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

Jeff.... Great looking rack!!! Man... I did not ever think I would say that to you... :embarrased I see the push pole already has new home!! Good idea for the support, cause it does go all the way over to the side walls of the boat instead of just moving the weight support to a differant location on/in the roof area.

WOW Roger..... that service at the "New Sea Ray" shop is way out of line... I would have to take a very close look at what I had been charged for the work you had to re-do.... to include the re-haul back to them... and take a close look at their hourly rate for labor...and a refund. That is way out of line. I can see maybe one thing wrong...but the whole shooting match on the electrical side sounds like a real problem......but, I bet they still looked good in their starched white long sleeve shirts. :mrgreen: Do keep us posted...
 
Roger-

I feel you on Lake Union Sea Ray. I just got my boat back and was a little dissappointed overall with their service. All I needed was 100 hour services on the kicker, and main, and for them to track down a water leak into the cabin. It was suggested I take my boat to fife since they do the warranty work. If not for the warranty work I would have gone to somewhere much closer. Anyway over a month to get my boat back. I dropped it off around the tenth of Feb, caleed after one week to see what was going on, still no quote, they said they could find no water leak at all and had some tech's looking into it. Called the next week still no quote, finally after another call or two got a quote which was $50 more than a guy I used on my old boat. Still couldn't find any signs of a leak. They said my boat would be done early in the next week. Long story short two weeks later boat hadn't even been started,something about having problems with their parts supplier. I was not happy and let them know it. I had missed numerous fishing days, and a derby my club put on. They got the parts they needed supposedly and called to say my boat would be ready to pick up. I told them I would come get it the next day. When I pull up in the morning the tech was just topping the oil off on the main, with my oil :amgry . Thats right he opened up a bottle I keep in the boat for emergencies or when I'm low. Don't they have oil there? To top it off there is a ton of water in the cabin, from the leak they assured me wasn't there. The tech just kinda shook his head and said no one could find any leak. As he was trying to mop it up, I said obviously there is a leak. They tell me if I can track it down,they will do the glass work or whatever is needed. Which I think is kinda BS since they are in charge of warranty stuff not me, plus I don't really enjoy driving all the way to fife. So I go inside, and they tell me what they have done, I asked specifically about the valve's being checked and the tech said yes , but there is no record of it on the work order. They said they changed the plugs in my main but my kicker's plugs looked brand new so they left the same ones in. Well then when I get home I notice they charged me for plugs for the kicker? Only ten bucks but it's the principle. And to top it off They didn't change my water fuel seperator, and I cant tell if the $88 dolllar fuel filter charge is supposed to be for that or for the fuel filter under the cowling on the main. Seemed a little expensive for the one on the motor. Especially since the one on the kicker was only $12 bucks. I will say they gave me a $150 credit on my bill. But I'm not sure that they did much other than change the fluids and plugs on the main. They didn't even know how to reset my oil service light on my dash. Obviously I will take my boat elsewhere for future services on the motors, and am hesitant to let them do warranty work on my boat for fear of the time I will lose for nothing. At first when Cdory chose to go this route for warranty work I was optomistic, now I'm not so sure it was a sound decision.

Sark
 
Hi Joe,
No hot tub on board. I don't know what I'm holding out for :lol:
The AC unit is a Duo-Therm by Dometic, 600 series penguin. It also has a heat strip.
Wefings picked out a smaller unit and after consulting with an RV salesman I told them I wanted the max.
It is a 13,500 BTU/HR
Compressor rated load amps 12.4
Fan motor rated load amps 3.1
The minimum recommended generator size is 3.5 KW
I have 2 Honda 2000's linked together, that provides 13.3A each. I have run the unit on one on the lowest of 3 cool settings.
I have the gens setting in the transom area with exhaust out on a flat surface mount I made from composite board one on each side of the boat motor. They are secured by a vinyl coated cable with combination lock to the cockpit rails. I have not ran them from there underway yet but they appear to be stable and do not interfere with the boat motor. They only weigh 46 pounds each so that is less weight than a kicker back there.
When I first ran the AC was on a 100 degree day in the gulf with lots of Florida sun and 5 people in the cabin. It was plenty hot. We were fishing and just waited too long to escape the heat. At that time I just had the Gens in the cockpit. I started them up, turned the AC on High and we were nice and cool in less than 10 minutes. That was exactly the reason for the bigger unit. When I'm ready for cool I want cool not just cooler. :smiled It really brought the temp down in the boat. We continued to enjoy the afternoon in the cool cabin and headed across the bay to the river. Bob Austin has a rig for a 6 gallon fuel tank to feed the generators so they will run over 12 hours. That is my next search. The tanks hold 1.08 gallons and will run @ 3-4 hours in econo mode. It is quieter running 2 gens in econo mode than one gen screaming help :smile
As for the In Motion Satellite TV Dome I don't think I would do that over. If you could use it like a big green egg and cook steaks on it, it would get more use. I had no idea what it would look like when I told the Ray Marine guy to load it up. It is fun at night watching James Bond marathons when the wife wants to go to bed early. Thanks for your reply. We really enjoy the boat and the ability to get it and go somewhere we haven't been. The whole reason for getting the cabin style boat down here is really the same as the North West except escaping the heat instead of the cold. The rod holder/roof supports are really much further apart than they look in the picture and don't look like they will interfere with the air circulation from the AC.
 
