Inspection advice?

G

gphrank

New member
Hi,

I'm going to look at a 1995 C-Dory Cruiser with a 2005 75hp Mercury 4 stroke that's for sale. I had a couple questions:

1) That's the smallest engine I've seen on a C-Dory 22. Is this underpowered for the vessel? I realize this is somewhat depending on what I want to get from the engine so:
I'll be operating in the Puget Sound, I'd like to Cruise at 20kts or above, and I expect to be carrying a payload of about 300-500lb (people and equipment).

2) Anyone have any specific knowledge (or general) regarding the '95 or this engine that I should make sure to get a close look at?

Thanks for any help and ideas! Hope to be a true C-Brat soon :)

Greg
 
I have twin engines on a CD 22 and almost always wish the boat had more power - especially with 3-4 adults, shrimp pots, kayaks, extra fuel, food, water and misc gear. I tend to go out heavy when cruising. When just fishing, my CD 22 goes just fine with 90 hp. I really don't think I'd be happy with less.
 
Some of the C Dory 22's were fitted with 50 HP Hondas. They would barely plane--in the 12 to 14 knot range, as long as the boat was light.

The early C Dory was designed around the 70 HP Honda 2 stroke. I have always had 90 hp on my C Dory 22's. I run a fairly heavy boat, and feel that is necessary. The difference between t he 70 and 90 only shows at the top end. The motors are the same block. The 75 and the 90 Mercury are the same block. If the boat is in good shape and the motor checks out well, with light load you will probably be fine. How many hours on the Merc? Has it been well maintained?

I owned a '93 C Dory 22, and the 95 is little different. You want to check the area around any of the screws into the inner aspect of the hull (Cockpit and cabin floor). The cabinets are secured to the bottom with "L" brackets and screws into the bottom (or inner skin of cored bottom of the boat). Best practice is to remove these screws, drill out and then under cut, where the screw was, seal the core, fill this with thickened epoxy, then re-insert the screw into the epoxy plug. Or... remove the L brackets, clean out any core issues, and then fill. Put a tab of fiberglass from the cabinet to the floor, rather than depend on the screws.

Check the area around the forward hatch for any moisture. Same for Windlass hole in the deck. Check around the screws holding the fuel tanks in place.

The engine-at the least a compression test. If the boat has been run in salt water, have a mechanic check the thermostat--and look for corrosion in the passages.

Many suggest getting a marine surveyor to evaluate the boat.
 
When I was a kid, our 1988 22’ cruiser had a 70 Johnson, my current 2006 22’ has a 115 Suzuki. I would never go smaller, that 115 is amazing.
 
I have seen a couple of 22s with the 2 cycle 70 on the transom. One owner was happy as a clam at high tide, and the other looking to change. I run twin 40's with a normally mid to heavy cruising boat. That's 80 HP and I would say that is minimum. I am betting that with a 75, even running light you are going to be severely hard pressed to get over 20 on plane. I would think, with your planned load, trimmed and propped perfect you would be good to run 15 knots. I could be wrong, and you might be OK with running above 85% throttle for much of the time. And, You might get lucky.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Thanks for the replies. I wound up having to work so didn't get to see the boat anyway. Really sounds like I want a 90HP at minimum - definitely want to cruise a solid 20knts. Maybe will look for something bigger... or cheap enough to repower.

Thanks,

G
 
gphrank":mttervoi said:
Thanks for the replies. I wound up having to work so didn't get to see the boat anyway. Really sounds like I want a 90HP at minimum - definitely want to cruise a solid 20knts. Maybe will look for something bigger... or cheap enough to repower.

Thanks,

G
Click to expand...

Good luck in your search. It looks like you are mainly looking at cruising in the Salish Sea area. If you have been out there much before, you know there are plenty of "floaties" (and some of them can be significantly hard), and at 20 knots, they come up on you pretty quickly. It is nice to have the ability to get that speed if you "really need to", so that 75, running pretty light and trimmed well, might do that for you. For me, I don't like to run above 75% throttle very much, so my cruise speed on plane is usually about 14-15 knots. I wouldn't give up on this one until you actually take it out for a sea trial, and see what it will do. As mentioned earlier, proper trim and propping will make a difference. It might be already there so it would be worth a run. It would be worth it to see how it handles too. Be sure the owner knows you want a see trial to include some WOT time, and that purchase is dependent on a satisfactory trial.

Find out how many hours are on that Merc.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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GPhrank,

My opinion may differ from others somewhat. I've only had my C-Dory since last March so compared to the other members on here that's not very long and I would definitely value their opinions over mine. But, we boat on the Chesapeake Bay and I find we are very, very, rarely, ever able to cruise comfortably at 20+ knots. We have so much chop here, and I imagine you do also, and it is just simply not comfortable. Our waves are steep and very close together so even with my bow low (trim tabs, motor trim, and weight in the V-berth but no Permatrims) we pound on even small (1') waves. Add to that the confused seas from other boat wakes and there's no way I can plan a trip assuming I'll make 20 knots. She's incredibly seaworthy, and we've been very comfortable traveling in larger waves at around 8-10 knots. My point is simply that I don't necessarily think I would pick the C-Dory if I boated anywhere with frequent chop and I needed 20+ knots. If a 75hp powers the boat at 12-14 knots I would be very satisfied with that. That tends to be the speed we typically settle into. We pushed it to Annapolis last weekend at 17 knots on a flat day and I really did feel like we were pushing it. We enjoyed the ride home much more at 12 knots. Hope that helps. We absolutely love the boat but I would not be happy if I needed speed.
 
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