My survey has been done and except for small issues the 25 seems to be in reasonable good shape. A couple of questions were bought up by the surveyor 1) Boat is rated for 180 HP but has a Suzuki 140 HP motor on it; not much gear on board, very little water on board and only about 1/2 tank of fuel--the surveyor felt that the boat was slightly underpowered-at 5000 RPM ran about 20mph and @6600 RPM ran out about 30 MPH--will this boat be underpowered if it has a full compliment of fuel/water/gear? 2) In sounding the hull the surveyor detcted a change in sound on the front quarter of the hull but this sound was the same on both sides and the surveyor determined that since the change was at the same point on either side of the bottom, this was the location where foam injected for flotation ended and the core portion started--need a confirmation/comment on this as I was not aware that C-Dorys were equipped with supplimental foam flotation. The boat has not been used very much--can a boat be underused and if so, will it be detrimental to heavier use by subsiquent owner?
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Questions about survey on the 25' Cruiser
- Thread starter mrsnow
- Start date
The Suzuki is a good motor. We run with a Honda 135 and find it a good match for the way we cruise. Most of the time, we cruise at about 6 knots, when we want to run faster, we cruise between 16 and 18 knots. Frankly, things feel kinda "busy" to me above 20 knots. With more horsepower, you can certainly run at a higher top speed... if you feel the need.
Our 25 has sprayed in foam under the v-berth area - that would account for a different hull sounding in that area. Some people have removed the foam to allow for more storage. Some boats never had the foam.
While just sitting isn't great for mechanical things, a lot depends on how it was put away and stored. If the boat looks clean, I would consider a lightly used boat a good find. By the same token, I wouldn't shy away from a well-used boat that was also properly cared for.
Assuming you did a compression/run check on the motor? Sea trialing the boat would answer any questions about it being underpowered. Lightly equipped is not a problem - you can set it up the way you like. You don't mention the year of the boat, but older electronics aren't worth much anyway, considering the comparison with current generation gear.
If the boat is running around 20 mph at 5,000 rpm, I would say it is running in line for that amount of power; that is pretty close to our numbers with the 135 Honda. If you are going to be running at high elevations frequently, more horsepower would be beneficial. At sea level, it doesn't matter as much... unless you feel the need to be running at 25+ knots all the time. We find our boat is definitely aware of more weight and higher elevation. You can re-prop, if necessary, to allow the boat to reach max rpm.
These are stout boats. Less use by the previous owner is no detriment. Give it a good home and use it a bunch. Without seeing the boat, this is just another unqualified opinion... but nothing you have written here sounds like a reason to keep looking.
Good luck with your decisions.
Best wishes,
Jim B.
Our 25 has sprayed in foam under the v-berth area - that would account for a different hull sounding in that area. Some people have removed the foam to allow for more storage. Some boats never had the foam.
While just sitting isn't great for mechanical things, a lot depends on how it was put away and stored. If the boat looks clean, I would consider a lightly used boat a good find. By the same token, I wouldn't shy away from a well-used boat that was also properly cared for.
Assuming you did a compression/run check on the motor? Sea trialing the boat would answer any questions about it being underpowered. Lightly equipped is not a problem - you can set it up the way you like. You don't mention the year of the boat, but older electronics aren't worth much anyway, considering the comparison with current generation gear.
If the boat is running around 20 mph at 5,000 rpm, I would say it is running in line for that amount of power; that is pretty close to our numbers with the 135 Honda. If you are going to be running at high elevations frequently, more horsepower would be beneficial. At sea level, it doesn't matter as much... unless you feel the need to be running at 25+ knots all the time. We find our boat is definitely aware of more weight and higher elevation. You can re-prop, if necessary, to allow the boat to reach max rpm.
These are stout boats. Less use by the previous owner is no detriment. Give it a good home and use it a bunch. Without seeing the boat, this is just another unqualified opinion... but nothing you have written here sounds like a reason to keep looking.
Good luck with your decisions.
Best wishes,
Jim B.
I think you'll find very few c-dorys maxed out with HP. They are not go fast boats. My 22 is rated for 100HP and I have 80, 2 Honda 40HP. That cofiguration or a single 90 is the most common for a 22. Most 25's are powered with a single 135, some have 2 90's. Our boat is very heavily loaded and we normally cruise at 15-18mph. I suppose we could reach 30mph at WOT but have never tried.
I think the main concern with the Suzuki 140, is that it it basically the 115 on steroids. If you look at the Honda website the 115/135/150 all have the same displacement about 144 ci. The Suzuki 115 has 118 and the 140 has 124. The Suzuki 150 has 174 ci. The difference between the Suzuki 140 and 150 is alot more than 10 hp. As far as reliability they are all great. Not sure, but the prop size for the 140 might be smaller also. There has been discussion about this by the Tomcat owners, the whole 140/150 engine choice.
Finally looking for my C-dory or Marinaut just sold my Deep-V.
Hope this helps
Michael
Finally looking for my C-dory or Marinaut just sold my Deep-V.
Hope this helps
Michael
I have owned a C Dory 22 with the 130 Honda --a weaker engine than the Honda 135- 150 series. I have also owned two Suzkui 150's and currently own a Suzuki 140 on the Caracal. My feeling is that the 140 Suzuki is probably about the same as the Honda 130--both are a little under powered. However, you can make up for this by going down in prop pitch.
Michael is right on with his analysis.
We cruised AK and could go about 17 knots, max with full load on the 25. You are not going to see 30 if you have the boat loaded. But if you like the boat other wise, buy it, and buy a couple of extra props--probably best in SS. Use lower pitch as you go up in altitude or have to load up the boat more.
The balsa core stops about where the forward bulkhead is. From there forward is solid--that is the difference in the sounding and is not significant.
Enjoy the new boat!
Michael is right on with his analysis.
We cruised AK and could go about 17 knots, max with full load on the 25. You are not going to see 30 if you have the boat loaded. But if you like the boat other wise, buy it, and buy a couple of extra props--probably best in SS. Use lower pitch as you go up in altitude or have to load up the boat more.
The balsa core stops about where the forward bulkhead is. From there forward is solid--that is the difference in the sounding and is not significant.
Enjoy the new boat!