New To The Cdory World & Have Questions

B

brienw

New member
Hi Everyone,

I am going to buy a 22 Cruiser.

1) My first question is whether or not it is true that cdory only started adding extra foam to 2001 models and later? I would like to feel assured that if we did have a mishap our boat would not sink.

2) I have heard mixed reviews about the cruisers seaworthiness. I am wondering what your experience has been in chop and rougher seas? Can these boats handle bigger water? If they can, do you have to slow down to not get beat up? What is the largest waves you have taken and what was that like?

Thanks for your feedback. I am so excited to buy a cruiser and start adventuring.

Warmly,

Brien
 
Brien,

Have never purposely gone looking for the bigger water to see how our boat would handle it, but its found us a few times on our adventures and its always got us back to safe harbor. Think the 22 cruiser will handle most rough water better than you inside it.

If you haven't already go to the Grand Adventure Forum and read about some of the cruises there. Think these accounts should give you much confidence in the ability of the 22 cruiser.

This link goes to a story about a 22 cruiser in an extremely remote place with big seas. I hope to never be in a similar situation but have been in this remote location and plan on returning there, so gave me a good feeling to know that the boat can handle some very rough water if I'm up to handling the boat.
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=10681

Ours is a 2001 and the previous owner added extra foam in the forward section not for flotation, but to reduce noise in the chop. From my understanding even with extra foam only a bit of the bow is going to be out of water if holed or rolled bad enough.

Hope your posting soon about joining the ranks of us very pleased 22 CD Cruiser owners and posting your own stories of Adventure.

Jay
 
Brien, good luck with the purchase. These are great boats and perfect for exploring the PNW.

1. Some 22's have foam under the V-Birth. My 2008 does not. Other owners know more about which boats do and don't. This topic has been discussed before and there should be information if you do a search.

2. The dory hull is very sea worthy. Last summer we had some waves that were as high as the boat. Going into the waves I could only make 4-5 knots. Notably, the only other boats under 50 feet I saw out there were a 28 foot Grady and a 28 foot Protector. Neither was running more than about 10 knots. The boat will pound in head seas. However, it can handle a lot, probably more than any owner wants to handle.

Realizing it wouldn't be any fun running for 15 miles into these head seas, I turned around and anchored until the current shifted directions in the Strait of Georgia. Running with the seas I could go 18-19 knots without pounding. These boats handle following seas exceptionally well.

It is important to remember that these are not deep V hulls. The advantages and disadvantages of the C-Dory hull have been discussed previously. To summarize, they are very fuel efficient, require little power, and can handle big water. But when you are going into a head sea, you must slow down for comfort since they don't slice right through. All boats are a trade off...
 
Matt, thanks for posting that slide show. Wish there was a link to that off the home page.

Brien,

There is much discussion about this by going to the search at the top of the home page. Personally, we got into a weather set headed up the Strait of Georgia where we had following seas in the 4 - 8 ft range and when we got up into the 6-8's the C-Dory Cruiser handled it pretty well. Sure glad that long time ago I had done some boat surfing way back when. Best place to ride the wave is just behind the crest, powered up to just maintain position there, with the trim tabs up all the way and OB's down all the way. Sorry we didn't get pictures, just a bit busy.

BTW, there is a new 22 Cruiser just posted in Port Townsend. Worth a look for being so close. Enjoy and hope to see you on the water soon.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Wow!! Thank you to everyone who responded to my post. What a friendly community. I cannot wait until I can afford a cruiser so that I can travel the seas and join the pod.

Warmly,

Brien
 
In our experience, the only water the CD22 doesn't handle well is a short chop (say 2 feet). If you try to stay at normal planing speeds she'll rattle your teeth, because the bow is rounded rather than having a fine entry. OTOH, if you slow to maybe 14 knots (pick the speed that works given the seas) she'll push through the chop more comfortably. In bigger seas she's excellent - to a great extent because of that rounded bow - you just have to pick the right speed.

In addition to the huge waves we wrote about in the link mentioned earlier, that same year we had another wild Alaska experience that the CD handled really well. One afternoon we turned into Clarence Strait, heading south into a 15-knot wind, but with an ebb current behind us at 1.5 or 2 knots. Doesn't sound like much, but with many miles of straight fetch in those conditions, the wind vs current had created 6-8 foot "square" waves, ultra steep and vertical, and very close together.

It was quite a few miles back the way we had come to a safe anchorage, so we decided to push on through to Meyers Chuck, not realizing at first how steep the waves would get. It took us upwards of an hour to make the 2 miles south and turn in to safety.

