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

Well this is what I have done to our C-Dory 22 cruiser, not today but since the shut down. I had lots of time to work on things.

Disassembled inspected and greased trailer bearings.

Replaced water pump, thermostat, spark plugs and changed oil in engine and lower unit of Honda BF 90

Did all the same on Honda 8hp

Installed an all new Baystar steering system

Installed a new Lewmar windlass and a mantus anchor swivel

Buffed and waxed the entire boat and it is pretty

Traded in Honda BF90 for brand new Yamaha F90

Just installed a brand new Permatrim on the new Yamaha yesterday

Now I'm tired of working on this thing. It is time to go out and enjoy it carefully.
 
Had a wonderful birthday on Monday. Arrived on Clark Island mid-morning and enjoyed the large sandy beach all to ourselves and let our little dogs Woobie & Fiona roam free to enjoy the shoreline. They loved it! Relaxed on the beach in our shade chairs with cooler of drinks. Later that evening we headed over to Shallow Bay on Sucia Island to make dinner on our new Cobb Grill. Made an excellent meal of grilled chicken, zucchini & yellow, and baked potatoes. Even had homemade birthday cake for dessert. A very good day!

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I forgot that I did one other project during the shut down. I installed a freshwater wash down on the boat. This should be really nice while out fishing. Will be able to do a nice job filleting fish right on the boat with this. also will be nice for washing down that new motor. This was a pretty simple project.
 
Loading Cape Cruiser on Trailer before the inbound Storm.
I have not provided feedback to the Brats after I got rid of carpet on the bunks and went to 1/2" King Starboard...
Today Joan piloted Ospray to the local boat ramp and I hauled the trailer to the ramp. The ramp was busy, so no time to mess around. I backed down the ramp, with about 60% of the bunk skids submerged. Joan motored Ospray at a slow bell onto the trailer. About 8' from the winch mount, I clipped the winch strap to the bow eye. That last 10 feet of the winch after that was like butter.
The best part was that the boat self aligned between the fender wells without any intervention.
The boat was out of the water, up the ramp and home in short order. This is one of the best upgrades that I have done to a trailer. I did learn a few lessons along the way. First, I purchased light gray Starboard and should have gone for white. Though the light gray is very light, the little bit of color allows heat absorption and causes expansion. I ended up cutting 1/2" spacing on the Starboard bunks about every 2.5' to allow for the expansion.
The concern about the boat moving around on the trailer is absolutely unfounded The boat has enough weight that with the bow and stern tie downs, the boat does not move on the trailer.
 
Loading Cape Cruiser on Trailer before the inbound Storm.
I have not provided feedback to the Brats after I got rid of carpet on the bunks and went to 1/2" King Starboard...
Today Joan piloted Ospray to the local boat ramp and I hauled the trailer to the ramp. The ramp was busy, so no time to mess around. I backed down the ramp, with about 60% of the bunk skids submerged. Joan motored Ospray at a slow bell onto the trailer. About 8' from the winch mount, I clipped the winch strap to the bow eye. That last 10 feet of the winch after that was like butter.
The best part was that the boat self aligned between the fender wells without any intervention.
The boat was out of the water, up the ramp and home in short order. This is one of the best upgrades that I have done to a trailer. I did learn a few lessons along the way. First, I purchased light gray Starboard and should have gone for white. Though the light gray is very light, the little bit of color allows heat absorption and causes expansion. I ended up cutting 1/2" spacing on the Starboard bunks about every 2.5' to allow for the expansion.
The concern about the boat moving around on the trailer is absolutely unfounded The boat has enough weight that with the bow and stern tie downs, the boat does not move on the trailer.
 
We are new to C-Dory, enjoying a new-to-us very well cared for Cruiser 22. My my 1st two boat projects are guided by a "do no harm" principle -- adding a kayak roof rack and rod holders -- without drilling any holes.

For the roof rack, I used Thule load bars that I had sitting in my garage, attached with Scotty rod holder rail mounts. Pictures in our album here:

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_ ... _album.php

The C-Dory is perfect for getting around our local Apostle Islands, and then launching kayaks for exploring around the sea caves, beaches, lighthouses, trails, sandspits and lagoons/bogs.

Second project was adding rod holders for trolling Lake Superior (fishing the top 60 ft for now). Pictures in our album here:

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_ ... _album.php

Best things for us are we can quickly install/remove the rod holders/downriggers when not in use.
 
