SO WHAT DID YOU DO WITH OR ON YOUR C-DORY TODAY??

I'm heading out to Neah Bay tomorrow AM. I'll be on the 5:45 ferry out of Edmonds. The last couple of days have been spent getting a variety of things fixed on the boat.
1) I fixed the anchor light - it wasn't working and I traced it to a bad ground.
2) Bought a spare, clamp on, battery powered anchor light. I'm not going to let an anchor light issue prevent me from getting out before sun up for the morning bite.
3) I replaced a panel of switches I installed under the starboard side gunnel. The switches I put there weren't really designed for a moist environment but they lasted a good 4 years.
4) I replaced one of my two bilge pumps. This one failed in an interesting way. The pump itself still worked but the magnetically coupled switch inside the sealed unit failed (I could manually force it on with the float switch override).
5) I cleaned out an re-organized the inside of the boat. I've reduced the amount of fishing tackle I'm carrying by about 50%. That was accomplished by getting rid of the things that have accumulated over the years that I never use.

Now all that's left to do is to load the boat back up with all the gear, fuel it up this evening and I'm ready to go.
 
:lol: My wife Brenda and I and Maddie took the boat to Cowichan Lake near Duncan BC yesterday and launched at the marina there, nice facilities. We toodled on down the lake watching the shore line as we've never been by boat before, only driven the lake. We came to what looked like a creek about 50 feet wide and I wanted to explore. Brenda said it looks tight let's go in just a little ways. I said, this is what C-dory's are made for. We worked our way in past the rushes and lily pads watching for bottom and we kept going. This opened up in a half mile or so to a delightful little bay that doesn't show on the map book. It says "abandoned" nearby on the map. We edged into the beach and drifted slowly offshore and then dropped the hook to look at the peaceful surroundings. There are some vacation homes on the beach and other boats came in so it must be well known to locals. I even went swimming! Swimming around the boat was super refreshing as it was a hot day. After a few hours we mosied on out again into 25 knots of breeze right on the nose and a 2 foot chop. Maddie went sweetly along at 3900 rpm and 14-15 knots with no fuss or commotion. The deep vees around us were throwing tons of water and getting beat. What a fantastic day. Brenda told me "thanks for selling her" on the boat. We bought the boat last year as I felt the c-dory would be perfect for us due to the comments on this site. We love this little boat. Thanks to the C-Brats for the info it is really adding to our lifestyle. maddie had a great time too, snoozing in the sun. George
 
While up in the san juans I noticed that the infamous rubrail had started pulling loose in a new spot. Port side bow end. So this weekend I peeled back the black insert and sure enough, the heads of the rivets had come off and were laying in there in the insert, just waiting to be freed. There were the first two rivets that were broken. I was starting to drill the first one out, the one that holds the end cap, when I found you can just push them out, into the interior of the boat. Those little mounds of "stuff" over the rivets on the inside are just 3M 4200 or something similar. They just push through. Then I got 10/24 flat head bolts 1 1/4" long with nyloc nuts and put them in properly. So now I have another foot of rubrail fixed that will never require repair again.
 
How did I spend my 4th of July? I caught a big fish!!! :D

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It sure was fun catching this 18 lber. By the looks of it, I thought it was at least 20#. She was a fatty. The San Juans have been red hot since the July 1st opening, kicking fish my size and much bigger. Great fun!
 
Made our first 7 locks coming down the Champlain Canal. SHE was a little concerned but we have a friend from Saratoga Springs (ex- Lock Keeper on the Champlain) who took her down to lock 5 and walked her thru the process - now we kinda look like we know what we're doing !

Bye the bye, the other thread on handling the flat bottom - if it's a learning process, I'm going back to Kindergarten !
 
today we completly changed out the batteries and cables and put everything new into Serenity. we started with a new battery switch and then installed a automatic charging relay (acr) so that I dont have to remember to switch from 1 to 2 to make sure that they both get charged....lol.... every thing was under the floor back under the motor well so we were standing on our heads most of the day.the new batteries weighed in at 66 lbs each and we had to push them in sideways to go through the small doors in the aft bulkhead under the motor well.
 