The whole time we kept the boat moving up the steep face of the waves, slowing just enough to push through the crest and keep her straight down into the next trough, and then doing it again. It took a lot of throttle work, and very close attention to steering, but she never lost her way. In fact, the coffee carafe was still sitting upright in place on the non-slip material next to the stove when we tied up.

In those waves a small boat could easily have turned sideways a bit on the way down into a trough, and then broached (stuck the nose into the trough at an angle and then rolled). But she never felt like that was going to happen. We were exhausted, but the boat didn't seem to mind at all.

It was probably good we pushed on into Meyers Chuck, where we could walk around and share coffee with the salmon trollers who were also stuck there. Clarence Strait was nasty for three days, then finally laid down enough for us to move on south some 30 miles to Ketchikan.
 
On the topic of foam-

Boats above 21 feet aren't required by the Coast Guard to maintain positive flotation if swamped. Part of the reason for this may be that the amount of foam required to keep the heavier boat afloat would eat into the amount of room in the boat.

Also, the hull and deck are fiberglased together instead of being assembled with fasteners and sealant. This makes the hull and deck one structural element, whcih is part of what makes the boat so strong and sea worthy.

Products that compete with the C-Dory will sell you on their sea worthiness. What they are really talking about is the ability to travel at speeds over 20 knots in a chop. But that's because they have to go 20 knots. At slower speeds a deep V hull can't stay on plane.

Look at deep v hulled boats of 22 feet. You'll find a lot of 200+ horsepower engines. It takes lots of power to keep that deep v on plane.

The C-Dory 22 with 90 horses runs much more efficiently, and can plane at speeds as low as 11-12 knots.

So while the sharp entry of the deep v will cut through water, it takes a lot more power to do so. The dory hull shape has been around for a hundred years or more, and has proven itself to be very sea worthy. It just does it in a different way than the deep v go fasts.

As in all things boating, there are trade offs. The upside of the C-Dory is outstanding fuel economy, and hardtop for comfort.
 
Brien,

Richard's (NewMoon) description of how these boats handle, and what they can handle, is exactly right. I previously had a C-Dory 16 footer, and currently own a Venture 23. For what I want and expect out of a boat, I wouldn't own a deep V.

NewMoon":slmfqf9f said:
. . .

It was quite a few miles back the way we had come to a safe anchorage, so we decided to push on through to Meyers Chuck, not realizing at first how steep the waves would get. It took us upwards of an hour to make the 2 miles south and turn in to safety.

The whole time we kept the boat moving up the steep face of the waves, slowing just enough to push through the crest and keep her straight down into the next trough, and then doing it again. It took a lot of throttle work, and very close attention to steering, but she never lost her way. . .
Click to expand...

We had exactly the same experience as Rchard coming south down Clarence Straight. We also bucked the waves for a couple of hours and then surfed into Meyers Chuck where we were about half the size of the other boats hiding out from the weather. (There are pictures of Meyers Chuck, including NORO LIM next to a very nice Krogen, in my Photo Album.) We were tired, but never afraid. I was most concerned about making the turn necessary to get into Meyer's. We had to come around nearly 180 degrees, all the way from plowing directly into those very steep waves, to riding with them through the narrow entrance into Meyers. It went very smoothly, and I never felt close to being out of control. These boats are very efficient and yet still responsive with about half the horsepower you would need on a deep V hull. Just don't get impatient when you're heading into weather. Slow down.

Get one. You'll love it.
 
NORO LIM":2jsyqr2o said:
Brien,

Richard's (NewMoon) description of how these boats handle, and what they can handle, is exactly right. I previously had a C-Dory 16 footer, and currently own a Venture 23. For what I want and expect out of a boat, I wouldn't own a deep V.

NewMoon":2jsyqr2o said:
. . .

It was quite a few miles back the way we had come to a safe anchorage, so we decided to push on through to Meyers Chuck, not realizing at first how steep the waves would get. It took us upwards of an hour to make the 2 miles south and turn in to safety.

The whole time we kept the boat moving up the steep face of the waves, slowing just enough to push through the crest and keep her straight down into the next trough, and then doing it again. It took a lot of throttle work, and very close attention to steering, but she never lost her way. . .
Click to expand...