Sark, I realize you took your boat to Fife Lake Union SeaRay for the warranty work but for normal engine service, maybe you should take it into an authorized Suzuki dealer. I've had Master Marine in Mount Vernon do our 100 hour service and they always do a good job. I know there's another Suzuki service dealer in Issaquah (I-90?) and in Everett (Performance Marine).

I'm with you, it sure is not convenient for us folks who depended on the factory to service our boats. I hope you get all your problems straightened out.

Peter
C-Dancer
 
Hey Peter!! You are right. I will be selcting my next power plant based on what motors are serviced around my home...particuarly with my "local" C-Dory dealership now 580+ miles away...
 
Peter-

I agree 100%, and had I not needed some warranty work I would have gone to a suzuki certified dealer( I-90 marine is the closest, and they worked on my old suzi's.) But the service manager assured me one of their guys was certified on Suzuki motors. Plus the boat was already down in fife, I figured I'd give them a shot since my boat was already there, and they said they could do the work. The factory did my service before since I bought my boat from them. And they did a good job previously. As stated before I will not have those guys do anything to my motors in the future, I-90 it will be. Unfortunatly We have no choice on warranty items. What burns me most is they didn't even fix what I originally took the boat there for, the leak.

Sark
 
I hate to say it but I've found some water on the floor in our boat from time to time and Tom had a little leak on his boat last weekend. I think it comes from water getting into some of the thru-hulls in rough water. I hope that's the case because it doesn't happen often. Let me know what you find out.

Peter
 
-No mine is in the cabin when she is sitting on dry land. Have not had a problem in rough water, and I've been in some nasty stuff. I think it's maybe the water tank like someone else had a problem with or rain water is getting in some where. But all the times I have noticed it the boat has been on the trailer.

Sark
 
For those with warranty issues who have been able to rely on the factory previously... this is what I meant about feeling "orphaned." If a car dealer kept your vehicle for a month before "getting around to it", they would be out of business. I do not understand why this is considered acceptable in the marine industry. One can say that boats are not necessary transportation like cars and trucks, but they obviously don't know how we feel about our boats! No dealer will get a second chance at my business if they don't treat me right for service - regardless of the product. Being 1000+ miles to the nearest dealer, we have taken care of our issues to this point. Whew, I feel better getting that off my chest. :wink:

Now, for what we did on our C-Dory today: it was a gorgeous day in the Tropical Tip of Texas. We invited a new neighbor out for the "island circle tour" on Wild Blue. Some of you may have met Darrell at the SBS - he is interested in a C-Dory. We have become friends since we got back to Texas, and it was our pleasure to show him around. We took him by the shrimpboat basin, the old shrimpboat bone yard, some new swanky home developments, through the swingbridge, across the Laguna Madre, saw some dolphins, pointed out some of the excursion operators, out into the Gulf, back in through the jetties, down the ship channel, around the island, and back home. I think he enjoyed the time aboard... hopefully enough to consider a C-Dory in his future.

We've been getting some stuff done around the house the past couple days, so this was the first time out in three whole days. The wind was blowing about 25 knots, the temp was near 80, sunny skies... and comfortable as can be in Wild Blue's cabin. :thup

Moving Joan's Mom has been moved back a couple days, so we'll get some local boat time in before next week. :D

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
I had an interesting time getting to know our local Honda dealer.

I brought the boat (motor and related accessories, really) in for a 200 hour
service. First, they find a rusted fuel filter that has probably never been
changed. It was also a 30 micron filter, dealer says 10 micron is what
should be used. So bunch of rust there. Moving on to the motor's fllter, more
rust. However, they ran the motor for some time, adjusted carbs, etc, and feel
it is fine. They adjusted the valves and were unable to find evidence that
anyone had done this prior. Most needed to be adjusted. Wrong spark
plugs - Champion. Installed very tightly, very difficult to remove.

Oh, and apparently the previous maintainer has managed to pump enough
grease into the steering tube to blow out the O rings, and now we have
no steering due to one or more of corrosion or dried out grease.

Plan is to see if I can loosen it up, and most likely replace
the tube and cable. May switch to hydraulic, not sure. There seems to be plenty
of issues with hydraulic steering as well. I'll probably have the dealer
do some of the work, but first I'll spend some time with WD-40 and a pick, etc.

Read the old threads on breaking free frozen steering and about Baystar and
Seastar systems.

Oil drain O rings were long needing to be changed, but apparently no water in
the lower unit.

Overall, I think we were pretty lucky. Good dealer - Hooked on the Bay, in
North East Maryland.

Mike
 
This morning my partner came over to the house and we towed "Sea Shift" to Everett where we launched. Cruised down to Edmonds for lunch at Arne's then over to Kingston, then back to Everett around Hat Island. We saw two Gray Whales between Hat Island and Everett.
 
