Salish_Explorer
New member
Hi all,
New member and new CD owner here, looking for any advice from what is clearly a very fun forum. In a nutshell, I'm starting from scratch on an older hull that was a bit abused by the prior owner. My goal is to build the very best, most capable shore camping/exploration platform I can without spending my kids' whole inheritance, and capture some of that lovely C-Dory style!
Backstory: This month I paid $5,500 for a hull with a solid Yamaha 50 (4 stroke) - and the engine is about the only solid thing on it. The electronics were wired by someone who had no business changing a lightbulb, and from bow to stern the prior owner covered it with hardware mounted using mild steel fasteners and brackets - which have of course now wept have streaks of rust. The wheel bearings on the trailer were so shot that while the mechanic was moving it around the yard, one of the wheels all but fell off. And of course, like a cherry on top - they plastered a giant 'Gomakatsu' decal across the bow: Women love him folks, fish fear him!
So, aside from maybe a tootle out to Blake tomorrow, step one is a weekend with the grinder cutting all that sh** off, and then another weekend with the sander doing gelcoat repair. Thankfully she was a utility build to start with, so I have no fantasy of a boat-show result - just something clean and solid.
The mechanic tuned the carbs, replaced the steering and wheel bearings, and did a good walkaround with me talking through what the boat has in the way of systems (being slightly larger than most dinghies and all). The rest is up to me.
Along with the abrasive work, I'm planning to completely re-wire, add a large-format chartplotter, add a kicker/get-home motor, and add all new fuel lines with a Racor F/W separator.
Major Questions
Loading
I'm planning on setting padeyes in the center of the cockpit to accomodate strapping down one cooler and one gear tote. The full camping loadout will be that plus duffles in the bow carrying what I'd call a 'heavy backpacking' or 'light carcamping' setup - call it 120 pounds of gear, 20 up front and 100 aft. Is that overloading, with two adults and two little kids? Will the 50 still plane with that kind of load?
Range
What fuel consumption rate have other 16/19 owners found?
Kicker
For safety only, I'm planning on adding a kicker. The Yamaha 8 and 9.9 are the same weight (87 pounds): My impulse is to get a 9.9 high-thrust - a motor I know can push even my 9,000 pound sailboat through a stiff chop - is that overkill? What are other 16/19 owners using for kickers?
The Hull
I understand CD's have some balsa coring - is this in all flat surfaces? [/i]Topside only? Hull?
Are the voids at the stern foam filled or empty? Has anyone added watertight hatches for dry storage?
Systems
I'm going to forego radar for now, but having a sailor's distrust of a hull that won't self-bail, along with completely redoing the electronics I want to set up at least one direct-wired Rule 10 2000 GPH bilge pump. Any ideas on mounting locations?
Additionally I will be doing a large chartplotter, with separate sounder and VHF/GPS/AIS combo
Seating
I want to add at least one folding padded seat for my son - any ideas on placement/brand? A kind CD16 owner showed me Garelick folding jumpseats mounted to the gunwhales on theirs, just aft of the main seats, but they appear to not be made any more.
New member and new CD owner here, looking for any advice from what is clearly a very fun forum. In a nutshell, I'm starting from scratch on an older hull that was a bit abused by the prior owner. My goal is to build the very best, most capable shore camping/exploration platform I can without spending my kids' whole inheritance, and capture some of that lovely C-Dory style!
Backstory: This month I paid $5,500 for a hull with a solid Yamaha 50 (4 stroke) - and the engine is about the only solid thing on it. The electronics were wired by someone who had no business changing a lightbulb, and from bow to stern the prior owner covered it with hardware mounted using mild steel fasteners and brackets - which have of course now wept have streaks of rust. The wheel bearings on the trailer were so shot that while the mechanic was moving it around the yard, one of the wheels all but fell off. And of course, like a cherry on top - they plastered a giant 'Gomakatsu' decal across the bow: Women love him folks, fish fear him!
So, aside from maybe a tootle out to Blake tomorrow, step one is a weekend with the grinder cutting all that sh** off, and then another weekend with the sander doing gelcoat repair. Thankfully she was a utility build to start with, so I have no fantasy of a boat-show result - just something clean and solid.
The mechanic tuned the carbs, replaced the steering and wheel bearings, and did a good walkaround with me talking through what the boat has in the way of systems (being slightly larger than most dinghies and all). The rest is up to me.
Along with the abrasive work, I'm planning to completely re-wire, add a large-format chartplotter, add a kicker/get-home motor, and add all new fuel lines with a Racor F/W separator.
Major Questions
Loading
I'm planning on setting padeyes in the center of the cockpit to accomodate strapping down one cooler and one gear tote. The full camping loadout will be that plus duffles in the bow carrying what I'd call a 'heavy backpacking' or 'light carcamping' setup - call it 120 pounds of gear, 20 up front and 100 aft. Is that overloading, with two adults and two little kids? Will the 50 still plane with that kind of load?
Range
What fuel consumption rate have other 16/19 owners found?
Kicker
For safety only, I'm planning on adding a kicker. The Yamaha 8 and 9.9 are the same weight (87 pounds): My impulse is to get a 9.9 high-thrust - a motor I know can push even my 9,000 pound sailboat through a stiff chop - is that overkill? What are other 16/19 owners using for kickers?
The Hull
I understand CD's have some balsa coring - is this in all flat surfaces? [/i]Topside only? Hull?
Are the voids at the stern foam filled or empty? Has anyone added watertight hatches for dry storage?
Systems
I'm going to forego radar for now, but having a sailor's distrust of a hull that won't self-bail, along with completely redoing the electronics I want to set up at least one direct-wired Rule 10 2000 GPH bilge pump. Any ideas on mounting locations?
Additionally I will be doing a large chartplotter, with separate sounder and VHF/GPS/AIS combo
Seating
I want to add at least one folding padded seat for my son - any ideas on placement/brand? A kind CD16 owner showed me Garelick folding jumpseats mounted to the gunwhales on theirs, just aft of the main seats, but they appear to not be made any more.
