The Decision to Buy: how long did it take?

V

Valkyrie

New member
Hi Everyone,

I'm curious just how long it took you to make the decision to buy your C-Dory, from the initial search to actually writing the check. I know that there are many variables, such as the need to sell the old boat, convince the spouse, can we have it for this season so on.

At one time I was selling ad space (hated it) for a Midwest sailing magazine and SOUNDINGS: TRADE ONLY had figures that showed the time frame for powerboaters was about 18-24 months and sailors took closer to three years to make the decision.

Of course, cost of boat, type of boat and other factors come into play, but I'm curious what the figures are for our favorite boat.

In my case, I knew that after I ran my first C-Dory, I would get one when I got out of sail, but that was a 14 year span, which would really skew the averages. Once Spirit was sold however, we were writing a check at the boat show three months later.

Any comments?
Best regards,

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
My first C-Dory was the 22 I bought at the boat show in Jan of 2003. Pat (Daydream) had been talking about this great boat he had seen while cruising around in the San Juans. I also had a smaller boat and living in the San Juans wanted something bigger, more comfortable etc.
He and Patti asked Kate and I to go with them to the show, "just to look". We looked and then both of us put a check down on two boats at the show.
(Last year we went back "just to look" and bought the 25.

I tend to make most important decisisions a little too fast however. Met Kate on Aug. 31, 1980. Moved in with her in Sept. Married her in Feb. 26 years ago. She has lasted much longer than any boat I may fall in love with.
 
Contrary to our usual deliberate pre-purchase process with major purchases, we wrote a check within two hours of stepping on our first C-Dory at the Los Angeles area's authorized dealership.

Much of the second hour involved spousal unit convincing me that it was the right boat and a good time to buy.

Once ordered, within two weeks I discovered the C-Brat/C-Dog sites, met Rana Verde Chris who generously gave me a demo ride, and instantly modified our order to include the Tall Top, Barber Chair, and Wallas. It became readily apparent that the C-22 was, indeed, the right boat for us.

Don
 
Writing the check took 3 days. However,

Thinking about a power boat started 6 years ago, on the way to Alaska, where the sailboat was a powerboat, with a funny pole in the middle. And that damn trawaler passed and asked where your windshield wipers were. Continued on the East Coast, where that funny pole got taken up and down (not for free,) and you trailered the boat on a Peterbuilt. And you needed 6 ft. of water, and didn't have it.

Continued whilst looking at every go-fast boat in So Cal (the only kind they sell.)

So it took 5 years.

Judy
 
Took me 6 years from the time I first saw a C-Dory to the time I purchased the boat. Spent 3 years generally researching the boats (C-Dory website, etc.), then saw one up close at the dealer, then another 3 years after that before I finally bought one.
 
We sold our Krogen 39 in April 2005
Noticed the Tom Cat 255 on the Factory Web Site in October
Met Jeff and Scott at the factory Dec 22.
Wrote the check within the first half hour of the Seattle Boat Show.
We will finally get to sea trial one next week. Waiting anxiously,
Roger
Dreamer
 
Good question. Last year my wife had a work related trip to Seattle. I mostly
stay home but I have always liked boats. The SBS was that weekend so I
went along. Right inside was the C-Dory set up. I spent the day there and before dinner she came down and in 15min made her choise. I liked the
22 but she said " get the one with the bathroom. DONE.
Then put the down payment in before dinner , what a good wife.
Then it took me a while th sell my 66 vet to pay the rest. I hadn't driven
that car for years and in the year sence i've had more fun with the C-Dory
than I ever had with the vet.
So my answer is 1 day.
:smiled john schuler :smiled
 
I saw my first C-Dory in the early 1980's at the Sportsman's Show in San Mateo (S.F. Bay Area). Thought it was pretty utilitrian and unconventional in some ways, but would make a great fishing machine for the Bay and Delta.

However, at the time we were too busy racing sailboats to get seriously involved with such a fishing and cruising boat. I did, nontheless, keep track of the C-Dory's, and favorably noted the model changes with the new Cruiser and Angler in 1987.

In 1998, nearing retirement (2002), and thinking it would be a great boat as a retiement present and to serve as a continuing hobby focus, I saw an ad in the Fish Sniffer Magazine, and a few days later we were owners.

