What Made You Choose a Cape Dory?

[Richard G.]

Just wondering what criteria went into your decissions to purchase a Cape Dory. Just a thread that might be interesting.

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world... she walks into mine." ...or something like that.

[Joe Myerson]

Well, I've always been a sucker for traditionally designed sailboats.

I owned a Marshall catboat for 16 years and loved it. However I wanted to be able to travel farther, sail in rougher weather and stronger winds and cruise in greater comfort: I wanted standing headroom and my wife wanted a separate head compartment. (The "sitting headroom" of a catboat just wasn't fun after the age of 50.)

Actually, the first boats I tried to buy did not have standing headroom, but they were traditonal in design: a Flicka and/or a Pacific Seacraft 25. Both boats proved almost impossible to find on the East Coast. I also lusted after a Morris Frances, but the cheapest one I could find was just under $40K.

Then, through a net search, I learned about the Cape Dory 25D, which was called "the East-Coast Flicka." It turned out that a distant relative, who also sails on Buzzards Bay, had a 25D. He took my wife and me for a test sail; we were hooked.

I also looked at a Bayfield 25, but decided that the construction just wasn't as robust.

Does this help?

--Joe

[Neil Gordon]

All it took for me was a comparison to the balance of the older "comparable" production boats. Comparable is in quotes for a reason.

[Russell]

When I went to buy a boat for cruising I had a long list of desirable features, I dont have the list anymore but I will try to remember best I can:

35 to 40' long
Full keel
Keel stepped mast
Wheel steering
Cutter rig or ketch/cutter (only ketch if on the high end of size)
Good ventelation (amazing how few boats have all their ports opening).
Solidly built, solid fibreglass hull, no coring and plenty thick.
Good reputation
Fold up bulkhead mounted saloon table rather then centerline
Plenty of storage
Easy to single hand
Good nav station
Galley that doesnt block the companionway
Small cockpit with good scuppers
75K to 100K price tag
etc...

I looked at about 5 dozen boats before settling on the CD36, it fit all my critera. Several other boats did as well:

Some one offs that looked good, but too many question marks there as far as sailing ability, no reputation.

Pacific Seacraft 34 and 37, great boats with great reputations, but for dollar value, build quality and interior space, they didnt compare well to the CD.

Lots of taiwanese built boats, Cheoy Lees and such, but far to many build problems, the hulls are excelent and interior joinery terrific but all the little things are very subpar (black iron tanks, etc). Likewise with the Tayana 37, looked at about 5 of those.

Shannons, well, a shannon 38 is what I actually had my mind set on, but a decent one costs $120K+, any less money gets you a tired and wet boat.

So I found and bought my CD36, I have been plesently suprised by it and dissapointed in some ways as well..

Things I did not expect that I love:

This boat sails! Dont let the full keel fool you, this is a moderate displacement boat, not a heavy displacement boat. A CD36 does terrific in light wind for a full keel boat. She points well, I am always amazed at how high I point. The helm is light all things considered (of course it will never compare to a spade rudder boat). Extreamly easy to balance ( I sail with a windvane 95% of the time, so balance is very important). Now, I dont mean to say I expected the CD to sail poorly, but I simply did not expect it to sail this well!

Hull thickness, I have drilled many holes in my boat at this point, and I am always amazed at how thick the hull and deck are.

Comfort, it never fails that after a passage I run into folks who just did the same one (ussually while clearing in with customs and immigration), people are always saying things like "it was rough out there" or something like that, and I tend to ussually be suprised to hear it. Sure I have had uncomfortable trips, but they tend to involve motoring into the wind with unimaginable rain pouring down. More wet then uncomfortable really. Only once do I recall feeling scared in my CD, and that was a trip from Block Island to Cape May late in the year (lets put it this way, leaving Block Island there was only 2 other boats even in the pond!). 15' seas, but insanely steep with a short interval, close reaching, the boat would occationally encounter a bigger wave, and due to the steepness, it would literally "fall off" the wave. But after about 4 hours of this, I suddenly got a huge smile on my face, because I realized the boat was doing fine and I had no reason to be scared!