C-squirt took us out to watch the Rufus, OR fireworks on the 4th of July on the Columbia River and again today on the John Day River to catch blue gills. Not quite as big as Jassmatic's catch, but we had fun. Funny, it took forever to put the recomended 20 hrs on the motor to break it in and now the hours just fly bye!
 
Sun was out, sky was clear and both of us were off...so down to Everett Marina we went yesterday. After getting the boat in the water, which was a little more challenging due to my foot/crutches, we cruised up past Langley, anchored and had a leisurely lunch. Meredith handled all the lines, fenders etc so it was good experience for her. She's getting much more comfortable handling all the little things on board and is confident she could get the boat back to Everett if need be, without my assistance.

The one bit of bad news; the fresh water pump DOES NOT WORK now. :roll: It appears to have power, and the motor got "warm" to the touch, but no flow/pressure. :x
 
localboy":3moadwny said:
...
The one bit of bad news; the fresh water pump DOES NOT WORK now. :roll: It appears to have power, and the motor got "warm" to the touch, but no flow/pressure. :x
Click to expand...

Hi Mark,

The pump is located back in the bilge, where it is subjected to saltwater. For some reason, C-Dory did not use a marinized version... our first pump died after a year or so. The replacement they sent didn't make it 6 months. I ordered the marinized replacement from our local supply place, and it seems to be doing fine now, about a year later. Replacing the pump is no big deal. Both of the C-Dory supplied pumps exhibited the symptoms you describe. When I replaced the pump first time around, I did raise it up OUT of the bilge water.

I'm sure you'll hear something about "keeping it simple" with a foot-pump, since that electric pump is the only way to get water to your sink, shower, and toilet. We did have a freshwater washdown installed at the factory when we ordered the boat - a second pump, so another way to get water in a pinch.

Take care, and a tip of the hat to your first mate - it's important that she can get you back, if necessary. Same reason I had Joan take the CPR class. :wink:

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
On my 06 the potable and raw wather pumps are located under the aft dinette seat, whth the water heater and battery charger.

One point that I believe Jim made, tighten ALL the clamps ! I've had 3 hoses on the pot. water come totally loose since we started this cruise 2-3 weeks ago - and after the first I thought I had them all tight, but they used some teflon slickum to help them install the hose and it works both ways. "Made in America" seems to mean that you'd better be ready to make it corectly yourself !
 
JamesTXSD":33pd06zs said:
The replacement they sent didn't make it 6 months. I ordered the marinized replacement from our local supply place, and it seems to be doing fine now, about a year later. Replacing the pump is no big deal. Both of the C-Dory supplied pumps exhibited the symptoms you describe. When I replaced the pump first time around, I did raise it up OUT of the bilge water.
Click to expand...

My plan was to contact Matt Gurnsey first and see if he'd be willing to do "something" for me (Fluid "non-warranty" warranty). I'd even take a replacement pump that I could install. I think I will take your advice and raise it up out of the standing bilge water.

I forgot to tell everyone, we got down to the marina and I'm showing Meredith how/where the fenders tie up etc. She's up on the boat and I'm "supervising" from the ground. :wink: All of a sudden she asks "Where are th lines?" :? "In the ususal spot..." (starboard battery hatch). Nope...GONE. We look all over the boat. GONE. I can't believe someone would steal dock lines, but it appears they did. I suspect when it was at the marina getting serviced. :evil: Now I'm glad I took the fenders, electronics etc OFF. :amgry
 
Equipment on the boat (pumps, etc) are covered by the OEM warranties, usually a year except for engines which can be as long as 6 years, and of course, the infamous "hull warranty".

IMHO, it's not reasonable to ask Matt to cover something that would not have been covered even if Fluid had not gone "south". It's just a part of the expenses of boating.

