Seasport Sportsman or CD 22/25?

C

Captain Starbucks

Member
Hello Brats,

First post here. I was hoping you could all help me with a future boat choice. I currently have an aluminum 20' sled and am getting tired of being pounded in the Sound. Not only is the fun gone, but its' actually painful.

Here's my dilemma. Like everyone, we all want a boat that does everything we want and and is relatively economical to own and operate. I'm looking for a boaterhome that can sleep 4 on occasion but will primarily be used as a fishing tool for me and one, maybe two buddies. Wife wants to be comfortable when she goes but in reality probably will only go about 10-20% of the time but we do have plans to do Puget Sound overnighters camping and port-hopping.

I like the Seasport 22 because it will cut through the chop and ride nice but the con's are the dinette sleeper is too short for 2 adults to sleep, inboard/outboard (higher maintenance, less safe, poor fuel economy) and it has the engine hump in the fishing area.

The CD 22 will most likely pound me just about as hard as my sled at the same speed but is affordably priced and is very economical to operate which will entice me to explore more since it's cheaper to operate, but then only on nice days since it rides rough (from what I've read, never ridden in a Dory of any sort).

Ultimately, my question is this: will the extra length on a CD25 balance out the flatness (two different V options on the 25' right?) and help it's ride through the chop to be compared in ride to the Seasport 22?

Thank you in advance.

Rob
 
YOu could look at a cape cruiser or a venture 23 they are about 3000lb vs 2000 for a cd22 they ride considerably better then the cd-22 more like a cd 25 offcourse thy are without the marine head and a lot less storage then a cd 25 .

The cd-22 should ride nice in pug et sound with it's bigger swells and some chop I guess I would go out in a cd 22 and try the ride before you buy .From what I remember 20yrs back the sound was fun to go out in .

The biggest problem with a any dory hull is you must slow down and then the ride is very nice The seasport 22 will ride a lot better in chop but like you said more fuel and maintenance good luck in your quest
 
Welcome aboard, CS. How a boat rides is a pretty subjective thing; some boat drivers seem willing to put up with the pounding rather than slowing down. At some point, even the deeper V bottom boats have to slow down, and then those boats tend to wallow. The C-Dory hull does give a decent ride in most conditions - you just have to manage speed to get the best ride.

Of course, the best way to determine if the ride is what you want would be to try both (or all three, if you put the CD-25 in the mix), one after another in similar conditions... not easy to make that scenario happen.

That said, narrowing down the choices for the best boat for the way you will use it is something only you can decide. Seems that most people buy a boat for the way they'd "like to" use it. If you are one of the fortunate ones, that is how it will work out. There are a lot of "two cabin" boats that are out there cruising with only one couple onboard. A good solution would be for you to get the good "cruising boat" for travels with your wife, and let one of those buddies that you fish with get the good "fishing boat" for those excursions. :wink:

There are a LOT of people who are doing both with their C-Dorys. By virtue of weight and more waterline, the CD-25 will often give a better ride than the 22... at a cost: more fuel, higher towing weight, higher initial cost. Besides a better ride, you get more room in the cabin, a bigger cockpit, and more amenities (including an enclosed head with a shower)... that may make your wife want to go out more. (There's that "like to" use again - you may find that your percentages change, depending on the boat.)

Sounds like the next step in your search is to get a ride on a couple C-Dorys to see if they would fit the bill for your use. Hang out here, ask more questions, look through the archives to see LOTS of discussion on the choice between a 22 and a 25. See how folks are fishing and cruising with both models.

Good luck with the search,
Jim B.
 
There's another con to a SeaSport (or any deep V-hull for that matter). Good ride = deep V = poorer fuel economy.
It's all about where you want to put your money. If you want a smoother ride in big waves at high speed, you put your money into deep V and fuel. If you're willing to go more slowly, you put your money into a C-Dory and have some $'s left over for fishing gear.
 
Rob,

If it were my choice, I would probably end up with the CD 22, just like I did 7 years ago. Easy to handle, economical to run, well made and safe. I often think about a CD 25, but keep coming back to liking my 22.

Another couple of boats that you might also look at are the Arima 21 and 22 foot hardtops. I've been 63 miles offshore chasing Tuna in a friend's Arima 21, and felt secure. Not quite the camping accommodations of a CD, but it could be done. I moved up from an Arima 17 Ranger.

Steve
 
Hi, I spend a fair amount of time in open sleds and i will tell you that a cd22 or 25 is not going to pound as bad as a sled, but it is not as fast as a sled. See if you can get a ride in one.

The sea sport is a great fishing boat and depending on motors, gas or diesel, is going to burn more fuel. well more with either engine and a lot more with a gas motor.

You mentioned 22 sea sport or the 22 cdory for four people. neither boat is going to sleep four people. a 25 or either boat might sleep four if two are kids but not 4 adults. You would be better off in the salt with a bayliner 2525 classic. Thats right folks a told him to get a bay liner. because of its layout it will sleep four. Hard to find with a diesel and your looking at 10 to 16 gallons a hour with a gas motor. Good news is you can find them cheap.

The 22 c dory is a great fishing cruising boat that gets good fuel economy and can handle all most any weather but its not going to sleep four adults.
 
Rob-

I can't answer the question myself, but you did say you wanted to be able to sleep four adults comfortably.

Maybe some CD-25 owner could address this.

"I'm looking for a boaterhome that can sleep 4 on occasion"

Have any LARGE family members or friends?

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Rob, welcome to the site. I am sure that there are used Sea Sports out there for purchase, however if you are considering purchasing new you should be aware (if you don't already know) that Sea Sports are no longer being built. However, the good news is that the former owner/builders of Sea Sport are now the owner/builders of C-Dory.
 