We've never regretted one bit of the purchase, and VERY GLAD we purchased the 22 ft Cruiser because of the more universal accomodation/adaptability package.

Took 15 years from the first look to the purchase.....not exactly an impulse buy, but a testimony in itself that the boat stood up to that many years of examination and analysis and still came out the boat of first choice!

Joe.
 
I joined this forum about a year ago. I asked a neighbor with a Nimble Nomad about his boat and he said that he'd recommend a C-Dory since it had a planing hull. I looked over this site, the old C-Dog site and the C-Dory factory site; darned if I could find an actual boat to look at (deep south Texas or western South Dakota). We stumbled across an older 22 on a lift that was in pretty rough shape (full of mold!) and got to see one... kinda. We discussed and debated the idea of going from sail to power... for about 9 months (guess the idea was gestating :wink: ). Then I saw the discussion about the Seattle Boat Show on this site. Before I signed off, Joan had booked flights, hotel, and a car... three days later we were on our way to Seattle. Finally, a chance to see a 22 up close and personal... and pretty! We spent hours "trying on" the v-berth, checking out the visibility, and visiting with some very kind and patient owners. The only thing missing was a ride on one. Tom (yes, HERO Tom from the Susan E) overheard our lament about a ride and offered to take us out. Yep, two strangers... shivering in the cold, damp weather of the NW. Tom and Susan took us across to Whidby Island, we had a nice lunch and a walk, and got to experience the warmth and comfort of an inside steering station. We had a lot of discussion that evening: one of the sailboats would have to go, which; would we be happy with life as powerboaters; the 22 or the 25. I was thinking the 22, the Blonde was lobbying for the 25. Back to the boat show the next morning and a lot of laps between the 22 and the 25. Jeff from the factory worked with us on the timing (we have lots to wrap up before we can get back to Seattle) and we put down our deposit and signed the order for a 25.

So, 9 months of consideration; 2 days after first seeing one, one day after getting out on the water in one. We are looking forward to late July, early August and starting our next chapter.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
My spouse and I started talking about a power boat last summer after not really getting out in our sail boat because of the need for conditions to be just so (though it looked really nice on the mooring). After the holidays I started looking at power cats for their stability/smooth ride. Went to the Baltimore Boat Show a few weeks later to look at a World Cat; they happened to be set up right next to the new Tom Cat, the only cats in the show. Loved the Tom Cat and got some info on price, glanced at the smaller C-Dorys, then came home to do some internet research and, of course, found this site.

The more we thought about it, the less sure we were about spending $100K plus on a new Tom Cat without knowing how much we would really use it. I also had reservations about getting it in time to enjoy this summer. Everyone here raved about the 22 and it seemed to be a good compromise of features/ride and price. So I started checking on used boats in the area and went back to Baltimore for a closer look at the 22 at the show. (Spouse accuses me of being in love with the boat by that point.) Mulled it over for a couple of days and decided the price difference was not that great and we might as well buy a new one with a few additional features we liked. A week and a day after seeing the boat for the first time, we put down the deposit, subject to a sea trial. Had the sea trial four weeks later and wrote the check that morning. Five weeks from first viewing to completing the purchase.

We may still end up with a TC 255 in a few years, but for now I'm psyched about our choice and can't wait to get it in the water in about a month.

Norma
 
Ha! that was about the quickest decision I ever made...I had seen C-Dorys...and liked them...I had looked at the website and I liked what I saw... so I called Mike (Sealife) and went down to the marina to see him, and have lunch...he told me where to buy one (Elco Marine) and an hour later I ordered one...luckily Elco had one on order and I took that one...only had to wait 6 weeks or so... The whole decision and purchase only took a few days... One of the best purchases I have ever made....I am still thrilled with my 22' cruiser....great boat....great boating group...great friends.

Although my friends worry when I tell them "I meet all my new friends on the internet"

Joel
 
Sea Wolf":1e9dqgdt said:
Took 15 years from the first look to the purchase.....not exactly an impulse buy, but a testimony in itself that the boat stood up to that many years of examination and analysis and still came out the boat of first choice!

Joe.
Click to expand...