Charlie
 
today was the 13th day out of the last 21 that i have had the boat on the water, ive been having a ton of fun using the boat, rather than working on it, yesterday was the highlight, catching a 15 pound king out of elliot bay, first salmon on the "new" boat, pics to come....
 
Just another faboulous weekend in the San Juans - hooked up with Anna Leigh and Halcyon in Eagle Harbor, Cypress Island - Joe and Ruth were supposed to come out on R-Matey but no parking at Squalicum due to the salmon derby. Thought maybe Barry and Patti would be there on C-Cakes too but Patti had to work. GREAT weekend, despite the rain Sunday morning! Bill taught us a card game called Eucre today, totally bizarre, but we had a lot of fun in the toasty cabin with the Wallas going - in the middle of July, temps down in the 50s I think...and yesterday it was in the 80s. Too strange! Here is a shot of the other boats against the fog bank early Sunday morning...
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Cleaned the stains from the Cumberland River off of Thelma Lou, swapped props for new ones, removed fishing line from the starboard prop shaft, then went to work on the other boat project....
I'm building a 3rd (center) pontoon for our 24' pontoon boat. We rebuilt her from the ground up 2 years ago, and left a mostly bare forward deck (she's set up for fishing...with plenty of open room forward...enough to set up an 8x8 cabin tent if need be). She has since been stern heavy, sitting 3/4 deep on the toons at the rear. So the added (16') center toon should raise the stern a bit. Laying out the nose cone challenged my sleeping sheet metal triangulation layout skills, but a half hour of head scratching warmed my memory.
 
OK, morning coffee break! Time for a quick post!

Out of Hilton Harbor Friday afternoon at about 5:00 p.m., into Shallow Bay on Sucia in time for sundowners on the cockpit. B&E showed up a few minutes later, we had horse's ovaries (hors d'oeuvres) and drinks for dinner because nobody felt like cooking or eating much more!

Peaceful night on the hook, up early for Baxter duty and ham net. Morning coffee on the cockpit is the best! Nice breakfast, then departed for Tombolo Cove at Decatur because we wanted to get the crab pots down at Center Island, where the crabbing is good.

CG came on the radio with a gale warning in Juan de Fuca for all day Saturday until 1:00 a.m. - winds to 45 knots. Sure enough, it turned snotty inside too. Lots of pitching and bucking, so we just went slow. Off Orcas we heard a crash, and on checking, we discovered one of our nice expensive stainless crab pots had fallen off the cabin roof into about 150' of water. Thought it was well secured but evidently not. In the process, the little Sevylor dingy got loose as well as a tarp. For the next few minutes, we must have looked like one of those old slapstick cartoons trying to retrieve everything (except the crab pot, which was gone, gone, gone).

Then the old fuel-water separator alarm went off again. Fortunately, I watched Mike Gilmore clean it a few weeks earlier and knew the drill. Unfortunately, we were still getting our fillings knocked loose, and no way was I going to pull the cowling and start fooling around with little screws, hoses and clamps over water. So we went the few additional miles to Center Island with the alarm driving us nuts.

Finally got to Center Island, and dropped the one remaining crab pot. It was nice and calm inside, so with great care we dealt with the fuel-water separator, got the sucker out, cleaned, reassembled and back in, not without some anxious moments but we got 'er done. Pulled the pot and had one nice dungie.

Over to Tombolo Cove and anchored up. Rafted a while with Halcyon, we all relaxed and read, watching the whitecaps out in the channel between Decatur and Center - it was pretty ferocious, but our cove was very protected and calm.

We had to get the crab pot out of the water before sundown, so Patty and I reluctantly cast off and headed out into the slop. Five more nice dungies and one big red rock, so we had crab anyway!

Next moring the tide just kept going out and out and out...low tide was at 9:00 a.m. B&E moved out but we thought we were OK - wrong! Pretty soon by about 8:00 a.m. we were sitting on the bottom. I am not going to detail my misadventure thinking I could get out and walk on the bottom. We used the time we were stuck to do a lot of cleaning - pulled the cushions, hit the vee-berth fiberglass with dilute bleach water, reorganized the food bins, and so forth. By 9:00 a.m., the tide had actually turned, and pretty soon we were floating again.