The V-berth in a 25 can sleep two adults and one squirmy kid with no problem (try that on a Tomcat queen mattress) and one adult or two small kids at each end of on the converted table. Any more than that will require isleway sleeping or cockpit use which is not too unusual on C-dorys. I know families of 4 who sleep in a 22 but that is with two kids.
 
If considering Sea Sport, also consider Skagit Orca and Osprey.

And the Bayliner I think is a 2452, which is not a bad boat, although you are much higher off the water, or the 2359 Trophy, which is quite roomy and a decent value as well as a good riding hull. It will sleep 4.
 
Four adults on a 25...nope, unless as mentioned you sleep in the aisle or in the cockpit w/ the camperback up. Three can easily sleep inside.

As far as the ride, Roger hit is spot on; if you want speed/comfort at speed=deep V, but you'll sacrifice fuel economy. My only two complaints about our 25 are the pounding in anything more than a 2' waves/chop and the close quarters handling (or lack thereof), both due to the flat bottom design. But we've learned to just slow down in chop & keep the prop turning if you want any control in harbor.
 
Cost is certainly a factor, too. A Sea Sport is almost twice the cost of the same size C-Dory, at least they used to be back when we were looking. Also, you don't have to have the I/O in a Sea Sport, you can get them with outboards on a transom bracket.

Can't beat the economy of operation of the CD, one of the big reasons folks around here actually still USE their boats...we don't use as much gas as the deep V crowd.

Rick
 
To sleep 4 on occasion and fish, I would look at either a CD 25 or a SS 24 xlc, (if you can afford it the ultimate is the Skagit Orca 27 long cabin with twins). SS I think will use 10 gph and a CD 25 somewhat less. SS 24XLC are plentiful and very good value for the money. The 2nd steering station is great for fishing and common on the used Seasport. You can take the Seasport almost anywhere almost anytime.

Seasport = Macho Man

Oh sorry, the question was what will ride better a 25 CD or a 22 SS. I would say a 25 CD in a wider variety of conditions because you CAN slow down to a semi plane in the slop. But you can't in a SS.
Again if you want to just plow through it (macho) SS24

Stefan

The 2359 was $45,000 new at the boat show 2 years ago with trailer and 5.0 I/O. Not very good quality hardware though. Base on that, the used prices of the 2359 seem high. Mercruiser, I don't know why the used ones always say "new engine"
 
All good advice. I'd add the TomCat 255 to this list for consideration. Lot of pros/cons, but an excellent boat for SE Alaska waters.
 
After reading everyones posts I too would add the Tom Cat 255.
One it has two fish lockers. Both the 22&25 do not. You can also have four people fish on the back deck.
The ride on the TC can handle the chop without the pounding.
You could sleep 4 adults. Two in the v-berth, one on the table, and one on the back deck.
 
We went through a similar set of choices, looking at both the CD25, and the SS Explorer 2400. I don't think either would sleep 4 adults, unless one wanted to sleep on the floor, or in the cockpit. The fold down dinettes are just to narrow for two. The SS 22 has even less room. We settled on a 2003 SS Explorer that had most all the extras we wanted (including a full cockpit camper enclosure). Radar is the only option we'll need to add when the time comes.

Having had a 30' Rawson Pilothouse sailboat that we had moored a Friday Harbor for a couple of years, we were comfortable, but had to manage the space wisely, as not to create undue stress. And that was just for two of us. We'll even have to be more effecient with a 24 footer. The trade off for having an easily trailerable boat.

BTW, We're also new to this community, and although we didn't end up with a C-Dory, I feel that our interests and values are common with those of this site. Thanks!

Russ
 
welcome and greetings!

My honest thoughts are that your parameters are too broad and at odds with each other. In the size range you mention, fishing suitability is antagonistic to sleeping suitability, and fuel economy/engine simplicity is antagonistic to smooth ride at speed in chop. You will need to decide which are your greater priorities and, ultimately, make a fairly major compromise. If you do find a boat that does everything you mention it would be news to me for sure. I agree with the earlier suggestion of an Arima 21 to balance the ride/economy aspect, but I really don't think of the Arima 21 as a great boat to sleep 4 in. The Marinaut might be worth looking into but you won't find one used any time soon. As for me, I always fall towards economy and day use/fishing. The C-Dory is an easy choice for me. Good news for you is there's almost nothing as fun as searching for a new boat! Regards, Mike.
 
westward":5i65jyrp said:
welcome and greetings!

My honest thoughts are that your parameters are too broad and at odds with each other. In the size range you mention, fishing suitability is antagonistic to sleeping suitability, and fuel economy/engine simplicity is antagonistic to smooth ride at speed in chop. You will need to decide which are your greater priorities and, ultimately, make a fairly major compromise. If you do find a boat that does everything you mention it would be news to me for sure. I agree with the earlier suggestion of an Arima 21 to balance the ride/economy aspect, but I really don't think of the Arima 21 as a great boat to sleep 4 in. The Marinaut might be worth looking into but you won't find one used any time soon. As for me, I always fall towards economy and day use/fishing. The C-Dory is an easy choice for me. Good news for you is there's almost nothing as fun as searching for a new boat! Regards, Mike.
Click to expand...

Ditto with Mike :)
 
the downeast hull of the Seaway 25 does well, We had three adults and and a grandchild on it for three weeks this summer went from Seattle to Quadra Island, Desolation Sound Toba inlet. It carries 37 gallon fresh water 45 gallon waste tank. did really well crossing the Strait of Georgia in rough water ran steady 16 knots. four people is tight but you can do it. two is perfect. and it did well on fuel with 150 Suzuki.
 
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