The C-Disaster 22' C-Dory Refit in Alaska

[barrelroll]

Long story short my wife and I moved to Juneau, Alaska 2 years ago and knew nothing about boating or fishing. We picked up a 17' Alumaweld and started exploring, bouncing the boat off the dock attempting to learn "boating" and occasionally landing a fish. I started building a 23'6" Tolman Widebody the first winter we moved to Alaska and it's taken a lot longer than expected to finish. Last summer we put 200 hours on the alumaweld and went as far as Petersburg, AK, 120 miles each way and usually get the response of you went where in a 17 footer, you're nuts. The 17 footer just isn't enough boat and the Tolman won't be ready for the summer of 2022. Not wanting to miss out on a summer of adventure we started looking for a plan B boat to use for the summer. I didn't want to buy something bigger with a deeper v and more power than the Tolman so the hunt was on for a boat with a cuddy cabin that was shorter and not as capable as a Tolman so I'll still finish the Tolman.

A boat listed as an '89 22' C-Dory Angler with a new 115 popped up on craigslist down in Petersburg, AK. I was away at work and got the seller to hold it with a flight confirmation till I could get done with my hitch to go look at it. The story is the owner pulled it up from California in 2020, had a new 115hp 4 stroke Mercury put on summer of 2021, he's put 4 hours on it so far and not really done anything with it. He owns a lodge, is no longer hosting customers, and liquidating most of his 8 boats. This was his personal boat he didn't have time to deal with and give it the work it needed. It's was supposed to be a dry hull with a good motor and needing updates. After looking at it I believe it's actually an older classic and not an '89.

Friday my wife and I flew down for a sea trial and inspection before exchanging funds. The owner is down in California, his buddy got the boat out of storage and started, and another buddy picked us up at the airport and dropped us off at the boat attached to the owner's van with the keys in it. We had instructions to take it for a ride and do what we need to do with it, if we wanted it to call the buddy up and he'd pickup a bank check. Gotta love Southeast Alaska trustworthyness. We started crawling all over the boat, it's full of the usual southeast Alaska mold, there's a 1/4" of water in the cabin, and of course the battery is old and dead. A quick trip to Napa for a new battery and we were off to the boat launch.

The sea trial was interesting to say the least. We couldn't hit more than 4,000rpm hitting 16-18mph against the current and hit 25mph with the current once. It was also pouring rain, no wipers, there wasn't a gps/ depth finder in the boat so we were attempting to navigate the Wrangell Narrows in a boat we knew nothing about using navionics on a cell phone that wouldn't cooperate. The 1989 cable steering was super sketchy and the flat bottom is going to take some getting used to with an 80 pound dog who can't pick which side of the boat smells better. Back to the ramp we go, it went on the trailer relatively nicely till the winch strap broke and almost took my pinky with it. Also we noticed the rear bulkhead/ door are out of alignment and the rear door won't close.

Call the owner, last time he ran the boat it was scary fast hitting over 30mph with 4 people in it. There's definitely some sort of issue concerning propping, motor height, cable adjustment or a mixture of all 3 is the consensus. Ok, I need to discuss it with my wife. Get a text from the owner offering to drop the price while I'm at dinner. Luckily I had grabbed 2 bank checks. End up agreeing on a reasonable price for the disaster it is. Hence the name C-Disaster. There's never many boats for sale in Southeast Alaska so the pickings are always slim and are either a disaster or super high dollar, the boat has potential and C-dory's are very popular up here so I'm happy with it so far for what I paid.

1st order of business is getting a non seaworthy boat 120 miles home in an area without roads. Luckily there was a ferry leaving Saturday at 1:45am that's about 1/3 of the price of putting it on the barge. I'll dropped it off on the ferry with the old owner's van, flew home, and will pull it off the ferry with my truck in 24ish hours.

Current Specs of a the boat:
1980 something 22' C-Dory short cabin
2021 Mercury 115 4 stroke with 3.8 hours
12 or 16 gallon fuel tank bouncing around the back deck
2 torn up helm seats
Windlass that probably doesn't work though allows water in and a custom 5 gallon bucket anchor locker
Sink, stove, fridge, and heater right out of 1989 headed to the dump
Waterlogged headliner and household carpeting not quite long enough to be shag lining the hull
Rayethon radar that might work
VHF with a cracked antenna
Holes from several owners upgrades
Lots of moss and mold
Unsealed hole in the transom for a hole
Wooden strakes drilled into the bottom of the core

More pictures, plans, and updates to come once I get it home.