So far I have been very pleased with the work that Neil at Master Marine has performed on my Tom Cat. It helps that I can drop in and ask him the odd question or two without having to go through a front office. Did I get the absolute best price for my TC? I don't know but at this point I don't care because now it is a question of the total cost of ownership (when cost is measured in terms of money, time, and quality of work.) I feel like I am coming out ahead when everything is factored in.

I am experiencing a high TCO with my new 26' Wildcat travel trailer. I am in a motel in Enumclaw, on my way with the trailer to an Oregon vacation. I'm in the motel because my CO monitor went off when the furnace came on. This after repeated trips to the dealer (Apache in Everett) complaining about smells from the furnace, etc. So this is going to be a motel trip until the CO issues are resolved by an RV tech in OR. So, for the trailer, the TCO is already way too high.

But ask me again about the TC in a year...

Warren
 
mikeporterinmd":tz1bh8qv said:
I
...
Plan is to see if I can loosen it up, and most likely replace
the tube and cable. May switch to hydraulic, not sure. There seems to be plenty
of issues with hydraulic steering as well. I'll probably have the dealer
do some of the work, but first I'll spend some time with WD-40 and a pick, etc.
...

Well, that was much easier than expected. I squirted in a bunch of CRC-656,
hit the bar with a small sledge, protected by a block of wood, release the helm
and the anti-feedback clutch, repeat. Took about 6 tries before it started
to move freely. Cleaned the hard grease off and steering works well. I think there are
missing O-rings though. Going to bring it back to dealer and see what they
think. No sign of rust, but I was working in the dark. I'll probably open it back
up and give it a more vigourous cleaning on Saturday. This time I'll try and trap some
of the goop so the mechanic can see what comes out.

I like this dealer. They give you a time to bring in the boat, you bring it in, and it
has to be off the lot by the end of the day because they don't have enough
room to store it - at least for smaller issues like this. So, no leaving the boat
at the mechanic for a few weeks until they get to it. OTOH, if a big problem
is discovered, you might have to bring the boat back again for another
scheduled appointment. Not a problem for me since they are less than 10 miles
from the house.

Mike
 
Yesterday, apparently over my snit sure enough, I outfitted the boat with all that "junque" as my uncle would put it: fenders, boat hook, spare gas can, fire extinguisher, docking lines, anchor, blah, blah.
The Groundhog Day tornado you may have heard about was two blocks away and big junk from that is still in the water, some sunk in shallow places, so slow and alert is the way to go for a while.
 
Another gorgeous day in the Tropical Tip. We took Wild Blue for a cruise along South Padre Island... still some pretty good crowds at the restaurants and bars even though spring break is winding down. We later anchored just outside the jetties leading to the Gulf to watch the start of an overnight offshore sailboat race. Yes, I felt a "twinge" when I heard the start horn go off... but one of us (who's name I won't mention) thinks the other of us (who would be me) gets a bit over-zealous with the competitive stuff when we race. :wink:

Joan made us a late lunch aboard while I watched the last of the sailboats disappear over the horizon. Should be a good race - steady winds 15+, forecast to stay that way through the night. There was a nice motion on the boat while we caught some rays in the cockpit.

I did field a couple phone calls on our SunCat (now up for sale) from the boat today - I love technology.

As the sun got closer to the western horizon, we made our way towards home... a brief stop to watch the dolphins play, then around the island, down the canal, and tied off to the dock. I took my time washing down Wild Blue; Joan had an ice creamy drink ready for me when I got to the deck.

Nice day. :D

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Cajun Dory on a Saturday afternoon.
Got off work at 3PM today and took Cajun Dory for a spin to try out the new trim plate and SS prop. Went to Vermillion Bay which is about 30 miles south of Lafayette, Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico. What a beautifull afternoon. Partly cloudy, about 80, with a S. E. wind about 15 mph. Cruised around a couple of hours then ate a dinner of boiled crawfish and beer as the sun started to go down.
Everyone with a 16 should have a trim plate! Many thanks to oldgrowth!
The boat will turn on a dime and give change. It will keep the bow down in a chop and burned 3 gal. on two hours of running with many starts and stops and some hard running.
Doing 5200 rpm wide open, 10.5 x 13 prop, light load, 40 Honda. I think I need to turn more, might take some pitch out. Any advice would be apreciated.
 
Beautiful day today up at Anacortes. Went over to Friday Harbor for lunch - in through Thatcher Pass - out through Pevine Pass. Sunshine all day long. First time at Friday Harbor - parked up front.

CDORY1.jpg


Tom
 
Wild Blue comes out of the water today to go into storage while we get the Mom-in-law moved and settled in (finally). Yesterday, Joan made a cover for the Honda. We measured, re-measured, cut some sunbrella to get a basic shape, and she took over with the sewing machine out on the deck. Looks great! I did some work on the SunCat and then got it put away. After today, no boats to play with for the next week or so... sigh. (Yes, Pat, I know you had to go for months... I would go stark raving mad... um, madder :wink: ).

Joan has the weather-bug for Lake Powell on her widgets (Mac reference) and we are looking forward to heading west.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

Loved that shot of Friday Harbor, Tom & Shan! :D
 
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