May buy new CD 16

M

moydav

New member
Hello C-Brats, My wife and i own a 17 Ft. wooden boat. Hull was built by a local boat builder. Great boat, however seems to need a lot of up keep. Really leaning towards the C-Dory 16. We want to put our 40 on it and use it for fishing in the Long Island sound. We live in Connecticut. It would be only the two of us and sometimes her sister.
Searching on line i have read things about this boat. Such as it can sink. One, has seen one spin a 360 degree spin while in a wave. One claims he cannot get safely onto the bow to set the anchor. Just a few complaints i have read more. I know 16 is a small boat and has a flat bottom. I would like to know what owners have to say about the boat. Thanks for any reply,
 
I had a 16 cruiser for several years and it was plenty safe. Went out into the pacific halibut fishing up to 20 miles without concern. As for going up on the bow, if there are waves or swells wear your life jacket, that is a small, bouncy area. They are a great little boat and I am reasonably sure that they will float if overturned or swamped.
 
We have a 16' Angler. For our current boating needs it is the best boat we have ever owned (and we've had more boats than I'd like to admit over the years).

All boats are a compromise, there is no single boat that will do everything perfectly. But for us, we love the 16' angler because it is lightweight (we tow it easily with a 4 cylinder SUV), it's small enough to fit inside our garage (which make a tremendous difference in keeping any boat in good condition and minimizing the amount of upkeep work), yet on the water it is seaworthy, economical, fun, comfortable and nice and dry thanks to the hard top.

My only complaint thus far is that I will need to add a windshield wiper to the Port side...being a hardtop you cannot simply stand up to see over the top of windshield if it gets covered spray, rain, or dew from fog...ours only came with a wiper on the Starboard side and especially in fog I need to see clearly out of all windows at all times!

Finally, and probably most importantly, you will be hard pressed to find a better looking 16 footer than a C-dory! I'm still trying to get used to all the compliments every time we go out, that has never happened with any previous boat.
 
About setting the anchor, you should consider a bow rail, which used to be a factory option. Beside the safety factor it is also helpful when single handing it onto the trailer at the ramp. Both the angler and the cruiser have a hatch above the forward compartment. It's much easier to squeeze your torso out of it on the cruiser than on the angler, . Our angler has a working windlass, so we can launch and retieve the anchor from the helm. Mike makes a good point about the wipers. Wipers are an absolute requirement on a 16. I am almost always out with my wife and on the angler the manual wiper handles are easily reached while we are seating. Not so on the cruiser model. Our previous 16 was a cruiser with an electric wiper on the starboard and a manual wiper on the port. My wife did not enjoy constantly jumping up to reach the manual handle. The 16 is a great little boat in either configuration.
 
But how does she handle rough water. I was told by several C-dory owners that the CD16 rode a bit rough and were quite bouncy. What is your opinion?
 
Well, it's all relative. Years ago I crossed the Atlantic on a heavy cruiser while a band played on the USS Wisconsin's quarterdeck on our starboard. At the same time several destroyers popped like corks around us. Like the destroyers, a 16 footer may be uncomfortable in rough water but, like the destroyers, it will get you where you're going.
 
You will never regret owning a cd16! Like any marine adventure, you MUST prepare for your time on the water properly by checking bouy data, weather reports, web sites, and other mariners. GO PREPARED and you will take care of you and your passengers.

My cd16: OPA has been as far as 20 miles out into the gulf chasin snapper, and we regularly take OPA out on L. Michigan trolling for salmon 10 miles out. We do the research and pick our days. If the weather and/or swells or waves start to get bad, we head in. OPA has no problem handling 4ft waves/swells as long as I respect the water.

Send me a PM with your number and I'll be glad to chat with you about cd16's. Photos of OPA are on this web site. Good luck!
 
If you are going trailer your boat want an economical ride, it will be tough to beat 16. We moved from a 22 to 16 because we wanted a boat that I could easily load and unload singled handed and the 16 fills the bill. Although we are inland water boaters, we have had it on the larger Idaho lakes in some chop and found it to ride and handle well. Others have spoken about how they handle, so I'll discuss other points. Ours is an '09, so new ones might be slightly different. To get some of the weight forward (they can be stern heavy) our battery is under the helm seat, and we keep our spare 3 gallon fuel tank under the bunk along with a few pots and pans, the BBQ, and other camping supplies. To make the table more usable, we moved the table forward by using only the forward 2 pins and then adding a removable leg made from a piece of dowel with couple of rubber furniture tips. We kept our porta-a-potty from the 22 because it is much taller and more user friendly, although it did require opening the slot slightly. We agree with the bow rail, and electric wipers are a definite requirement. We also figured out if anyone went overboard, it would be very difficult to get back in without a swim step so we added one(from C-Dory). We also have a Permatrim and are satisfied it helps with stability. Finally we had a local shop make short Bimini top that keeps the sun and slight drizzles off the seats but still allows access to cockpit to land fish. As you can tell all of us who have or had 16s, like 'em. Happy shopping.
Jack
 
Speaking of getting back on board, the swim step is really nice but in a pinch if you have a permatrim you can go around to the back and sit on the permatrim, tilt the motor up (if it has a remote tilt button on the cowling) and step into the splashwell. Very easy to do. Learned that one on this site. Had to try it out at the coast this summer. Glad it worked so well.
 