Wow, and I thought it took me a long time! At the Portland Boat Show, 1999, I hopped back and forth between the Seaswirl and the C-Dory....made a bad judgment (26 foot of Seaswirl with a head for less dollars than 22 foot of C-Dory with a portapotti) -- BUT, then, along came Steve...after the 26 footer was gone/history, and he would grudgingly go out with me on the 17' sled (I had to force him on his birthday one year, and he caught a wonderful salmon!), but HATES his early rain warning system to get wet -- one day, he saw a C-Dory on the Columbia River estuary and couldn't take his eyes off it....as they say, the rest is history -- now, he teasingly pulls up alongside sleds in the rain and asks if anyone wants a cup of coffee :xnaughty

OOOOOOH, I had a call from Sportcraft Marina today and it seems the new CatyMae has been sprung from its shell....now THAT's good news :smilep
 
Arriving at the 2005 Seattle Boat Show, the plan was to simply look and enjoy the show. Climb aboard everything, enjoy a hot dog, fiddle with the new electronics...

Once I arrived at the C-Dory display, met Jeff and Scott and other family members/owners, in less than an hour, I had purchased the 16' Cruiser on display.

2nd best decision that I have ever made. The first was ordering my 22' Cruiser last week.... :lol:

Gary R
 
I saw my first C-Dory at Neah Bay. I was there on a fishing trip in 1989 and thought, "what a cool looking boat". At the time I was fishing from a 17' Boston Whaler and owned a lot rain gear. Next year I saw a used C-Dory advertised in the Spokane paper. I asked my long time fishing partner to go look at it with me. It was a 1983 Angler with 70HP Johnson. We really liked it and the next day we bought it as a partnership boat. We fished it at Port Hardy that summer and again the next summer at Ucluelet. We were not impressed with the handling in the big waves at Ucluelet! After that trip we decided to sell it. We paid 10,500 for it in Jul 90 and fished it almost two years and sold it in the fall of 1991 for 10,500! Even then they had great resale value. Looking back on it, I'm sure the poor handling in big following seas was more a matter of balance and weight distribution than any fault of the boat. After following the early C-Dog site and later C-Brat site for a couple years I decided to try it again and bought another C-Dory in 2004. Been very happy with this one. I wish I had kept records of the first boat. It would be interesting to know where it is now and who owns it. To the best of my limited memory we sold it to a young school teacher from the West side.
 
My process took about 10 years including the psychological conditioning of the spouse. It started LONG before I had money for a boat and long before I knew I wanted a C-Dory. Here's how it went:

1) I started with frequent staring and longing looks at any kind of boat. I didn't really say much other than things like "that's a neat boat", I just used those occasional puppy dog eyes. This went on for about 5 years.

2) I started referring to the garage as a "two-boat" garage. Yes, the idea of having two boats in there was ridiculous and yes, I can't even fit the boat I have in there now BUT, once she started saying things like "Why do you need TWO boats?", getting her moved to accepting just ONE boat was easy. The longing stares continued - 3 more years.

3) Prior to a large camping trip, I purchased what would become the eventual tow vehicle. It's an Isuzu Trooper 5K towing capacity but the heated seats, sun roof, cruise control, air con, and roof rack made it ideal for camping with the scouts and nice for her to drive. The 0.3% financing made it easy to buy. Of course, I didn't refer to it as a tow vehicle.

4) By now, I've spent enough time researching things to know I want an enclosed cabin (it rains a lot here in the NW), heat, a least a porta potty and a generally all around good fishing platform. I also know that if I get anything much larger than a 22' boat, the weight will exceed the towing capacity of the Trooper. She's weakening on the boat thing but I know I can't get both a new boat AND a new truck - I don't have enough time to wear her down twice! Those considerations limit my choices to very few boats including the CD 22. A little more research on resale value and I'm locked in. Not time to "move in for the kill" with the wife, need to wait a year before I can sell some stock.

5) Convince wife to go to the boat show one year in advance of when I think I will get a boat. "Why", she asks? - "I'm bored, it's rainy, it might be fun, we'll only LOOK..."

6) We visit a number of boats but I make sure she gets on a C-Dory. I say things like "We could go to the islands for a picnic" while I think things like "Sure, I'll troll for salmon all the way there but the picnic, that's all for you, darling".