How we found it on the side of the road



Rear bulkhead




Rear Door Misalignment



The Tolman in progress



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[barrelroll]

It made it on the ferry last night. The loan a van barely started, the lack of dash lights hid the maybe non functional alternator though it didn't give up the ghost midloading. I go to drop the trailer and the jack handle comes off in my hand, luckily the marine highway had a floor jack at the ready for nuisance customers like myself.

Anybody thinking about the inside passage put Petersburg on your list of places to stop. After a late night we woke up to a great view and a lack of rain, it rains all the time here so a dry day is a bit of an oddity. The Mexican restaurant, el zarape is great and the carne assasda tacos weakened my wife's defenses enough to allow me to purchase the disaster. It's probably the only reason she allowed the trip. Chorizo and eggs were requested for breakfast to erase my wife's memory of a late night trip to the ferry terminal.

The moldy interior


Waiting for the ferry



Beautiful morning in Petersburg

 

[thataway]

Thanks for bringing your interesting project to C Brats. My apology for not having recognized that you had already signed up and posted here. I am looking forward to how you fit this boat out.

I am also very appreciative of the great work on the Toland Widebody your are building. Professional workmanship!

Thank you.

 

[NORO LIM]

Congratulations!

I believe I saw your boat parked on the main drag in Petersburg last year. Your description of its condition sounds about right! One of the few times I didn't have a camera with me. I've got pictures in my album of just about every C-Dory I've ever seen in P'Burg.

". . . It was also pouring rain, no wipers, there wasn't a gps/ depth finder in the boat so we were attempting to navigate the Wrangell Narrows in a boat we knew nothing about using navionics on a cell phone that wouldn't cooperate. . . ." Now that is an introduction to the Narrows!

Welcome to the club, and keep us posted on the project!

 

[hardee]

barrelroll, your Mexican restaurant sounds great, maybe worth the trip. Your experience with the C-Dory is exhilarating, and your guts are impressive. I think you have what it takes to make this "new to you" work. Already sounding like a true SE'er.

A side view would confirm the "Angler" description, but from what I can see that looks like it is what you have. Anxiously awaiting your further adventure stories. Stay safe, and enjoy. And keep an eye out for that UFO in the Sky. It has been named, described and is a frequent resident in some area of the world, just not your neighborhood.

And that Tolman, Looks like a work of art.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[BBSva]

Looking forward to seeing how you fix this one up.

 

[barrelroll]

Ooops I thought I pushed post on this last night.

It's almost 3am and currently in my driveway. A quick decode of the HIN show's it's an '82. Time for a nap

 

[Marco Flamingo]

On the transom there should be a plate or molded into the hull the hull number. That will tell you the year of the boat. It may become important in restoring as the construction changed some over the years. Others here with the same model can give more detail.

 

[barrelroll]

On the transom there should be a plate or molded into the hull the hull number. That will tell you the year of the boat. It may become important in restoring as the construction changed some over the years. Others here with the same model can give more detail.

Pretty sure it's an '82, picture in my album, no clue on how to link pictures on my phone.

Are these teak strips on the bottom factory or an add on? They seem like a great spot to get water into the core. There's a picture in my album. Im off to the boat store so I can grab a new winch strap and then the ramp so I can reposition it properly on the trailer.

 

[thataway]

The bottom "core" on those early boats is marine plywood, rather than Balsa. I am not sure that teak was used by the factory, but some have the rub strips on the bottom.

The way the boat looks fits with 1982 era. It would be interesting to see what hull number it is. It certainly is one of the early boats.

 

[barrelroll]

Here's the HIN showing it's an '82



Here's the strakes on the bottom in question. I have similar strips on the bottom of my Tolman bedded in Sika Flex. I'm slightly concerned they are letting water into the core though would be nice for beaching the boat to unload at cabins/ so the dog can have a potty break.



When we loaded the boat in Petersburg it just wasn't sitting right on the trailer though with the questionable winch I wasn't going to attempt to reload the boat. We went to the boat supply/ hardware/ home goods/ fishing/ hunting/ auto parts store and picked up a new winch strap, my wife suggested I buy a winch just in case while we were there. Get home, dangit she was right, the winch that was on the trailer was pretty rotten so I swapped it out, added some oxygen to the questionable tires that actually have 2018 date codes (score) and took it to the boat launch to reposition it on the trailer. I even remember the drain plug and it decided to float.

 

[hardee]

Here is your HIN, (from your photo album).



Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[barrelroll]

Now that it's home and I've realized it's an '82 with a flat bottom instead of an '89 with a semi V it was time to give it a good hard look at the level of disaster living in my driveway. Hopefully my neighbors aren't planning on selling their houses any time soon between the eyesore and required antics to make this thing seaworthy their property values are going to take a short term dip.

Here's a couple pictures of it in all it's glory.















The transom needs surgery, I stuck a screw driver past the splash well drain tube and it just kept going till it bottomed out on the handle. There's 1 hole someone drilled for a bilge pump hole with 0 sealer and to top it off they went from 3/4" to 1/2" hose for the pump helping slow the pump down. The lift kit on the motor to allow a 25" shaft motor on a 20" transom seems like it's a great way to destroy a transom and loose a motor in 1,200' of water with 0 chance of ever seeing it again. The splashwell also has all kinds of nice holes filled with nice and heavy wood attempting to decompose.




Odds are the sole is junk and needs to be recored along with the gunnels. There's 40 years of unbedded screw holes, rod holders, footman loops and other assorted avenues for water to get into the core.



To top it all off someone cut these nice access hatches in the V-berth allowing about 8 gallons of water to hang out under the berth and soak the plywood core of the v-berth.



Electrical I believe is mostly 1982 vintage though I haven't found a wire nut or charcoal colored wire yet.



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[barrelroll]

Now that I had a pretty good idea this thing wasn't exactly dry or seaworthy it was time to come up with a plan. Being an older classic I'm leery to dump too much money into it though I don't really like swimming in 40-50 degree water so it needs to be seaworthy. This isn't a forever boat for us though my wife has requested a trip to Ketchikan this summer so it needs to be up to the inside passage. It's going to be a fine line between nice enough while not dumping too much into that our asking price would make people roll on the floor laughing.

The plan is to start at the transom and work my way forward making a large pile of rotten mush for the dump.

Here's the rough plan subject to change, lots of details and questions to follow

Transom
-New core using 2 sheets of scribed 3/4" marine plywood and lots of microfibers and cab o sil
-Move the motor cutout up 5" for a 25" shaft motor
-Move the splashwell up 5" and rebuild along with benches on either side of the well
-Eliminate any holes we don't need
-Redeck the swim step with a piece of epoxied/ fiberglassed plywood
-Some sort of kicker bracket and steal the 6hp Suzuki off our alumaweld

Sole/ Gunnels/ Fish deck
-Fix any core issues, probably end up recoring most or all of the sole with 3/4" marine plywood
-Fill all holes we aren't using and epoxy any holes we are using
-New nonskid/ paint the rear cockpit to blend in the repair work
-Drideck flooring
-2 Bilge pumps
-Rod storage/ holders/ bait table

Pilot house/ v-berth
-Do something with the rear bulkhead/ door most likely throw it out and do over
-Some sort of latch and on the rear door that isn't a barrel bolt of pad lock allowing the person outside to get inside without someone inside unlocking the door or visa versa
-Fill all 2,003 holes in the roof and pilot house we aren't using that are currently allowing uninvited water into the pilot house
-Remove the sink, stove, refrigerator, and current cabinetry, free to a good home
-New seat boxes/ cabinets with benches behind the helm seats, 2 non moldy helm seats, room under the seats for Ridgid pro series tool boxes, bench seat backs will allow the rear bench to convert into a cozy single berth
-Battery/ auto pilot pump box along the rear blukhead with access from outside
-Figure out if the core in the v-berth will dry out or if it needs to be thrown out and rebuilt
-New v-berth hatches for storage and new cushions
-Chinesum diesel heater
-Hull liner
-Removable rubber mat flooring
-Replace the water funnel silyconed together v-berth hatch with one from this century

Hull
-Gelcoat repair in the bad spots
-Blast off the moss with a pressure washer and buff the whole boat
-Graphite/ epoxy mixture coating below the waterline after fixing scratches and filling holes
-Remove bottom strakes if they are letting water in
-Fill holes for things like an AM radio antenna, 2 extra through hulls, 2 sets of running lights, and other things no longer in use

Fuel system
-2 22 gallon Moeller Boston Whaler topside tanks under the reconstructed splashwell
-Fuel water separator with both tanks, main and kicker tied in, ball valves to isolate tank/ motor not in use

