Potential new boat owners

M

mark&diana

New member
We would appreciate everyone's input!

My wife and I are very close to purchasing a new TC 255 (we just completed our 'sea trial' – but on the Willamette – this morning). Based on what I had seen and read on-line (including the helpful email thread on this forum – "Tomcat vs. 25 Cruiser"), I had intended to go with the C-25, but now that we have seen the boats, we were both taken by the extra cabin room on the TC 255 and it just seemed to 'fit' us better.

Now for confessions, although I spent many happy hours on my grandfather's boat in the Puget Sound as a kid growing up – I have never owned a boat so am a complete 'rookie'!!

What would you recommend that we look for/inspect in terms of the boat? If we decide to take the plunge, what types of accessories (electronics, etc) and/or modifications would your recommend we considerer? Among other things, the boat as presently configured comes with two Honda 150's, EZ-loader bunk trailer, anchor windlass, refrigerator, Wallas diesel stove, rear station steering, short radar arch with rocket launchers, three battery system and Honda digital gauge upgrade. We are thinking of also adding a Lowrance "113C" GPS, canvas camper back and, of course, VHF radio and compass. What else should be considering?

Many thanks for you comments.
 
I think your best bet is to hook up with a Brat that lives near you and have a good long chat. There's bound to be a Tomcat owner who would love to help you.

Welcome to the fold!

Rick
 
While I would second the recommendation to talk to another TC owner near you, I would also suggest that if you don't know what you need, that you try not to buy anything until you do know what you need. Many of the things that I chose for my TC were based on experiences with my previous boat, but you don't have that option. Take the camper canvas. There are many different ways to build it, and until you have seen a variety of approaches and experienced using the cockpit of your TC you will not be able to anticipate your needs. For example I learned from boarding a C-25 that I would need a bigger opening, so I will probably go with a camper that is a few inches higher than the cabin top.

My $0.02.
Warren
 
Howdy Mark...welcome and nice to see someone in the neighborhood!

Can't say too much about the TC but did ride on it at Blakely Island in the San Juans with 13 folks aboard. Honda 135s...ran like a champ! Loved the space on it.

There are tons of posts that you can read through to gather knowledge about all the boats.

Wish you luck with your decision and hope to see you around!

John
 
Thanks for the comments.

We realize this is a pretty big potential step without prior experience - but we figured might as well jump in!

Assuming that we go forward with the purchase (which looks pretty likely), linking up with other C-Dory/TC owners in the area and going slow with the accessories until we know the boat better makes a lot of sense. At a minimum, however, I'm pretty sure we are going to want to add a GPS and VHS radio - any thoughts on the Lowrance 113C or 38C?

Again - greatly appreciate the input and encouragement -

Thanks, Mark
 
Hi Mark, As to electronics, determine where you can place them and then get the biggest display(s) that will fit. I'd say Raymarine, Garmin, and Furuno have the most popular lines. The three electronic charting systems are Garmin's Blue-Chart, Navionics' Platinum, Gold, And Silver, and C-Map C-Max. They are all real good. I suggest you go to Rodgers Marine Electronics and "play" with all the contenders. They have knowledgeable folks and a good inventory.
 
Mark and Diana:

Finding a local Tomcat owner is the best advice.

Just a couple of thoughts...

Hold off on the compass until you have all the electronics installed. You will want to place the electronics for best visibility on the dash. Only after you have the electronics in place will you know where to put the compass for minimum magnetic interference (deviation). You can keep a small hand-held compass on board for now.

In addition to your main GPS (which I assume will be a chartplotter), you should consider keeping a small backup GPS unit and paper cahrts for your area. If you do not have prior experience with charts etc., join the local Power Squadron and sign up for their courses.

http://www.usps.org/localusps/beaverton/

For the canvas, look at "Thataway"'s album. There are many good photographs in there that you can use as a base for your design.

As far as the brand of electronics is concerned, you will get many opinions. I know you are considering a Lowrance unit. I have a Raymarine C-80 multifunctional display with 2 KW radar, VHS and depth sounder and have been reasonably happy. I did have a glitch with the radar, but the company has been good about warranty work. If you do go in this direction, make sure that the electronics are installed by a Raymarine certified tech, otherwise the company will not pay for labor on warranty repairs.

Keep an assortment of fuses on the boat- they will blow.

Nothing special that I can think of on inspection. There were many issues in the earlier boats, but I believe that most have been fixed. Finding another Tomcat owner to go over the boat with you would be great.

Are you going to keep your boat on the trailer or in the water?

Good luck on the Tomcat. It is a great boat!
 