Okay, downsides, well I have plenty of complaints, but all are minor, no reason to detail them, but I will sum it up: I wouldnt mind a boat that was less tender, carried its beam furthur aft, less exterior teak(!!), longer waterline (less overhang), engine access stinks, etc...

There is no perfect boat, but a CD is a great boat, I never stop getting compliments on my boats looks or its performance.

[Troy Scott]

long ago I owned a Ty, then a CD25, then a CD22, and I love the classic lines and the sailing qualities. After Katrina destroyed my Pearson I started looking for a replacement. I had already discovered the Robinhood 36 and was very impressed, and I was thinking that maybe in five years or so I would buy a new one. Then Katrina revised my plans! Still I wasn't quite ready to spend the money for a new Robinhood. I found a Hinckley Pilot 35 that had already been restored and I fell in love with her. Unfortunately the banks wouldn't provide financing because of her age. A serious lack of judgement, in my opinion. After that, I found a nice (and 20 years newer) Cape Dory 36 owned by Robinhood Marine Center. She needed work (which I'm doing now) but I saw in her the potential to be just as nice as the Pilot 35. The two boats are very similar. They both are cutter rigged. The CD is a little heavier. They have the same Perkins diesel auxiliary. Both are full keel boats with traditional lines and similar layouts. I had never really developed an emotional attachment to the Pearson that was destroyed by the hurricane, but this CD36 has stolen my heart. Her name is now IMAGINE.

[Warren Kaplan]

HORMONES, OF COURSE!!

I read about the quality of the boat and everything else about Cape Dorys. Then the first one I looked at I fell passionately in love with!!

End of story.

[tartansailor]

The lower Delaware Bay is characterized by steep short period waves amplified by surprisingly varied bottom structure.
Strong current accelerated by the funneling tidal flow makes for interesting boat handling. There are no sailing centers here because it is too damn rough.
So
It is either a deep full keeled boat, or a deep "V" stink pot.

Dick

[barfwinkle]

My first boat was a Catalina 27. Fine little boat, but not the quality of a CD. During the two and a half years with "Celebration" I had already decided to "move up" as it were.

I spent most of the last 18 months (of ownership of Celebration) looking for a full keeled boat in the 25 - 27 foot range. I purchased several "boat reviews" for Practical Sailor and immediately fell in love with the lines of both the 25 & the 25D. About this time a gentleman from the Lake Champlain (sp) area sent me some pics of his 28. I was truly hooked then.

So I began to look around and finally went to look at a 28 and a 25D. The 28 was VERY over priced (34K 10 years ago) and I am not a fan of the v-berth in a small boat. I Purchased Rhapsody on Canyon Lake Tx and have never regretted it one bit.

Fair Winds

[plumber]

We were very happy with our little Starwind 19, it had a drop board and when up we could duck into all the small inlets that line the east end of Lake Ontairo. But we always had an eye out for something a bit larger, family growing(mostly friends the girls had to bring to make there life aboard complete). There are a couple of ty's and a 27 in the harbor that always caught my eye, great looking boats.
I have a friend who was looking at a larger boat and was going to sell his, a Contesa 25, at the time I lusted after that boat.
At Harborfest, 1999, I wandered past a broker who had listings out and one stood out. A CD25, I got all the info I could and brought it to my wife who said she wouldn't mind seeing it but we were not in the market. I went back to the broker and made arrangments to see it.
Well, It was love at first site, the test sail was great, and we sailed her home 2 weeks later. We did no serious research on Cape Dories, we just knew that a boat that beautiful had to be great.
Except for not being able to get into those little inlets any more we have not regretted a moment. Impulse buying!? won't do it again, but this one time has payed us back 100 fold .
Plumber

[John Danicic]

What made me choose a Cape Dory?