I built a level platform to allow me to stand on the rear spillway over the engine glob of wires. So cool, I can now with ease pull up a kayak or sup to the deck with my PVC rollor bar and then on up to the roof to their permanent placement on my yakimabrscks, I can do this with almost no effort and I am not sliding around dangerously back there. See picture on my page.[/img]
 
I jury-rigged No Pressure so we could get back to diving. Somehow one of the overheating sensors snapped off at the threads. The thread section is chrome plated brass and it's stuck. I tried tapping it loose and using extractors but the brass is too soft. Rather than damaging the threads I unplugged the broken sensor and plugged in a new one, resting it on the block.

I cleared the fault codes and motored the past two days without an alarm going off.
 
We had a fellow boater hit the prop while we were docked and he bent the tip of one blade about 40 degrees. He owned up to it and left a msg at the marina.

We pulled the boat out and I changed out both props to a 19 pitch with our spares in 110 degree sunshine heat. Pretty miserable conditions.

John
 
Motor tilted up sticks the prop way out the back. Motor left in gear keeps the prop from spinning out of the way when hit.

Just speculating.

But yeah, having a significant bend in the prop without any other damage sounds unusual. I would be checking the motor and engine mount closely.
 
http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?full=1&set_albumName=CAT-O-MINE&id=DSC04038&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php[img]

There was a lurking submerged submarine marauding around the marina, which Colby SHOULD have been able to figure out on his own.
Nah. Sobelle is closer, although the engines were in neutral and the prop was free to spin, it had no reason to with a direct hit to the blade tip.

I still favor cheap aluminum props for us. We beach anchor in 2 feet of water and grind around in the sand a good bit. A huge hunk of SS prop hanging off an aluminum outdrive is a galvanic corrosion accident waiting to happen. When I hit something, I tear up a cheap prop, not the propshaft or worse. I may lose 3-4 MPH at 6K RPM WOT, but that’s burning 31GPH (at $3.20/gal) vs 13 GPH at 3,000-4,000 cruise so we very rarely do it. It’s dirt cheap to repair or replace when I tear through something substantial, like, say, an extra large submerged Styrofoam cup, or a really big twig, or someone’s abandoned pool noodle.

The Prop Shop guy says to repair this will be $60. I asked him how much to bend the other 3 blades to match the 4th, and he said (no surprise) $180. The gouge in Chris’s boat (above the waterline) will no doubt cost more to fix. A brand new prop with free shipping is $110 or less.

Yesterday we puttered over to the Ft McCree cove with no vibration or surprises, but I didn’t get up to cruise because I’m confident this encounter would not damage the engine. We’ll find out for sure tomorrow when we start a Gulf Islands adventure cruise to Biloxi and Gulfport.

Get on the boat!
John
 
A huge hunk of SS prop hanging off an aluminum outdrive is a galvanic corrosion accident waiting to happen. When I hit something, I tear up a cheap prop, not the propshaft or worse. I may lose 3-4 MPH at 6K RPM WOT, but that’s burning 31GPH (at $3.20/gal) vs 13 GPH at 3,000-4,000 cruise so we very
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Better get rid of that SS prop shaft and the bronze castle nut and various washers and thrust bearings etc.

I suppose on the other hand if the lower units were in the water, they would not have been struck--might have been a $2000 cowling, or the props would have fallen off because of the corrosion..... :D

There are arguments for aluminum props, but I would not put galvanic corrosion high on that list.
 
Other reasons for aluminum props. Cheap so you can have a spare in the correct pitch for your usual use, for elevations 3500 feet (Lake Powell) and 7000 feet Yellowstone). You can have a "power prop" when the boat is over loaded.

Probably most important, is that you can use a ball peen hammer and a block of 2x4, and hammer out dings enough to get. you home... if a strike in a remote area. I believe already mentioned is a file to clean up nicks and dings in the edge. Also the aluminum prop will fail after a direct strike, and may save the gear box in the lower unit...a SS might not and more chance of gear failure (although the hub shouldabsorb the shock--it often does not...
 
I stick to AL props. They periodically get dressed with a file. About every other year or so (depending on the condition of the prop) I just get a new one and keep the n-1 prop as an onboard spare.
 
I've often wondered whether a SS prop might be desirable at its much higher cost if you boat in an area that has lots of kelp tubular stems floating around. Lord knows I fairly often slice right thru some of those.
 
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