We had exactly the same experience as Rchard coming south down Clarence Straight. We also bucked the waves for a couple of hours and then surfed into Meyers Chuck where we were about half the size of the other boats hiding out from the weather. (There are pictures of Meyers Chuck, including NORO LIM next to a very nice Krogen, in my Photo Album.) We were tired, but never afraid. I was most concerned about making the turn necessary to get into Meyer's. We had to come around nearly 180 degrees, all the way from plowing directly into those very steep waves, to riding with them through the narrow entrance into Meyers. It went very smoothly, and I never felt close to being out of control. These boats are very efficient and yet still responsive with about half the horsepower you would need on a deep V hull. Just don't get impatient when you're heading into weather. Slow down.

Get one. You'll love it.
Click to expand...

What you posted is good advice for any boat owner. Speed is a very dangerous thing when conditions deteriorate.
 
Had same similar conditions as Bill on NORO LIM and Richard-New Moon, but with us it was trying to go down Lynn Canal from Haines, Alaska in 2007. Boat very heavily loaded with over 90 gallons gas and all the extras to start a wilderness cruise plus we were towing our Mokai Kayak. I'm not very good at judging wave highth but the winds were over 30 mph on a notorious stretch of water for high short spaced steep waves like decribed by Bill and Richard. We did have to do the 180 thing due to knowing the conditions were deteriating to much to make our planned anchorage at Boat Harbor. Main concern while turning back along with not getting rolled was getting the rope to Mokai in props. Might even have just let the Mokai go, but with Jo-Lee's bad shoulder didn't want her in the back in those conditions. Anyway it worked out and that was the end of worries concerning how the Mokai would handle the rough stuff while being towed. Even after making the turn with all that weight and towing even going with the flow was disconcerting at times. Those waves coming up on the stern can look kinda scarey as your trying to maneuver out of there reach and not stick the bow in the process. From Jo-Lee's decription I was to busy to look the Mokai would either be out of sight behind a wave or literally airborne. After dealing with an experiece like that it does give much additional confidence to the boats and your own ability to handle future situations.

For those who haven't read about this cruise, here's the link.

http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=6392&start=0

Jay
 
Wow, great video. Jay (Hunkydory) and Bill on NORO LIM and Richard-New Moon, You guys are all big water experienced, more than I am. Brien, the one thing you asked in your original question was about:
"I am wondering what your experience has been in chop and rougher seas? Can these boats handle bigger water? If they can, do you have to slow down to not get beat up?"
Click to expand...

Should be coming pretty evident that the C-Dory is a capable vessel. Common sense, good seamanship, and regard for safety should be at the top of the priority list.

The one thing I would change from our experience, if I were able to, would be to add some power. We are running twin 40's, and yes it handled it, but there was one situation where we were running on the back of a wave when I saw a log in the trough ahead, 30 feet long and maybe 24 inch diameter. Immediately turned to seaward, and gunned the 40's, to move diagonally across the back of that wave. When I first saw it it was about 4 boat lengths from us. I have to tell you I had time to say a pretty long prayer for our safety before I felt any acceleration, and felt the tiller response. The end of that log passed, as it came up over the top of that wave, close enough I could have reached out the window and poked it with the unextended boat hook.

I know there are 22 cruisers running with 75 singles, and there are 40 twins and 50 twins, 80's and 90's. And I do not want this to go to the twins vs singles thing here. (there is plenty of that elsewhere on the site.)

If I was setting a boat up for off shore, or heavy water I would look at a minimum of twin 50's or up. 90 maybe if you run light. That is still small compared to the power you would need on a deep V.

Enjoy your search and seizure. We are looking forward to seeing you on the water.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Yes, I think many of us can share similar experiences and can vouch for the seaworthiness of these little boats. Our worst experience to date was two years ago at the inaugural Anacortes Salmon Derby. I recounted our experience here: 2007 Anacortes Derby

The boat handled like a champ and I must say that I was very impressed by the the power and responsiveness of the Suzuki 90. This engine has been described as a "brute" by a dealer and I agree. It is very strong but responds instantly to the throttle so in this sense, I would say our experience is different than Harvey's. Of course, this engine is the same block at the 115hp, just the detuned version so it may be a little more beefy than other 90hp's out there.

In any case, I'm sure you get the picture. These boats are very seaworthy and can handle some bad stuff in big waters. I often use the analogy that these boats are like a little cork, bobbing up and over the waves. No they don't cut through like deep V's but they handle waves and chop just fine and are economical to boot. No one wants to get caught out there in bad conditions but it happens and it's nice to know that you have the boat (and engine) that can handle it.
 
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