The End of an Era...For Now! 16's and 19's

M

markwright

New member
Hello Brats!
I wanted to be transparent with all of you about a decision we recently made at the factory.
We are going to suspend production of the 16' and 19' models until further notice. A steep drop in demand for these models has caused us to make the business decision to focus on the larger models. We have a robust queue of C-Dory 22, 23, 25, 25 Tomcat, and 26' models to build. We have made so few of the 16's and 19's over the past several years, we have made the decision to prioritize production of the larger models. We are fully committed and honored with the responsibility to keep producing this fine line of boats!

A letter will be sent out to our dealers in the coming days to inform them of our decision. You are the first to know.
We have the final 2 16's in production at the factory and I will continue to send you progress pictures until their completion.

We hope you will respect our decision, but we know this may be a shock to the C-Brat Community.

Best--Mark at Northwest Marine Industries
 
This sounds like a very sound business decision. It also increases the worth of those 16' and 19' models out there. If and when the time comes, I assume you may produce the 16 and 19 again as necessary.

Thank you.
 
Thanks for the heads up Mark. And all those owners of the 16 and 19's are (or should be) saying Yippee, my boat just got worth a bunch more. I understand that it is a business decision, and you are in business. Makes $$$$ sense.

It will be interesting to see/hear what or if the dealers have any feedback. The 16 is definitely a different boat and a good entry to the C-Dory world. Yes, there is considerable competition in that size range, but also, those folks who would get into a 16 and then graduate up the line, will now go to another brand, and they may be lost to the C-Dory line forever. I would be curious how many 16s you generally build in one year. I understand that doing them one at a time might be harder than doing all 10 in one fell swoop, but maybe that would be an option, and still allow that entry step into "our world".

Just my thoughts.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Harvey-You know I love you but you got it all wrong. For what it's worth, the 16 footer is not an entry boat to the C-dory world. and one doesn't graduate up the line any more than owners of 22 footers wish they had a 25 footer and so on up the line. The 16 footer is in fact the iconic C-Dory boat, Just look up to the masthead of this site. No bells and whistles (well for years Catman's boat, Bambina, depended on his whistle in the fog). You could go anywhere with the 16 that you can with the others, In fact you can go to some more interesting gunkholes. A trip up the Sammamish Slough comes to mind. For those of us who are elderly and have limited means the 16 footer has extended our joy of boating literally by years. We can pull it behind the vehicle we already have, we can launch and retrieve it even with our physical limitations. Truth be told, I no longer boat. But the memory of my wife and I finishing lunch and saying "let's go boating", hooking "Lizzie" up to our 4 cylinder car, driving 10 miles to the ramp. spending the afternoon on Lake Washington and Lake Union. and then tucking Lizzie away before dinner, priceless. We were able to do that throughout our 70's.To whomever designed and built the iconic 16 footer , "thanks for the memories".
 
Marty, I love you back, and I know exactly what you are saying and feeling. Of the sailboats I had and had access to, my favorite was my Montgomery 15, for all the reasons you mentioned. In fact, at a gathering in Northern Idaho, where I was the youngest by probably 25 years at least, after leaving Lake Pend Oreille the parking lot had a row of 6 Subaru Outbacks, each towing a Monty 15. Again, for all the reasons you mentioned.

My reasoning for the 16 being the entry to the C-Dory family is strictly price based. It allows folks who would not make the $$$$ leap to a 22, a chance to get into a C-Dory, learn it's advantages, meet our C-BRATS, join the family, and have time to accumulate the funding to get into a family sized boat.

I admit, I have not owned a C-Dory 16, but that is the progression I did with sailboats, although maybe I'm not like the rest of the boating world, but that 2 foot itis, is often times a catchable syndrome even though I have not had that bug with the C-Dorys, Jason (South of Heaven), has made up for my lack thereof. (Thank you Jason 8) )

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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It makes good business sense. I know the margins are small for these builders, and my wild guess says even smaller for the 16 and 19. With all the boat builders focused on this size range for the weekend warrior type recreational boater, it's some tough competition.

Whatever it takes to keep the company afloat. There's still many well kept 16s and even a few 19s around for the enthusiasts to enjoy.
 
I think that they should introduce an 18 to replace both 16s and the 19. It could have the cabin from the 16 cruiser and the cockpit from the 16 angler and still be much smaller and lighter than the 19, which is very close to the 22.
And with those insights from my vast knowledge of the marine industry, no doubt they will do just that!
 
Mark, thanks for your transparency. Trimming the fat....

Harvey and Marty: I won't be making many boat decisions for now. Im engaged and planning my wedding! Diamonds are a girls best friend but bloody expensive!

Marty: that's a very touching and inspiring note about how the 16 kept you as an older gentleman in boating. :)
 
Hi Jason- Thanks for your kind words. You know, my favorite picture in your album is the one where you are towing your 16 footer with a Volvo C30. Years ago I had the Volvo1800ES, which was the grandpa of the C30. We towed our 16 footers, however. with a 4 cylinder 245. While my wife has never owned any diamonds, we have had 60 good years together. I do wish you and your fiance many years of health and happiness.
 
Hi Mark

Talk about a business decision. My wife and I cruise the Gulf Islands to Desolation Sound ever since buying C-Belle a 2008 Venture 29. I know she is not a typical C-Dory.....easy to trailer, but on the water she does exactly what I expect in a boat. When we are at anchor or alongside at a dock the first comments are "Wow, where did you get that boat". When I explain that there were only three or four built the next comment I hear is "They should have built more of those. She is such a beauty".
If you take a look at some of the photos I've posted I think you'll agree. We love it.
 
Jason, I wish you both all the best. There are things of import that have priorities. Be sure and keep them in order and down the line you can be giving some other young sprout that very same sage advice that Marty gave you.

Maybe, on down the road, she might enjoy a cute little boat, that is easy to use and keeps you close together.

Marty, Congratulations on a really good run.

Rolly, I know I have crossed wakes with that boat, about 2 years, maybe 3 ago, Around the corner westerly from the Swartz Bay, BC ferry terminal. Don't know if it was you or a previous owner, but I was headed east, and you west, I turned and ran along side for a while and we chatted on the VHF for a bit. Seemed like you were so much closer.

OK, so now that we know this thread has been really Highjacked, at least we have placed some value on the little boats that can.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon

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