The Cape Dory Board

Several of the boats I have looked at on the web are described as having a Universal 24hp engine. I am pretty sure from the photos that they are water-cooled, and one blurb says it is an MD-20, which I believe is actually MD3-20. But when I look up that engine, the specs say 18hp. What am I missing ...

Since I am contemplating buying a twin-headsail Cape Dory 330, I have some questions about yankees and staysails. 1) What actually defines a yankee? Is it just the high cut (angled foot and high clew)? What about size/percentage? 2) Why do twin headsail sloops and cutters tend to have yankees? So as...

Mitchell,
My condolences on the loss of your friend. Sounds like a great guy.
Dean

Hi, Mitchell, You wrote: "The "T" shaped cockpit costs two "fair weather" bunks. Unless you are very short & narrow." Are you saying that because of the notch around the wheel, the cockpit seats are not comfortable for stretching out on? I do not sleep outside on my...

I very much appreciate everyone's input. More is welcome, of course. Cape Dory folks are great! I am not sure where CD25D owners fit in in the Best-Looking Sweepstakes, but keep this in mind: we only LOOK bigger, because the boat is smaller...

Dean

I am looking at CD 33s and 330s. ( Actually, I have not physically been on either.) If cost were not a consideration, which boat would you choose? It would appear to me that the main drawback with the 330 is lack of a quarter birth. On my 25D, we use the quarter berth for storing all manner of thing...

On my 25D (which has an end-of-boom mainsheet), I installed a vang which goes from a bale on the boom, about 1/3 the distance aft, to one at the base of the mast. Common arrangement. When going downwind, I detach it from the mast bale, and hook it to one of those handy little curved buttresses on th...

I use my Loran all of the time; it complements the GPS. I like having two totally independent technologies. If somehow GPS fails, I have Loran. My Loran is easier to see from a distance than my GPS, and when I think of all the time I have fumbled the handheld GPS, I appreciate the fixed Loran. And i...

It would be hard to beat the Taft/Ringlaub book. Highly recommended. My only criticism would be regarding the recommended anchorage at Allen Island in Muscongous Bay; the slot between Allen and Benner does not have enough room because of lobster boats and lobstermen's floats. However, the location i...

I would like to heartily thank everyone who has written in so far, and encourage even more feedback. This discussion is very helpful to me. Much obliged. "Keep those cards and letters coming!"

Dean

I am confused about which Cape Dorys are cutters and which are double-headsail sloops. For example, in the specs on this website, the 32 is shown as a sloop only; but I see that Catherine Monoghan's boat has two headsails and is referred to as "cutter-rigged." Catherine, was this a custom ...

Thanks! Yes, I did get about 8000 results, which apparently had Cape or Dory or 33 in them. I finally tried just 33, and that worked out okay. I appreciate your response.

How the heck do I search only for posts relating to the Cape Dory 33? And if a post has "Cape Dory 33" as part of the author's signature, will that also come up in the results? (I am not interested, say, in a 33 owner's advice on a 25D problem.)

Dean Abramson
CD 25D "Mariah"