7) One more year of hard practicing of my puppy dog eyes and other BS stories like in #6 above. By the time the next boat show comes around, she's convinced.

Total time - about 10 years but now she's properly conditioned. She actually likes the boat a little and she loves me enough to tolerate the fishing. I try to make a point of not fishing about 1 time out of 5 or 10 so that we just go out. She loves crabbing and shrimping (mostly the eating part but crabs and shrimp are worth the effort in her mind). We've both gained confidence in the boat and my abilities to handle it. I haven't really gotten her to a point where she could feel competent handling the boat. I'll work on that this summer.

Now the trick is how to get the next larger boat. Joyce already has started jonesing for the real head of the 25 or C-Ranger tug. I've started to refer to SeaDNA as our "first boat" with the obvious implication that there will be a second. However, I've got to get the kid through college (almost a boat/year for 4 years at Reed) OR win the lottery OR come up with a plan for earning some extra income before we can realisticly trade up. Without some lucky or unforseen circumstances, boat number 2 is probably 4-5 years away.

So for now, I'll just keep looking at bigger boats and I'll keeping referring to SeaDNA as the "first boat". :wink:
 
This is a great thread! For us, it was about 3 years.

In 1998 when we returned from overseas, we needed a vehicle. My wife and I were at a car dealer getting a price on a truck. I was explaining that I wanted the heavy duty tow package, manual transmission, and four wheel drive with a low gear. The salesman said, "Do you have a big boat or something?" I said, "Not yet." Kathy kind of laughed and looked at me funny.

Well, we didn't get that truck, but a few years later (May 2001) we bought our 22 ft. C-Dory. Kathy really made the call. I had been looking at center consoles and RIBs, and she pointed out that, unless I was looking to escape from the family, these boats were not terribly accommodating to little baby girls for long days on the water. C-Dory made a lot of sense, and we have made great family use of it. (And, by the way, it works just fine on those occasions when I do just want to escape!)

Cheers,
 
I'm not a C-Dory owner (yet) so I'll approach this topic from a different angle and make a prediction as to how long I think the process will take for me from initial search to writing the check: 5 years is my estimate.

Here's a little background to put this in perspective. I've been involved with boats all of my life beginning with being raised on the shore of Lake Michigan north of Chicago. When I moved to Berkeley, CA in 1977, I joined the Berkeley Water Ski Club and became a certified tournament boat driver (and slalom competitor) for the next 20 years. In 1998 I got married (for the first time at the ripe age of 47), moved to Danville, CA and fell out of the water skiing scene and boating in general. We still do some sailing, kayaking and power boating during our visits to my mother who still lives in the family house on L. Michigan, but I have lamented not being actively involved in boating for the past 8 years. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever be involved in boating in a meaningful way ever again.

Then a big thing happened this past December; I purchased a property on Lopez Island at Mud Bay. Suddenly I realize that a whole new world of boating is open to me and I'll need a boat! The C-Dory looks like a good fit. First, though, I have to build a house on the property and then retire so that I can spend enough time up there to justify a boat. I figure this will happen within 3 to 5 years and the boat will follow shortly thereafter. In the meantime, if you're at Lopez and see a 6'8" guy on the dock at Fisherman Bay looking for a ride on a C-Dory, you'll know it is me.
 
14 years. In 1989 I balked at the idea of paying $18,700 for one, even though it fit the needs perfectly. So I showed them fortitude and waited until I could pay through the nose . . . Not all bad though, I had some fabulous big Whalers in between.
 
OK, this is a bit of an epistle, so bear with...if you read it on C-Dogs or here before, you can just skip it. Plus it has a new ending, sort of.

September or maybe October 2001, Birch Bay. We have a 13' Feathercraft, Crabby Lou (yes, folks, it was a play on the words Crab Louie), had it for years. Patty has to go crabbing "one more time." It is rough as all get out, I say "It is too rough out there..." She says "But we have to get one last crabbing trip in." Back down, instantly get swamped (there is more, but I will just leave it out because this is already a long story). End of Feathercraft, crap all over the beach, Pat is not up to repairing this sad little craft (David eventually did, but that is another story too).