Oh,I want to thank you all for your replies. We are serious about the C-Dory. I have viewed the pictures here, tough to just decide without looking at one but great information here. We have a new E-tech 40 to put on it. Windshield wipers,sounds like a good idea. Bow rail, i think looks good on the boat. I am kinda of a novice boater. We don't go out more then 3 miles from shore. But I'm getting more adventurous. One of these days I'm going to cross the sound and visit Greenport NY. Thanks again, everyone
 
I do like my C-Dory 16 Cruiser. I wished I had gone with my original thought which was to put on a Honda 50 instead of the 40. It is an easy boat to trailer and to launch. It can get pretty bouncy when you get rocked from a large wake. Personally don't think I would add the canvas top to the boat if I had to do it over again because it gets in the way of fishing.
 
I had a 1989 16' Angler for a year and it was one sea worthy little boat. I got caught in 2-3 foot chop crossing the sound one day and it handled great. With these boats, you're sitting way down in the water but the ride was comfortable and I totally felt safe cutting through the washing machine waves. The angler is a nice fishing platform. The only reason I let it go was because I would have wanted to update the original 40hp 2-stroke Johnson, buy a new trailer, and perhaps change the steering. With all those additions, it would have added to more than I paid for the boat.

Also, Brock of Bambina fame, took his 16' Angler all the way up to Desolation Sound with no problems at all. Goes to show how good these little boats really are.
 
OK, it's true, but Brock is a special case. I once met Brock in Anacortes and travelled with him up to a CBGT in Bellingham. If I remember correctly, his boat had only one 6 gallon tank while mine had two and two extra 5 gallon cans. Not only was he calm about the Bambina's ability to make it, he installed his camperback while we were underway. Without any "system", I learned that with a 16 footer you can be out on the water much of the day with one 6 gallon tank!
 
This note is for Stan Major. We have a short Bimini on our 16 that gives us shade on our seats but still allows good cockpit access for landing fish. It was made by a local canvas shop here in Boise, and I have photos. I have not figured out how to post photos on the site, but if you send your e-mail address, I'll be glad to send them to you along with some details on how we put it togather.
Jack at jckeifer@q.com
 
I am solidly in the CD16 Angler camp! Ours is a 1991 with a 1991 Johnson 40, which carried us safely home from Sucia to Bellingham in a gale warning. You could not ask for more. Get a Permatrim if you get a CD16 Cruiser. Check out the Crabby Lou album! We have a full camperback on her, which I love. Overnighting is a bit of "boat camping" but definitely do-able!
 
I had a 16' wood boat for 25 years. I finally gave in and sold it after it needed restoration again. After much careful thought and research, I chose a CD 16 Angler, the Rose Bud, which I've had for just 9 months now. I could not be happier. In chop that would have me headed for the marina in the past, I am totally comfortable in the CD. Yes, you have to throttle down to avoid slamming, but when waves are coming over the bow you will be nice and dry in the CD. It rarely even gets spray in the cockpit, and I don't even have a bimini. I am not as impressed with the "05" Honda 50 (carbureted) that is on my CD as I was with the "97" Evinrude 40 (injected) that I had on my wood boat. Your e-tec should work great. I use mine primarily on Lake Tahoe (6200 ft.), so I've had to have the prop pitched down, but it will do 20 mph on calm water with the wife and I, 2 tanks of gas, and a full ice chest. Don't fool yourself into thinking you can haul all your friends around. I've had 4 persons in the boat for a cruise, but it's tight quarters and would not plane out. It's really a 2 person boat that will accommodate 3 in relative comfort with a folding chair. One of the things we had fun with in the wood boat was the positive comments you get from other boaters. It's the same in the CD. Everyone loves what a cute little boat it is. And as others have reported, it is very easy to trailer, launch by yourself, and is very economical. I have only tapped the second can of gas once in a full day of boating. Bow rail and swim step are a must. And I will be adding an electric windlass and rode locker when I can, for remote anchor operation. The V-berth is small and difficult to access even though I am only 5'7", but it's a great place to put all your stuff or dogs. My dogs took right to it, with their beds up there they love it. Best of luck to you, whatever you decide to do.
 
Moydav, you'll love the Etec. We've got about 320 hours on our 2005 90 and the maintenance is great! It even fogs itself once you lay it up for a long period of time.

Charlie
 
Chieftele comments are spot on and remind me of another thing I've noticed after our first 4 trips and absolutely love about our 16 Angler - yes you need to slow down for the short/steep chop, BUT in this boat, slowing down to say 10 mph you are still on plane, and accelerating back to cruise speed is no big deal once the chop passes. Also for crossing boat wakes, simply turn the boat a bit and take the waves on the side, usually no need to slow down at all, the boat doesn't rock much because of the flat bottom.
 
Hi moydav,
Depending on your and your wife's sizes, you might need extra room at the seats. The cruisers' seats are further back than in the angler, and so in a wider part of the boat. In the cruisers, the berths will sleep two but life is best singlehanded. I'm 6-2, and the port berth is long enough. Our conclusion: for day use, it is comfortable for two; for overnight or longer, it is a single person boat.
Room in the cockpit is limited, and will accept only one of the deck chairs from our old 22 cruiser. We tested the cockpit with our two larger dogs - a huge poodle and a smallish chow - and ourselves. There is no way in the world we could take them out with us; there is a reason they pack sardines in oil.
Having said all this, I love the cruiser and the way it handles.
My sole misgiving in any of the smaller CDs is the lack of a self-draining cockpit. :cry
Good luck.
Rod
 
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