Mark & Diana – I can't be much help with your decisions on your electronics package, but want to welcome you aboard. I hope our paths cross someday.
________
Dave dlt.gif
 
Mark & Diana, For some more ideas on equipment and options, check out the extensive photo albums for Thataway, Tomahawk, Lori Ann, Dreamer, Reef Madness and other TC255s.

They are a great boat, you'll love it. Ours is all Raymarine plus Icom radios and Azimuth Fluxgate compass.

Enjoy!
 
If you want to see a TC255 equipped for some serious cruising, check out Discovery. Brent and Dixie have thoughtfully put together a very capable boat, utilizing all the space that the TomCat provides.

Regarding the electronics: we have been very pleased with our Raymarine integrated chartplotter/radar/sounder/VHF/autopilot. You will hear pros and cons for all the different manufacturers (we were also pleased with the Garmin equipment we had on our sailboats), but I feel it comes down to what fits your style. They all do similar stuff, just different button pushes or knob turning to get there.

Good luck with your decisions.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Thanks again for all the advice and welcomes aboard (which I hope is not premature). Assuming that we can reach "agreeable terms" - hope to make the purchase on Tuesday and then the fun begins! We look forward to meeting other C-Dory owners in our greater Portland/PNW backyard.

I have spent some enjoyable time looking at the photo albums of Thataway, Dreamer and others – lots of good ideas!

We'll let you know what happens later this week.

Thanks
 
Mark and Diana,

There are some good comments in the thread. With respect to electronics, I highly agree with the advice to go to Roger's and have a go with each of the various packages. The folks there are great. Diana and I went with Raymarine C80, but that was just personal choice.

The other advice about the camper back is also good. I think you will find that you will find the camper back a necessity. We had Bentley's make ours, and they did a great job, but I have seen others that I think are better. A feature that makes it easy to get on and off the boat at a dock is to have a zipper in the top panel that you can open and then step into the boat rather than crawling in. I let Bentley's talk me out of this, and I regret it. Knotty C is a local boat with an example. I think they had Canvas Riggers on Whidbey Island do their work.

Check out the photo albums for owner improvements for other great ideas. Tim Welborn has done a number of things to his CD22 (True Story) that are worthy of plagiarism.

Kind Regards,

Steve
 
Mark and Diana,

Have fun with the new boat!

As far as the Lowrance is concerned, if you are going to be doing a lot of fishing I don't think it can be beat! It is a great unit. I have used the older model 110, several of the 337's on various boats over the last couple years and I much prefer Lowrance's Analog Sonar over the Raymarine and Garmin Digital. It seems that the engineers who do the digital conversion like to put too much of a filter on them for my fishing needs where as I can pump up the sensitivity on the Lowrance and see a much better picture of what is under the boat. One neat feature of the Lowrance is the ability to record your trip to the memory card and replay it at a later date (even on your computer if you download their similator and have a card reader).

The drawback to the Lowrance is that they don't have all the features for the Radar that say Garmin and Raymarine have. So, if you want Radar it might be that you would want a different unit. The big advantage of digital sonar is the ability to have 2 head units running sonar off the same transducer. So if you need that functionality you will need to go with a digital sonar.
 
gljjr":2vmn47hw said:
I have used the older model 110, several of the 337's on various boats over the last couple years and I much prefer Lowrance's Analog Sonar over the Raymarine and Garmin Digital.
Click to expand...

I was not able to find these on the Lowrance website. What would be the equivalent current model(s)?

Thanks,
Warren
 
Alok - I forgot to reply to your question "Are you going to keep your boat on the trailer or in the water?" [Haven't figured out how to insert excepts from other posts yet].

We will need to keep it in the water for now since I only have a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which is not big enough to pull the 10,000 pounds I understand the TC is when trailered.

Thanks
 
I have the Lowrance 26, which is the 6" and a year earlier version of the 113. I think that the depth sounder would be difficult to beat--great structure and fish ID--wonderful resolution and excellent various night and day screens. The charts on the hard drive are wonderful and really all that you need, but Navionics are also available for this chart plotter.
I have a Standard Horizon as a second chart plotter and they are different, (with the Max charts)--but the Lowrance is very adequate. I happen to use a separate Furuno Radar, because I really like Furuno--and am putting one in the C D 25 also. This is my 3rd 1715 Furuno radar. I personally don't like the overlay--but this is a personal opinion.

We like two VHF radios, perticullarly if you are operating in areas of heavy commercial traffic. Also consider AIS if in heavy commercial traffic areas.

