went well, but wouldn’t ever run quite that heavy in the SE Alaska waters, so yes there is a limit & one needs to be more cautious about exceeding it in some places more than others. Trying to put an exact weight on the limits like commercial operators must do would be difficult. Individual experimenting with increased weights while working on good weight distribution before doing extended cruises or into known rough water possibility areas would be my advise for those learning the boats capability.

Jay
 
Interesting that most people seem to want to get weight forward. In my experience the boat handles much better with most of the weight aft. I don't like people riding in the v-berth, even when lightly loaded.
 
clayhubler said:
Interesting that most people seem to want to get weight forward. In my experience the boat handles much better with most of the weight aft. I don't like people riding in the v-berth, even when lightly loaded.[/quote

I believe the weight forward is in the case of an very heavy load in the cockpit. For the most part, many of us do keep the bow light. If you are going down waves with the boat over weighted in the bow, it can cause bow steering or even a broach.
Click to expand...
 
thataway":2ey09ldg said:
I believe the weight forward is in the case of an very heavy load in the cockpit. For the most part, many of us do keep the bow light. If you are going down waves with the boat over weighted in the bow, it can cause bow steering or even a broach.
Click to expand...


Yes that's the case with our boat. We're usually loaded heavier than average I would guess. Day trips aren't really our thing, so its usually multiple days worth of groceries in a big cooler in the cockpit, and fuel tanks full. We also have a kicker.

With that much weight aft, it rides better with some weight forward as well and the trim tabs and permatrim down. Where we used to live, waves and broaching were a consideration but in inland waters where we use the boat these days, its not really something to worry about.
 
Jay,

You're spot on as usual.

The cockpit weight was the original worry Fiddlz had asked about. We all run a lot of weight in our boats, maybe none more than you Jay! I just happen to overload the cockpit area specifically, and didn't have enough weight forward to balance the boat. Flaps down and trim down she powered onto step, but I new I had overloaded the cockpit.

With the extra cooler up in the v-berth on the way home she balance out beautifully and rode perfect.

R/
John
Scallywag
 
On some of our more extended cruises we can get our boat pretty heavy, but not as much as some of the boats previously listed in this thread. Two years ago I cut out storage areas under the v-berth and moved a lot of the heavy stuff under there. Not only did it allow us to carry more stuff, but less of it was clogging up the cabin and cockpit. I did also note that the boat is now more balanced and handles better when there is more weight in the bow.

This summer when I head up to Kitimat and Prince Rupert I plan to carry 300+ litres of fuel and two weeks worth of supplies, plus two kayaks, fishing gear and all the other stuff. This will be my heaviest load ever.
 
Thank you all for the information! One of the first modifications I plan to do is cut into the V-berth for added storage and to help with weight distribution. It is sounding like the correct balance is more important than overall weight, to a point. I am way more familiar with flying small aircraft, where weight and balance are pretty important for safe operation and I am trying to learn where those limits are at with the C-dory.
 
One example of learning your new C-Dory.
Our first season in our 22 felt crowded and the heavy Igloo 100 qt cooler was always in the way. The next year I put the Porta Potty back between the fuel tanks and the cooler in the PP spot. The boat was now roomy enough and it handled noticeably better!
The cooler lifts the V-birth insert about an inch which is not a problem. The small hatch in the cooler lid is accessible even with the cooler shoved all the way forward and the surrounding V-birth + a couple draped towels keep the contents cold longer.
 
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