Then off to James Island for a picnic table and a crab feast! Patty cracks the crabs and tosses them with oil, garlic and lemon juice, and we just devour them! Another hour or so of Eucre at the James Island picnic table in the sun, and before we knew it, it was time to head back for Hilton Harbor.

But we weren't quite done yet! B&E decided to go into Squalicum, so we had sundowners at P Dock on the cockpit of Halcyon, then called Ruth and Joe and finished up with dinner at the Colophone Cafe in Fairhaven. Needless to say, we were pretty tuckered as we finally headed out about 8:00 p.m. back to Fall City.

Like I say, just another fabulous weekend in the San Juans! And this week is a four day work week, starting a week's vacation Thursday evening, with the Bellingham and Nanaimo CBGTs as bookends! It doesn't get much better!
 
Bummer about the lost pot, Pat.

It was pretty "messy" out in Saratoga Passage on Saturday as we came back from Coupeville. Even "messier" as we entered the channel outside the Everett Naval Base; the swells were bouncing off the dock and made the channel a washing machine.

Here's our weekend story:

Had a beautiful time at Coupeville overnight. A nice dinner with a few adult beverages. Lunch on the way back and three dungeness as a bonus.

Got to the Everett ramps at about 1530 hours and man were they BUSY and the wind was blowing hard on-shore. So we pull in behind an aluminum fishing boat. I get out and hobble off, with my "orthopedic scooter", to get the truck and I leave Meredith at the dock.

Bless her heart, she tried to move the boat up the dock by herself, so others could come in behind us. This is where is gets "interesting". I pull up to the ramps in the truck. I look and yep, we're the next boat in line to come out. BUT a guy in a red Dodge with a trailer backs down the ramp, blocking my ingress. WTH? :? He doesn't dunk his trailer but stops. WTH? again.... :? He then gets OUT of the truck and starts walking away, across the ramp towards the north.

By now I'm at WTF status! :evil: I open my door, whistle and get his attention. He looks and I ask "WTH are you doing?" He says something about "his boat" and points out to the sound and I sarcastically ask "Where the F*#K is it?" (sometimes I forget I'm not @ work). He yells something about "What...I have to wait my turn?..."or something to that effect. I then point to my boat and explain "Um...that's my boat, and I'd like to load it you [insert descriptive term for male genetalia here]......" :evil:
By now Meredith is also telling @ him to move his truck and she's struggling with the boat in the wind. :amgry He stomps back to his truck and says something sarcastic to Meredith about "...have a f*#*%ng nice day....". I tell him "We will...as soon as you move your [insert adjective here] truck..." :evil: :evil: :evil:

He steems off the ramp, spinning his back tires in the process. :roll: The guy in the truck waiting next to me looks as bewildered as I was. I back down only to realize that in all the commotion, poor Meredith had allowed the boat to move too far forward at the dock, and I can't back the trailer down enough to get under the boat. :oops: She realizes it, but is struggling to pull the boat back in the wind and realizes she doesn't have any clear room behind her; two other boats had come in and were now blocking her from pulling the boat back. :x They didn't observe that she was too far forward or maybe they just didn't care or realize it...I don't know.

I get out and wave for them to move back PLEASE. They comply...sorta. One guy tells Meredith something about "How long is this gonna take?" Now I still can't back down so I get out AGAIN. Mind you I'm still on crutches with a protective boot over my left foot/ankle and I CAN'T walk in it or put any weight on it. So I'm hopping on my right leg at the ramp, yelling for the two boats to move back PLEASE; now I'M HOLDING UP THE RAMP. :oops: :oops: A nice older gentleman finally comes to Meredith's (and my) rescue and helps her pull the boat back enough for me to get the trailer under it. I thank him VERY MUCH as I crank the boat on and he says he "knows what it's like to have a hard time getting around".

We never did see red Dodge truck guy or his invisible "boat" again. I got home and needed a beer....
 
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