The "standard" refigerators are very small--Both Thataway and Discovery had chest type of freezer/refigerators, which we both think are more functional and much more effecient.

I am not sure that the radar arch and rocket launchers would be my choice. With a camper canvas, how much use will the rocket launchers be?

I had a chance to run my CD 25 and Tom Cat in almost identical conditions in the last two days. Hands down winner is the Tom Cat in the chop--The CD 25 was at displacement speed to be comfortable, we were running at up to 35 knots in the Tom Cat in similar conditions.

I personally like the Suzuki engines--perhaps even emphasized by the amount of corrosion on the Hondas on the 4 year old CD 25--But the Suzuki's swing a slightly bigger prop, have a longer warantee and have a fantastic record of service. But again--personal choice. Suzuki also is NMEA 2000 compatable, which is compatable with the Lowrance units--and the Lowrance fuel management system--I think much more versitile than the Honda.

I would get a custom canvas rather than the "factory" canvas--I used Sunbrella Plus (water proof)--much heavier vinly and better fittings than the factory units.
 
Mark:

If you are going to keep the boat in the water for any length of time, you are going to have to think about a bottom job. Without bottom paint, a boat starts showing significant marine growth on the hull within a week in our part of the country- it may take longer in your colder waters.

A full bottom job includes epoxy coating and bottom paint. Ideally, 4 coats of epoxy are followed by three coats of bottom paint, though many seem to get by with less. This is an important decision, because a bottom job is not cheap (for our Tomcat the cost was $2400). In addition, once a boat has a bottom paint, it is best kept in the water...Talk to your local boatyard and see what they say.
 
I can't believe I omitted Lowrance when I commented earlier. Gettin' forgetful, I guess. I ran Lowrance sonar and gps in Adeline until last year(17 years) and they were great. I was planning on getting a 110 until the Standard Horizon CP1000C happened along at an unbeatable price(refurbished w/full warranty). I REALLY like Lowrance, especially their fishfinders but Im real happy with the S.H.. Like I said, there's lots of great electronics out there. Whatever you do, make sure your new vhf radio is DSC(class D) capable and you can interface with your gps. That way, other dsc transmitters can be seen on your display, along with bearing, range, and other helpful info.
 
To expand on what Pete said about DSC--the Standard Horizon chart plotters easily interface with the DSC radios--to give the actual chart location of a vessel sending a signal.
 
Mark and Diana... Congrats on your choice! I am certain you will not regret picking the TomCat.

Re: Bottom paint... I guess the factory job is best, but I did not get it due to thinking I'd be using a lift at the lake. Problem is that a lift is only at one lake, and I ended up going to several other lakes, incl. the Gulf and Puget Sound! If you don't get the factory bottom paint, the local guys recommend keeping the boat in the water a month or so without bottom paint in order to get the wax off the bottom (from production) and to get a scumline to identify the exact bottom paint coverage area. I am having mine bottom painted about the end of July.

Re: Electonics... I'd recommend one of the well known packages that use the latest communications setup so you can expand to multiple stations, or hook up cameras, auto-pilot, etc., easily. One thing to understand is that, if one part of those systems goes out, the whole thing can go out... maybe the depth finder might work.
Backup is critical! I bought a $269 Lowrance iFinder H2Oc and got the map disc. That unit has saved my bacon a half dozen times since the Raymarine unit kept blowing fuses. Turns out the installer had grounded the Seatalk cables. Seatalk cables are kind of like speaker cables, the latest electronics guy says... One thing I've found out is that the portables and fixed mounts use the same gps chips, if you have the same manufacturer! I have Raymarine fixed electronics and Lowrance portable, so I've had to buy double chips.

VHF radio... get a reasonably good, waterproof portable VHF. We have been in storms when all the installed electronics bit the dust...right in the middle of the greatest need! The portable gps and VHF were worth their weight in gold.

Camper Back - I have found the current factory camper back by King Canvas to be of excellent design. Most of the time, when it's raining, I just leave the top and back sides on, leaving the panels by the cabin and the center aft open.

Towing: Although it, at first glance, appears daunting, the TomCat on a trailer is a dream to drive on the highway with my Ford 250 diesel Super Duty pickup. I got the electric/hydraulic trailer brakes which gives you pin point control on the sensitivity and allows you to feather out sway should the wind or a huge semi get things moving sideways.

I think the Dodge, the Ford, or the Chevy 3/4 ton crew cab diesel pickups would probably work out fine. The extra long wheelbase helps to keep the rig running straight and minimizes "hopping"

More later, got to work... good luck on your dream!

John
 
Back
Top