Taking note of the C-Dory already named Meander, I changed the name of my 16 Cruiser to Rover, which a search showed is not taken. We are at last powered, afloat, and pretty well sorted. This note touches on topics from many forums. I gave up rewriting it to not sound negative, but the positives so outweigh the negatives that I may as well let it be.
First, I'm delighted with the boat. It's a great concept, cool look, ingenious layout, solid design, highly specified, and well-carried out. If anything happened to this one I'd get another without hesitation. Man, it even looks sharp. Neighbors pull in the driveway just to look it over and say how much they like it and what sense it makes in the Florida sun and rain. One remarked how big it is to be so small.
Alas, the dealer and I got off to a bad start. As we were about to close the sale, he said the boat was already started and would come by the 18th. It came the 31st --of the next month-- and with gear I had asked not be on it. He blamed both matters on the factory. Maybe, but I passed up buying anything else there besides the trailer, so he's unhappy with me, too. After paying him $100 to do the paperwork and waiting 37 days (Florida allows 30), I went to the tag office myself. Ever since closing the deal in March, I had looked forward to floating out in the lake to watch the July Fourth fireworks. Alas, try July 17, a day shy of three months.
The trailer is an aluminum Magic-Tilt (how come Magic-Tilts, don't?) where I wanted galvanized. It was also not the one on the bill of sale nor right one for the boat. It's two feet too long, too wide, and 2600# capacity --for 1300# of boat, motor, and gear? I moved the boat forward, pulled a leaf out of each spring, and let the tires down 10#, and now it doen't have the infernal perpetual jiggle I mentioned earlier. Also, my vehicle brakes seem OK after all. You do have to give them a definite poke and hold it for half a second, as with everything else the computer runs.
The quality control on my C-D was excellent. The only place of any concern was a 3 1/2" diameter, 1/16" deep weird place in the gel coat low on the bow centerline, including what looked like a crack. The dealer ignored my question about it and by then I just wanted to get away. The factory ignored my emails and I had it repaired at my expense. It was not serious after all and merely sanded and buffed out.
The local marina that installed the motor took a test run and pronounced the prop to be correct. (So much for the specified break-in period before wot.) It's a 10.4x13 where the C-D web site shows an 11.75x13, and the workmanship was... passable. They furnished only a tach, at my expense. I went with a Mercury 50 and it looks enormous, mounted 3" above the transom. It is exceptionally quiet, especially at low speed, but at full throttle is clearly screwed solidly to the hull, not in rubber motor mounts like in a car.
Oh, this table does have the cut corners, a blessing for a big guy tinkering inside a small boat. After hitting my head the first few hundred times, I noticed what may be part of the phenomenon of loud cabins and/or motors. The natural resonance of the cabin is about 55 cycles. (Say the word bunk). It's damped considerably by being in the water, so no, the resonance was not my head, well, not entirely.
My second-only surprise with the boat itself was that it is so tippy, but then it is just 6 1/2 feet wide, though flat-bottomed. My neighbor, another 230-pounder, went out to sit on the cockpit gunnel and I thought we were going over. Later he had to move back to the cabin before we could get on plane without the bow blocking my view forward, this with the motor trimmed all the way in. Othrwise, it held plane very nicely going a good bit slower, cornered without drama, and stayed admirably dry. It porpoised some at full speed, but I'll not run it that hard anyway. If I do a cabin battery, it may go way up in the bow.
Many, many thanks to those on this site who share their technical expertise and their enjoyment of the C-Dory. I've already used some of your hints, tossed in a couple myself, and expcet to read more and add more over time. Hooray for C-Dory and C-Brats.
First, I'm delighted with the boat. It's a great concept, cool look, ingenious layout, solid design, highly specified, and well-carried out. If anything happened to this one I'd get another without hesitation. Man, it even looks sharp. Neighbors pull in the driveway just to look it over and say how much they like it and what sense it makes in the Florida sun and rain. One remarked how big it is to be so small.
Alas, the dealer and I got off to a bad start. As we were about to close the sale, he said the boat was already started and would come by the 18th. It came the 31st --of the next month-- and with gear I had asked not be on it. He blamed both matters on the factory. Maybe, but I passed up buying anything else there besides the trailer, so he's unhappy with me, too. After paying him $100 to do the paperwork and waiting 37 days (Florida allows 30), I went to the tag office myself. Ever since closing the deal in March, I had looked forward to floating out in the lake to watch the July Fourth fireworks. Alas, try July 17, a day shy of three months.
The trailer is an aluminum Magic-Tilt (how come Magic-Tilts, don't?) where I wanted galvanized. It was also not the one on the bill of sale nor right one for the boat. It's two feet too long, too wide, and 2600# capacity --for 1300# of boat, motor, and gear? I moved the boat forward, pulled a leaf out of each spring, and let the tires down 10#, and now it doen't have the infernal perpetual jiggle I mentioned earlier. Also, my vehicle brakes seem OK after all. You do have to give them a definite poke and hold it for half a second, as with everything else the computer runs.
The quality control on my C-D was excellent. The only place of any concern was a 3 1/2" diameter, 1/16" deep weird place in the gel coat low on the bow centerline, including what looked like a crack. The dealer ignored my question about it and by then I just wanted to get away. The factory ignored my emails and I had it repaired at my expense. It was not serious after all and merely sanded and buffed out.
The local marina that installed the motor took a test run and pronounced the prop to be correct. (So much for the specified break-in period before wot.) It's a 10.4x13 where the C-D web site shows an 11.75x13, and the workmanship was... passable. They furnished only a tach, at my expense. I went with a Mercury 50 and it looks enormous, mounted 3" above the transom. It is exceptionally quiet, especially at low speed, but at full throttle is clearly screwed solidly to the hull, not in rubber motor mounts like in a car.
Oh, this table does have the cut corners, a blessing for a big guy tinkering inside a small boat. After hitting my head the first few hundred times, I noticed what may be part of the phenomenon of loud cabins and/or motors. The natural resonance of the cabin is about 55 cycles. (Say the word bunk). It's damped considerably by being in the water, so no, the resonance was not my head, well, not entirely.
My second-only surprise with the boat itself was that it is so tippy, but then it is just 6 1/2 feet wide, though flat-bottomed. My neighbor, another 230-pounder, went out to sit on the cockpit gunnel and I thought we were going over. Later he had to move back to the cabin before we could get on plane without the bow blocking my view forward, this with the motor trimmed all the way in. Othrwise, it held plane very nicely going a good bit slower, cornered without drama, and stayed admirably dry. It porpoised some at full speed, but I'll not run it that hard anyway. If I do a cabin battery, it may go way up in the bow.
Many, many thanks to those on this site who share their technical expertise and their enjoyment of the C-Dory. I've already used some of your hints, tossed in a couple myself, and expcet to read more and add more over time. Hooray for C-Dory and C-Brats.
) I had no trouble planing with up to four people aboard so maybe you will want to try a different prop.
, and often over the edge and in the water too.