Offer on a C-25

G

Gregarious

New member
I have an accepted offer on a 2006 C-25 which is near me. Survey is next Friday and sea trial before or after. Two general questions. Is the bottom cored? Surveyor will want to know that I suspect. Two. The bottom has like a small keel or channel really. About 1.5 inches wide and 3/4 deep. I was under the impression the bottom was flat at the aft end. It stops about 6 " from the stern. Newer 200 Yamaha with 170 hours so should be good motor wise. Any other suggestions to look for in survey would be appreciated. Thanks. We will use it for cruising only as pretty well equipped for that and not fished, I think. Oh signature line should read years, not year.
 
Yes. Most of the hull is balsa cored. Look for any areas where the core would be penetrated. Same with the roof, bow and some of the gunwales. The factory, dependent on year, was less than thorough regarding sealing the penetrations. Ours is a 2007 and I’ve had to seal all those areas where holes existed, screws went into the wood etc.

That outboard is awesome. I’d love 200 ponies out back. Everyone who has put a modern 200 on a 25 LOVES IT.
 
The bottom of a boat has what is called "Deadrise". This means the angle of a line drawn across the bottom of the boat and the horizontal. The C Dory 25 has about 2 to 3* of deadriise. Some "deep V" boats have up to 26* angle with the horizontal. Flat would have 0 degrees. This angle changes as you move forward with the boat. The boats before 1987 were flat, and there was no variable dead rise--the bottom was plywood, not the balsa core which has been there since the 1987 models . A few of the newer boats have a foam core, but that is not immure to potential problems either.

Yes, there is a very shallow keel it helps tracking to some degree. The 200 hp is an excellent choice.

The surveyor needs to "sound" the bottom of the boat. He also needs to look inside of all inspection hatches in the cockpit floor. Check the fuel tanks for corrosion or leakage. He probably should use a bore scope for that. You can stick a camera down there. There will be some core damage around all of the deck hatches and inspection ports, unless these have been repaired. Same for the steps which are on each side of the cockpit forward. They cover and allow access to the fuel fill hoses. It is not a big job to take these off and re do them. Expect some core damage in the cockpit. If there isn't any, he is probably not doing the job. It does involve moving a few screws. Where they go into the core should be "potted " with thickened epoxy.

Sounds exciting.
 
Thank you for the speedy replies. Yes I think 200 hp is optimum based on power/weight ratio and the fact we will be carrying a full cruising load Without casting aspersions at anyone, I was under the impression C-dorys were bullet proof-ish. Sounds like maybe not the case.
 
Every boat made has at least a few things that could end up becoming future problems. The C-brats are upfront about any factory shortcomings and there are very few. A surveyer can do a better job if they know what needs to be looked at in any particular design. C-brats tend to be DIY people and keep track of any possible problems. The C-dorys are basically bulletproof and the very long production run bares that out. There are hundreds of carefree owners out on the water in their C-dorys.
We have a 200 Suzuki on our heavy cruising CD 25 and it seems perfect.
Good luck!
 
Gregarious":2e7sfgxd said:
Thank you for the speedy replies. Yes I think 200 hp is optimum based on power/weight ratio and the fact we will be carrying a full cruising load Without casting aspersions at anyone, I was under the impression C-dorys were bullet proof-ish. Sounds like maybe not the case.
Click to expand...

Very few boats are free of core issues if they are cored. (There are significant advantages of having a cored hull.). But the great news is that 99.9% of C Dory's built are still out in the water being actively used. That beats almost any small boat maker. We are all realistic about any issues. We know what they are, and know what to do to prevent them. During the production runs, there have been a very few faulty boats. I am aware of several of these--they were taken back by the company, and the owners got new boats. There are many things which can happen in the lamination and construction process.

As for Marine Surveyors. Some are excellent, and very skilled at their craft. The number of these is few. There are a lot who are OK, and there are some who should not be in the business. There is no real regulation of surveyors, such as licensing, bonding or even insurance on the quality of their work. I look for one who has at least ABYC technical certifications, and is a member of NAMS-CMS (National Association of Marine Surveyors-Certified Marine Surveyor.).

Also as far has how the boats run or handle. There are boats which are faster, which handle chop better, etc. But the C Dory, is a very efficient, low speed planing boat, which is extremely sea worthy. The boat will take care of you, if you respect it and the seas. There have been very few days we didn't run our C dory because of weather. Those days, were ones where 80 footers were also not running (specifically talking about storm conditions in AK). These days were about the same type we didn't run in the Cal 46 we cruised AK in for 4 seasons.
 
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