Electrical/ Electronics
-Garmin 74SV chart plotter/ fish finder
-VHF with AIS tied into the chart plotter
-Garmin Reactor 40 Auto Pilot
-Nmea2000 network with 115hp Mercury tied in
-Large Single battery with MLVD and a jump pack onboard for backup
-Complete new electrical system with Blue Sea Fuse block, switch panel and components
-Tinned marine wire everywhere
-New LED navigation/ anchor lights
-2 Wiper motors with some sort synchronization aka controller

Misc.
-Baystar hydraulic steering
-Anchor winch
-New Trim Tabs
-Clone myself so it gets done before the snow starts flying in the fall
-Some sort of device so we can fish out of the rain


I think the plan is to use the reactor 40 auto pilot and EZ anchor puller EZ-2 anchor winch I've bought for the Tolman. We'll move them to the Tolman when it's time to sell this boat. I've got a fair amount of material and parts on hand which should help speed up the process. I've used Raka cold cure epoxy with good luck in the past so it should allow progress outside under a boat tent in this great "spring" weather we get in southeast Alaska. The tolman is all fiberglass cloth, epoxy, primer and paint. I plan on using epoxy for most things besides the area with gelcoat. Using mat, polyester resin, and gelcoat is going to be a bit of a learning curve.

 

[thataway]

Short reply because of the hour: Looks like # 58 boat, 1982. The transom needs to be attacked first—built it up to the level for that motor. I would not trust the bracket. If it were my boat, I would cut the outer fiberglass skin a couple of inches inside of the sides and bottom, pull it off, with the damaged core down to the good glass on the inside. The re-construct the transom with plywood (two 3/4” pieces), saturate with epoxy. Then lay up a new outer skin with 1708 and epoxy, also grind the edges of the inside transom skin to the 10/1 ratio and lay epoxy and 1708 on the inside. Wrap the material over the top of the transom, and rehang the motor. Do proper epoxy lining of the new motor holes.

Clean everything else up, and use the boat this summer. If you try and tackle the bottom, you will loose the summer’s use. It probably won’t get any worse during this time. There is probably some water in the core—-and it has been there for some time. Re-doing that would have to wait. Plug any holes.

Depending on where we are (tides, bottom and sea state), we often go stern to the beach, with a bow anchor out. You don’t want that boat on the beach with a falling tide. I would leave the runners for now. “But I would try and get the bottom as smooth as possible. Any growth should be cleaned off.

I realize that the boat would not hit its projected speed. It may be so heavy from the water and add in the resistance on the bottom, that will be a factor. ‘The >30 MPH and 4 people may have been some time ago?

If there is a scale available, it would be interesting to weight the boat. (After you get as much of the water out as possible).

You bought a nice motor; I don’t know if it is large enough For the Tolman—maybe two 115’s?? The C Dory can be fully restored, but the question right now is how much time do you want to spend on it currently.

I am not even sure I would drill sample holes in the bottom core now—if the boat will move fast enough as it is, and the bottom is not flexing, then run it.

The restoration might be in the future, perhaps even a different owner……I don’t think the boat is going to “fall apart”—but it is going to be heavy.

 

[barrelroll]

Today's work was to figure out what I'm working with, get it cleaned up, and start preparing for the transom job. I filled a black trash bag with gems from the previous owner. There was an included portapotty on the back deck, I went to pick it up, wooh this thing is heavy and full of some sort of liquid, I'm telling my self it's rain water though didn't lift the lid to investigate.

The main goal was getting ready for the transom job. The motor is ready to pull once I build a stand for it tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers I can get the cherry picker into my wife's garage/ laundry room with a motor dangling and she'll believe it's a new clothes drying racking. Everything is off the transom and most of the 80's wiring is now headed to the dump. There were only 2 transducer wires heading to the transom, I was expecting a couple more. My plan is to do it from the inside since the splashwell needs to be redone/ moved up and the core doesn't go all the way up the transom. It will also allow me to see what condition the core is in and start pulling the random screws everywhere.









Once I ran out of daylight I hung an LED light from the roof and busted out the shop vac removing a large volume of water, algae, and pine needles. I put a space heater in the cabin and cracked a window. I'll keep the heat on over the next couple days, with any luck the v-berth core will dry out some and the mold won't go into hyperdrive multiplying.

 

[T.R. Bauer]

I'm trying to figure out why anyone in their right mind would put a brand new motor on that boat. Maybe it isn't as bad as it looks?

 

[ssobol]

There is a series of videos of a guy who took a C-Dory (in slightly better shape than yours ) and redid pretty much all of it including new core. Search YouTube or this site.

