Mystery Boat.

O

oldgrowth

New member
This post is in reference to questions asked by members that saw photos linked in my C-Voyager saddle tanks thread.

The mystery boat is a prototype of a boat Ben Toland and I have been working on for a while. It was put on hold last year in order to assess the economy and to determine if this is the right time to bring a new boat to the market and to get all our ducks in order.

We have decided to go forward with the endeavor but on a smaller scale than was originally planed.

All the details have not been worked out for the new boat but what has been decided is, the first model will be just over 20 feet. The hull will have a V bow and taper to an almost flat stern, similar to the Cape Cruiser. We have made another modification to the hull of our boat that was done to the hull of my 16' C-Dory when we extended it. It made a big difference in the handling characteristics of the 16 and we believe it will also work on the new boat.

Some other key points of the boat:
• The cabin will sit a little more forward than a C-Dory. It makes the boat a little better balanced.
• The cabin will have forward sloping front windows. It gives more top shelf space and an overall larger cabin.
• The V-berth will be adjustable on the port side for sleeping with a 6'6" length and around 6' on the starboard side.
• The V-berth will have a large opening, so taller and larger people can get in and out easier.
• The interior will be completely customizable. The boat will have mounting points strategically located so you have solid areas for user customization.
• The cabin will have a removable rear bulkhead plus a canvas bulkhead so when you go out without the solid bulkhead and the weather changes, you can close the cabin off.
• It will have saddle fuel tanks.
These are a few of the things we plan for the boat.

The boat will be competitively priced with the 19 foot C-Dory.

Once the hull is made and the cabin goes on, we will see how things fit together and of course ask for as much input as we can get from the C-Brat family.

The plug (the hard part) has been built, now we have to do the mold, then our first two hulls.
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Dave dlt.gif
 
Sounds like a very interesting boat, and should fill a niche in the market of a boat this size. I like the "customizable" part.
 
Interesting premise, Dave. Knowing your passion, I have no doubt that the end result will be well thought out.

One question: will it void the warranty if I buy one of these and then chop it in two and add a couple feet? :twisted:

Good luck with this endeavor. Even in tough economic times, there is room for an innovative product supported by good customer service.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Dave,

If the boat is built to the high standards achieved by the Cape Cruiser factory it should sell well.

The ability to customize the interior should appeal to many folks who liked that feature of the older C-Dorys. Having mounting points for changing the interior is a great idea.
 
Sounds like a well thought out affair. I do like the forward sloping windows, and the larger Vee-birth opening. You didn't mention the forward trunk height, but that would sure fit well with the larger opening and birth size. Sounds like a project to keep you out of mischief in your spare time, Dave, and I'm sure you need that. :lol:
Good on ya'
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Sounds like a really cool boat...well thought out, and very versatile.

What are you guys thinking for power?
 
Bill – I believe in the lightest engine you can put on and still have plenty of power. The weight should be for people and gear not a heavy engine. That said, the E-Tech 90 would be the best fit at 320 lbs. Next the Honda 90 at 359 lbs, then the Yamaha 90 at 369 lbs.

The first boat will have one of the above engines. We will have to wait and see what kind of deal we can get when we are ready. Ben wants to put an E-Tech 60 or a Yamaha 60 on just to check the performance with a smaller engine. He thinks it will cruise in the 20+ knot range with either of those engines. When we do check it, we will have the boat loaded. I don't believe in lightly loaded performance checks.
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Dave dlt.gif
 
Larry H":92wajzba said:
If the boat is built to the high standards achieved by the Cape Cruiser factory it should sell well.
Click to expand...
Larry – I agree, however I am aware of some of the hidden flaws that the Cape Cruiser had and were time consuming in their remedies. Our boat will not have any of them.

I am aware all boats are a compromise and ours will be only in the options or type of boat you get, it will not be a compromise in quality.
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Dave dlt.gif
 
Dave,

I don't know about hidden flaws in CC boats, but the two or three CC's I inspected had a very high level of finish and attention to detail, inside and out.

I have not heard of any warranty type problems from the existing CC owners on the RedFox site.

Those orphan CC boats could become classics in the future like the CD 22 classic has.

If you can achieve a higher level of construction, that will be some boat!!

Larry H
 
Sounds great, solving the problems that led me to choose the 16 over the 19. Will you be doing opening windshields, for those of us in Florida (and other places in summer), a problem with the 16?
 
Larry H":3vv9uekm said:
Dave,

I don't know about hidden flaws in CC boats, but the two or three CC's I inspected had a very high level of finish and attention to detail, inside and out.

I have not heard of any warranty type problems from the existing CC owners on the RedFox site.

Those orphan CC boats could become classics in the future like the CD 22 classic has.

If you can achieve a higher level of construction, that will be some boat!!

Larry H
Click to expand...
Larry – figured I had better nip this in the bud. The CC had problems in their mold that had to be fixed on every hull that came out of the mold. That was done at the CC plant and I assume it is being done at the C-Dory plant.

We want to have each part of our production as good as humanly possible so the next step does not have a flaw to repair from a previous step. It is too easy to overlook the flaws when you get new employees, or get behind in production.
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Dave dlt.gif
 
barefoot":1lej5g1i said:
Sounds great, solving the problems that led me to choose the 16 over the 19. Will you be doing opening windshields, for those of us in Florida (and other places in summer), a problem with the 16?
Click to expand...
barefoot – at this time the side windows will open, the front hatch and the rear door can be opened, or the bulkhead removed for ventilation. We had not planned on putting in a front opening window at this time.

We have no plans on marketing the boat out of the northwest for the first couple of years, although this is not etched in stone. Have to see what the final product looks like and how it is received by the public. Then we will make a decision on where we will go from there.

We are starting a very small boat building business and will only expand if there is a large enough market for our boats and we are able to maintain our quality at the higher production rates.

Our motto will be quality before volume.
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Dave dlt.gif
 
oldgrowth":3dxb036x said:
Larry – figured I had better nip this in the bud. The CC had problems in their mold that had to be fixed on every hull that came out of the mold. That was done at the CC plant and I assume it is being done at the C-Dory plant.

We want to have each part of our production as good as humanly possible so the next step does not have a flaw to repair from a previous step. It is too easy to overlook the flaws when you get new employees, or get behind in production.
Click to expand...

Nip it in the bud? You planted the damn seed.
 
Dave,
For the Lake Powell and any of the other Warm weather areas, the opening center window is a real plus. We even open ours in the PNW at times--I understand the increased complications in design it brings, but something to consider for the future--you build a good boat and they will come!

Sounds like an exciting project.
 
C-Vyager ,Dave....We will tke two boats....One about a 22 footer with a center console that will hold a porta potty.......The other about a 28 footer similar to the 2005 C-Dory that we now have but with maybe 4 inch higher sides and one more foot int the v-berth ,another foot more in the cabin along with a foot more in the rear deck.......We don't fish in either boat , just site see and take rides.....We asked jeff messmer to build these two boats and thats when we learned of the 22 center console and the 29 venture......I followed your workmanship in the bisecting your boat.....Just waiting on delivery.....tucker
 
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