Sailor to C-Dory in the South East

S

Snider

New member
HI,
I grew up on inland rivers and lakes in an old small aluminum river boat. When I moved to Charleston SC 10 years ago I bought a sailboat and have owned one since, until recently. I've always loved the C-Dory 22ft cruiser, more importantly my wife loves them!! Our favorite thing about the sailboats were anchoring out for a night or two. Along comes two little ones and we traded the sailboat for a pop up tent camper. It's been great but we're ready to get back on the water.

My question is how would the C-Dory do in the hot summers of SC? From what I gather they are more used in the cool climate of the NW. Are they ventilated well? I use to fish a little as a kid but haven't done much in a decade. I could see a little fishing but mainly we'll be cruising and sleeping aboard with the kids, who are now 5 months and 2 two years old.

I'm also curious to the pro's and cons of a single engine vrs duel outboards? I see single engines with a small kicker, is this used for back up, or fishing?

Thanks
 
Hi Snider,

My wife and I made a similar change. Due to our move to the Las Vegas area we changed from a 34' sailboat on San Francisco Bay to a trailerable Cape Cruiser (C-Dory) 23' Venture that we often use on Lake Mead. As you probably know, the Venture 23 is very similar to the 22 Cruiser. We love the boat and find it quite comfortable in the desert heat. The cabin is very well ventilated and when underway the wind blows through from all the windows we can open. At anchor we still get a flow of air in the cabin even when the air is still - it never feels stifling. Most important for us is all of the shade the boat provides. We have a bimini that covers the entire cockpit and keeps us well shaded, and of course the large cabin top keeps the interior comfortable. When we're at the ramp or on the water we often get looks since there is no other boat on the lake that is remotely similar to a C-Dory. Most of the lake boats are for skiing or going fast, while we just comfortably putter. While those other folks are baking in the sun because they have no meaningful shade, we are quite comfortable and protected. We do have 2 electric fans inside the cabin if we want additional air circulation, but we rarely use them. We have found this to be a great boat for a warm weather location.

Rob
 
Many--but not all--CD22s have a center windshield that opens. You should look for this feature. You can also, for a modest price, get a canvas shop to make screens for forward hatch, opening windshield, and cabin door. (Opening side windows have factory screens.) Anchored out, with just a bit of breeze, this is a lot of ventilation--and no bugs. And of course the bimini makes the cockpit a wondrous place to sit even in blazing sunshine.

My CD came with a Honda 90. The first thing I added was a Yamaha 8. It is manual start by choice, and has a separate fuel tank, again by choice. I am a long-time (and continuing) cruising sailor, used to an auxiliary engine to complement my main and genoa, so I really like having a "Plan B" with an independent starting system (my right arm) and independent fuel system. I don't fish, but the Yamaha would be a fine trolling motor too.
 
There is a lot of difference between the SW desert and the SE humidity! (we boat in both in a C Dory 22 and a C Dory 25). To be comfortable an air conditioning unit is best. This can be done one of two ways: an RV air conditioner on the cabin top (9200 Polar Cub runs off a Honda EU 2000 and will cool the boat well)--or a cheap Wal Mart Arctic King 5,000 BTU ($100) in the opening front window works well.

We have sailed in the tropics with hot weather, and boats without AC are find--but once the wind dies, it is not comfortable. There are several solutions for the C Dory. One is the "Endless Breeze fan" by Vantastic--same 3 speed fan that is in RV's. Great company and about $60. You use two 5/8" dowels over the foreward hatch, and put the fan outside of it, blowing air in. We use this at Powell all of the time. Wal Mart also has the O2 fan (now $15), which is smaller--I prefer the Vantastic better. We also have a couple of small fans in the corners of the v berth for air circulation. We bought a tent sized piece of "no see em net" from Army surpluss for $10,and made door, window and hatch screens with it. Velcro holds it in place--no need for a canvas maker unless you want it to look fancy....Hot glue holds the velcro in place to both the boat and netting.

Old sailors never die, they just buy C Dorys! The kids will be fine for a while, but the table bunk will be limited in size after they get to be teens--still can sleep in the cockpit or on the floor...Some other options--such as upper and lower bunks!
 
Thanks for the replies. Sounds like it should be about the same experience as sleeping on a small sailboat in the harbor, with the size of the hatches it should even have a little better ventilation.

Do most of you launch from your trailer? We had to pay for a slip for the sailboat, which gets expensive. So I've been reading a lot about fuel consumption. That's been one reason we've held off a little, I figure we'll save a few hundred a month on dockage though if it's easy enough to launch from the trailer. Maybe get a slip for a month or two in the spring or fall. I've had trailerable sailboats and they can be a pain to launch and retrieve. Anyway, this conversation is much appreciated.

Thanks,Brandon
 
trailering and launching the 22 is pretty easy, even by yourself with just a little practice.

Like Dr Bob says, AC is a must sleeping overnight in the southern humidity.


When overnighting on humid nights, i place a small window ac in the center window and get a good nights sleep. simple and easy to pull it out in the morning. Run it on shore power if at a dock, or a portable Honda 2000 if not.

During the day, the open windows are enough ventilation, small dc fans like the Caframo 757 help.

Regards,
 
Thanks for pointing out the humidity difference Bob - you are so right! My comments are based solely on the dry desert climate, even when temps above 100. Recalling my visits to Georgia and Mississippi during the summer, even with temps only in the mid-90s it was much more uncomfortable than we have here (although it sounds like we have some hot temps coming next week that will be in the range of 118 out at the lake. We will defer to inside activities on those days....)

We do have a small air conditioning unit for the boat that we can run off a Honda 2000 generator. The AC unit fits nicely using the center window, but we've not yet had the actual need to use it. No doubt if it was humid we would.

Rob
 
The 5000 BTU AC units will run fine off the Honda Eu 1000 i. This was important for us because of the weight (26# vs 46# for the 2000).
The first trip last summer we didn't take an AC unit, and had 105 at 10 PM in Las Cruces NM (the C Dory is a great on the road camper!)--the second part of the trip we took the 5000 BTU window AC unit, and never used it, (Sept on Powell).

As far as gas consumption for the C Dory, it is not a huge factor. If you want to go sailboat speeds, then you will get 5 or so miles a gallon. At most economical with a 4 stroke you probably will get about 4 miles a gallon--maybe a little less/more. Our over all gas costs are less than many other expenses with the 22.

Easy to trailer launch even for old folks with bad backs! I have solo launched the 25 when towing with a 30 foot RV, so a 22 with a SUV or light PU is easy. There are social and convience issues for the docks.
 
I like the idea of being able to stop and camp in the boat while on long trips to cruising grounds. This is a great forum. Hopefully by next spring we'll be back on the water. In the meantime I'll be keeping my eyes open and cruising around the forum.
 
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