So we go off to the Tacoma Boat Show in the Tacoma Dome, got a sweet little 16' Smoker Craft, Crabby Lou II - we LOVED that boat, 2002 was our "Summer of Boating Fun." We almost always launched in Blaine, I always gazed out our Birch Bay window at Patos, aching to get over there and see what it was like. I was always suggesting that we could go to the islands, we could sleep on the boat or camp, what did it matter if it was cold, rainy, or whatever.
Crabby_Lou_II_Getting_ready_to_pull_out.jpg
All summer long, I BEGGED Patty to go out to Patos, lots of excuses, it is too far, it is too rough, the boat is too small, blah blah blah. Finally on the last good day of September 2002, we are out crabbing and Patty says "OK, lets go over to Patos." So off we go.

We beached Crabby Lou II on Patos, had a wonderful picnic lunch, Austin LOVES Patos, it was his "happy place." Time to go, we pull out. Then we both saw it. Right there in Active Cove, Patos Island - this boat with a CABIN, and it was way cool looking to boot. Patty says "I could go out overnight in one of THOSE..." It was of course a CD22, anchored there, nobody on board or in sight, so we couldn't ask any questions. We probably circled it half a dozen times, looked at it from every angle. Perfect! I just made a mental note of that name, C-Dory. After that, we never gave a second thought to any other boat.

A short while later, I found the C-Dog site, and posted a bit there, as Catman may remember, that I didn't know how, I didn't know when, but I was going to have one! In a very short time the C-Dog site inexplicably disappears, and I find my new best friends, the C-Brats!

Fast forward to Seattle Boat Show, January 2003 - as David said, we went "just to look." The Boat Show display boat was Jim and Laurie's CD22 Laurna Jo - Patty sat at the dinette, lay down in the veeberth, stood at the galley. And she says the fateful words "Well, lets just go over and see what the deal is..." Stick a fork in her, she is DONE! So what if the loan is 15 years instead of three, what the heck, the payment is the SAME! Fits in the household budget! Within an hour, we had bought our CD22 and so had David and Kate - a "two-fer"!

A dealer order cancelled for two CD22s in our trim color and we had our boats in February, fittingly we picked Daydream up on Valentine's Day 2003. SO much fun in Birch Bay, the San Juans, Lake Washington, Lake Roosevelt, C-Brat trips up the Snohomish, down to Cathlamet, out to Lopez and Blakely, over to Sequim...
Daydream_on_the_Beach_2_Patos_6_28_03.sized.jpg
This awesome little boat opened up so many new places, introduced us to so many great people. What more could we want?

Well...along comes the 2005 SBS. Patty sits at the dinette, lays down in the veebirth, stood at the galley - and well, we won't go graphically into exploration of the head. Honestly, I had no IDEA we needed a CD25 - she says, once again, the fateful words "Lets just go over and see what the deal is..." This time maybe a little longer, a three-fer - Pat and Patty, David and Kate and Jim and Laurie.

The CD25 Daydream has everything we wanted in a boat - and having learned on the CD22, we knew exactly how we wanted to outfit and cutomize it right from the start...Raymarine C-80, Canvas Riggers camperback, the undergalley floor and pull out baskets, plus some David custom interior items like the electronics shelf, the under helm seat slide out food prep board, the chart rack...Patty does the curtains, the carpet, the decorating - I put in the stereo. Last touch is the Airhead Composting Toilet, thanks to Kas for the suggestion (Kas is the buyer of our CD22). This boat is PERFECT.

nchor_at_Von_Donop_Inlet_Another_View_9_12_0.sized.jpg

C-Brat get-togethers through 2005, and especially the unforgettable September Desolation Sound adventure. Plus we discovered Eddie Vine Ramp at Shilshole and boating close to home in Puget Sound. Poulsbo, Mazanita Bay, Quartermaster Harbor, Blakely Harbor, Blake Island, Illahee. It REALLY doesn't get any better than this!

OK, well, maybe we shouldn't have gone to the 2006 Seattle Boat Show...
r_25_ill_main.gif


But basically, we owe it all to Patty's insistence that we go crabbing "one more time," against my better judgment - and boy am I glad we did!
OUT
 
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