Pre purchase questions

H

Hewbs

New member
Found a 25’ C-Dory here is Alaska and wanted to get some feedback on things to look for while also trying not to waste the current owners time (they have been great and I am sure completely honest)

It’s a 2005 25’ cruiser and when the current owner bought it had a rotted out cockpit Marine plywood deck that was professionally replaced with a composite deck. Everything I have seen looks A+ but is there any area I should pay special attention to when inspecting this type of repair?

I have noticed a lot of rub rail rivets posts in the past, it looks like the rail might have impacted a dock or something similar in the past (picture below) anything special I need to look out for here or a simple fix?

My previous C-Dory had glass cabinets/benches on the interior, this C-Dory is a couple years older. It looks like the hardware holding the wooden cabinets/seats into the Hull is rusted, anything to worry about or just a part of being in salt water air?

Any other common problems I should look out for on the 2005 25 cruiser? My biggest concern was the cockpit floor so I am somewhat relieved that it’s already been taken care of.

I have a marine surveyor coming out on Monday to take a look at anything I missed but it looks like a pretty clean/well taken care of boat to me. Here are some pictures below, please provide any feedback that you can. PM is preferred
 
I could not figure out how to get the images to the bottom of my original post so I added them to my album under the name 25 purchase. Thank you for any help you can provide
 
The photos are in your album, so easily accessible.

There is some minor gel coat chipping at the winch stand post--that is easily fixed and not a problem

The rub rail does have a rivet loose--it should be repaired. The ease depends on where it is. Some areas are pretty accessible, others are not (for example in the head behind the liner is not accessible--you would have to cut an access hole, or go back with blind rivets. I would prefer thru bolting and sealing better. Not structural, but could leak.

The floors were not ply, they were balsa. Find out what composite was used. Nida Core, or similar is fine, foams are OK.. Coosa is pretty heavy, but OK. Were the areas around the hatches undercut and filled with thickened epoxy? Even with composites this should be done. From the photo it looks fine.

Fasteners of the wooden interior were just zinc plated "L" brackets. They rust--and can have water intrusion into the core, if water stood in the boat. See if the owner will allow the surveyor to unscrew one near the inner part of galley, and see if moisture in the screw hole. Have the surveyor do a moisture reading on the floor around these attachments. With freeze thaw cycles in AK, it might be more of a problem than in warmer climates. Most likely will require only minor repair.

In my 2003 25, we removed all of these, and put in pieces of fiberglass 1708 with epoxy covering the areas where the "L" brackerts were, after drilling out the screw holes in the hull, removing any wet core (small amount--the boat was left out in the weather in New Jersy, so it had freeze thaw cycles.). The other option is to drill out holes, put in thickened epoxy and then use SS brackets and screws. The fiberglass and epoxy is a permanent and better solution--not hard to do.

What head is in the boat? Where is the water tank. Some earlier boats had the holding tank aft and the macerator pump under one of the deck hatches, with the Y valve there. More recently they went to a 9 gallon holding tank under the commode in the head. Water tank went aft.

Have the surveyor sound out and do moisture readings on the transom. On our 2003 boat the transom was OK, even though there were a few cosmetic cracks on the top which we repaired with solid glass, replacing filler. The 25's were going evolutions during the model year--and some were more like the 2006 model and earlier boats were like the 2004 model.

The two Suzuki 90's would be a great power option!

I don't see any deal killers in the photos in your album. Try and be there during the survey--ask lots of questions if you see something you are suspicious of. Have the surveyor on sea trial with you.

Enjoy your "new" 25!.
 
Ok....I'm mostly with Bob. But, I don't like C-Dory boats that are stored outside up here much at all - especially ones without cover. I also tend to steer clear of boats with bottom paint. I usually turn the other way on those, but sometimes you just don't have much choice in this remote market.

Anyway, I saw that boat on CL Alaska too and it looks decent to me. 25s are hard to find up here, and the price is very low leaving you some room to do some work on it. Getting a survey is smart on that boat and will hopefully give you some peace of mind. Who's doing the survey?
 
I notice the boat has twin Suzuki 90hp motors. We had that same motor on our 2005 CD-22 of the same vintage. I loved that motor until... the infamous dissimilar metal corrosion problem surfaced at exactly 1000 hours, the engine was 10 years old. The engine was flushed meticulously after each trip.
I thought I took care of the problem by changing out the offending plug to aluminum a few years before but no dice. The corrosion ate out a big hole in the oil pan. We ending up buying a new Suzuki motor ($$$$).

I'm sure there were hundreds of motors of that vintage that did not have that issue but just something to be aware of. I would suggest looking for any corrosion in the oil pan and the "engine holder", which is the part directly above the oil pan and the part most frequently affected by this issue. Also making sure the internal anodes have been changed regularly.

Good luck in your purchase.

Peter
 
If I look at your pictures correctly, that's a 2004 with the solid cockpit floor. The 2005, such as Journey On has a removable floor. The gas tank is under there in both models. If it's been repaired,it's hopefully a moot point.

For the gel coat repair above the bow u-bolt, I'd suggest a bow shield. It's gonna wear there because the winch roller rubs there. Journey On has the same problem there and I put one on to solve the problem. Note the cutout for the u-bolt. I had to make my own.

To fix the cabinet tie down problem, I used 3M 5200 to seal the screw holes and made new brackets from SS strap. Worked well.

When I fixed the rub rail, I used 1/4" machine screws and nuts where I could reach them and 1/4" sheet metal screws where I couldn't, with 5200 as a sealant. Also, worked well. Any fastener I ignored has failed, so I've had to do that fix several times. The motto is get them all the first time. It's hard to get the iron core out of the aluminum rivet. Just drilled them out. I believe its TACO strip and filler.

Boris
 
I got a call from the seller this morning and unfortunately they are no longer looking to sell. They went and looked at a Nordic tug that had a lot of issues that were not initially disclosed so they have decided to keep their C-Dory until something else comes up. Pretty big bummer, have only seen 3 25 cruisers posted in Alaska in the past 2 years and this one seemed like a perfect fit. If anyone else is interested in selling we are looking to buy a 25’ or Tomcat
 
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