To buy a c-dory or not.

Last spring at Friday Harbor, and at Lopez, Fishermans Bay, There was a beautiful, all Aluminum Cruiser, custom made, named Raven. I heard it may be up for sale. Probably 30-35 feet, and never been waxed in it's life. My wife liked it for the inside, (washer and dryer, and beautiful) and I liked the no wax finish. Warren, I'm thinking you might be right though, she doesn't like my neighbors Armstrong cat.

Harvey
SeepyC :moon
 
hardee":1237ymsk said:
Last spring at Friday Harbor, and at Lopez, Fishermans Bay, There was a beautiful, all Aluminum Cruiser, custom made, named Raven. I heard it may be up for sale. Probably 30-35 feet, and never been waxed in it's life.
Click to expand...

I wonder if that is the boat John Schuler was going to look at. We will have to ask him at the party.

Warren
 
There was an all - aluminum "C-Dory" lookalike for sale in one of the latest Boat Trader magazines I had. It had nice lines. The hull, decks and cabin superstructure were complete and I think it had a trailer, but the interior was not done, and motors not included. I think it was 23 ft. long and they were asking something like $7,000 - $13,000. Now wouldn't that tend to fracture the cohesiveness of a CBGT if a guy showed up in that? I'll see if I can find it and bring it up this weekend.
C.W.

ps. yes that chair that guy was fishing in was a Lay-z-boy. His wife's looks like a fancy computer chair from Office Max. Guys in aluminum boats with shallow deadrise learned long ago the value of comfortable chairs. I was surprised to learn a year ago that the two front air ride or spring ride seats in my boat retail for $1,100 each. But they are very comfortabe in the chop, fully adjustable, rotate, arm rests, and tension adjustable for the weight of the passenger.
 
I looked long and hard at a welded aluminum boat prior to purchasing our latest boat. Loved the strength and low maintenance aluminum offered. The one I zeroed in on is the Pacific Skiff, made in Marysville, WA. I also looked at Silver Streak (Canadian) which at the time had a price advantage. Pacific makes a great boat, heavy-plate and virtually indestructible. Slightly less Vee than others, similar to Arima's hull ratios. All plating is marine grade alloy, which I believe is 5086. It came down to 5 factors for us: 1. wife disliked the utilitarian look of raw aluminum, and aluminum boats are best left unpainted. 2. wife suspected that aluminum would lead to a colder boat/more condensation; less cozy inside. 3. for similar lengths, these boats (like almost all other similar sized boats) required more HP and at the time gas costs were rising. 4. concerns about electrolysis and galvanic corrosion while the boat is moored on saltwater, 6mo./year. 5. C-Dory has excellent name recognition and known high resale value. Even though I'm the primary boating person in our family we are a democracy and she felt very strongly about this. I could've gone either way but I can't argue with her logic. Pacific and Silver Streak are normally at the SBS for anyone who may be curious. Later, Mike.
 
The cruiser I wanted was the Harbercraft/Kingfisher, an Al boat welded in Canada and finished in Washington. They had the sweetest 27' model, which was lighter than the C-25. It had two problems: it wasn't set up as a cruiser (which I could fix,) and it was expensive. Bought the C-25, which we enjoy, but I still think of the Harbercraft/Jetcraft. Sort of like the girl friend you finally figured out you couldn't afford.

By the way, welding up Al hulls in Canada must be a cottage industry. When we were in Prince Rupert, I visited a couple of weld shops, and each had a partially finished Al boat in the rear. Must be something to do for the winter.

Boris
 
They have the Harbercrafts sitting up there in Fife, right next to the C-Dory's. My wife actually liked the 27 and the 24. But I have a feeling no matter how much monkey fur you put in them they will still have condensation problems, and they have to really resonate. Won't know for sure till you try one.
 
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