 

[barrelroll]

Short reply because of the hour: Looks like # 58 boat, 1982. The transom needs to be attacked first—built it up to the level for that motor. I would not trust the bracket. If it were my boat, I would cut the outer fiberglass skin a couple of inches inside of the sides and bottom, pull it off, with the damaged core down to the good glass on the inside. The re-construct the transom with plywood (two 3/4” pieces), saturate with epoxy. Then lay up a new outer skin with 1708 and epoxy, also grind the edges of the inside transom skin to the 10/1 ratio and lay epoxy and 1708 on the inside. Wrap the material over the top of the transom, and rehang the motor. Do proper epoxy lining of the new motor holes.

Clean everything else up, and use the boat this summer. If you try and tackle the bottom, you will loose the summer’s use. It probably won’t get any worse during this time. There is probably some water in the core—-and it has been there for some time. Re-doing that would have to wait. Plug any holes.

Depending on where we are (tides, bottom and sea state), we often go stern to the beach, with a bow anchor out. You don’t want that boat on the beach with a falling tide. I would leave the runners for now. “But I would try and get the bottom as smooth as possible. Any growth should be cleaned off.

I realize that the boat would not hit its projected speed. It may be so heavy from the water and add in the resistance on the bottom, that will be a factor. ‘The >30 MPH and 4 people may have been some time ago?

If there is a scale available, it would be interesting to weight the boat. (After you get as much of the water out as possible).

You bought a nice motor; I don’t know if it is large enough For the Tolman—maybe two 115’s?? The C Dory can be fully restored, but the question right now is how much time do you want to spend on it currently.

I am not even sure I would drill sample holes in the bottom core now—if the boat will move fast enough as it is, and the bottom is not flexing, then run it.

The restoration might be in the future, perhaps even a different owner……I don’t think the boat is going to “fall apart”—but it is going to be heavy.

When towing it back from the ferry I did notice how heavy it was. I'm in agreement it's packing a lot of water weight it's not showing. The fuzz on the bottom definitely didn't help. Having 3 batteries, a full portapotty, and water in the pilot house didn't help. Once it's back in the water I'll worry about props and motor heights which probably aren't anywhere near where they should be.

The plan is to start at the transom and work my way forward not opening up too much at once. When I run out of daylight or if the weather isn't cooperating work in the pilot house. Right now it really isn't safe to use with the abundance of mold and mildew in the pilot and house. It needs a complete gut to get into all the cracks and crevices for mold eviction. I've got a deadline to meet though luckily I'm used to working 12's at the day job and am off for 14 days in a row so it allows for a lot of progress in a short amount of time.

We have 15' tides here so backing into the beach isn't usually an option. Usually we pull the boat up, unload gear for a cabin or allow the dog to do her business for a couple minutes and then put it on the hook or a ball and hop in the dinghy. I'd like to keep the strakes though I suspect they have allowed a lot of water in.

I'm trying to figure out why anyone in their right mind would put a brand new motor on that boat. Maybe it isn't as bad as it looks?

It was a California boat, a couple winters and a summer in the water in Alaska were not kind to it.

I sat down last night and this morning researching, planning, and ordering parts. This part of the game always takes a while though I'm a hands on person and having parts I need to build around in hand helps me build things once or twice instead of 3 or 4 times if I'm going off a picture or dimensions, once the part arrives it never fits. Once it's done I can rock and roll without hour breaks swearing at the computer ordering parts, oh wait I'm sure there's things I forgot.


My credit card is smoldering though hasn't caught fire yet though I've got the fire extinguisher on standby. Fuel tanks were super elusive creatures. Moeller tanks bigger than 12 gallons topside or permanent didn't exist anywhere in stock. When I order the 35 gallon moeller tanks for the Tolman West Marine foolishly shipped me 2 for $19.99 and I had them in less than a week. Defender listed 22 Gallon Boston Whaler tanks in stock so I'm crossing my fingers they are actually in stock, shipping for 2 tanks was almost the cost of 1 of the tanks ouch. With the whole supply chain madness if everything is here in a month I'll be happy.

 

[C-Wolfe]

I don't know if you intend to follow the list you made in some sort of order but I will strongly recommend you start by cloning yourself first. If successful, do it a couple more time and you might have a good summer on the new to you boat.

I will agree to get done whatever is needed to make the boat seaworthy first then use it some. You will have a whole winter to mess around with it and/or save some projects for the next owner. C-Dory are nice boat and worth the effort but you also have a very nice Tollman that you need to not set aside for too long.

Keep us posted of your progress.