The fact that every time I leave my Cape Dory, at every anchorage or dock, I always look back and my heart does a little flutter at the sight.

Also, while contemplating the purchase, there was the annoying voice of my brother on my answering machine that kept saying, "Buy the boat".

I did and always look back.




Sail on.

John Danicic
CD 36 - Mariah - #124
Lake Superior

[Troy Scott]

John,

That's the key: I've heard and read many times that you'll keep the boat that makes you look back as you row away. That's the way I feel.

[NevisTyphoon]

Actually, I had some friends over to dinner one night and mentioned I was looking for a motor-sailer. My friend Peter Willauer was there. Peter taught the sailing class at the Naval Academy for a few years before starting and running the Outward Bound sailing program for 20 years. He said I probably didn't want that.

Another friend mentioned that a mutual friend had the Typhoon on the hard that was crying for attention. Peter's eye's brightened and he said emphatically "now THAT'S the boat you want!"

Who was I to argue?

Regards,

[Duncan Maio]

Dave Tripp, who is one of the most knowledgeable people I actually know when it comes to boats, suggested we buy a CD27.

And renowned nautical author or not, anyone who can talk his more or less non-sailing spouse into crossing an ocean, well, I want what he's having (the boat - I like my own spouse just fine).

Seriously, Dave recommended the CD27 as a good "first and only" small cruiser, and shortly thereafter we found one - ten years and two kids ago. It is certainly still the only boat we will ever need, and may be the only boat we ever want.

I have to add, though, that the wealth of information and support in this community was important to the purchasing decision, and has been a tremendous source of additional enjoyment over the years.

She is pretty, she is forgiving, and she keeps us both entertained and safe.

[Warren S]

A little over a year ago the bug once again bit me to buy any and all sail boat magazines and just fantasize about the kind of boat I might have if I had the resources. This time in my career however, I did have some resources. I rentes a Catalina 22, the biggest boat I had sailed to date. Judy was called on to crew, as I had no idea what I was getting in to. We not only had a wonderful time with no problems negotiating the channels near Beaufort (we were too naive to know how challenging that are could be and how many sailors in the area avoid it like the plague).

We decided to go ahead and go halvsies on a boat, and I wanted one that had the nifty cutaway view of the Alberg full keel designs: full keel, low cabin floor, high cabin top = lots of headroom and heavy displacement. The conscious decision at the time was I wanted a boat heavy and stable enough to look out for it's novice captain and crew if we were to get in over our heads. ANd indeed we did on 2 occasions, and she just seemed to stand by waiting while we sorted out the right thing to do (usually reefing-too-late type of situations).

At the risk of making an even longer and more boring post, we had scheduled 2 28's in the coastal NC area to go and see. I had studied the design of the 27's and 28's thoroughly with the idea of having the showings go faster. When we arrived there, there was a 270 sitting there that had just arrived on the market and was not advertised yet. I did not know such CD existed, neither did our broker, who called her a "27". Once in the cabin, I was struck by the presence of the centerboard trunk... "a CD with a center board? naawwww! This can't be a Cape Dory"! but she was, and initially I was so smitten with the 28, I didn't really want to consider her. *But* the interior finish on the 270"s is a tad more luxurious with the additional teak, the overall condition was better and as we later learned, the shoal draft/centerboard is just perfect for the shoal-y Pamlico.

I'm convinced we just couldn't have selected a more appropriate boat, at this high of a quality standard (Our surveyor has a CD Power boat and explained the details of construction, the history of fiberglass techique, etc.).

And, she just has soul.

[Oswego John]

Hi all,

I was doing semi-major work on a guy's sailboat. He owed me some heavy bucks. His wife caught him slipping around behing her back. The divorce was getting messy and most of his boat units were being diverted into his lawyer's coffers.

The guy was trying to keep his ex from getting everything. He didn't want to see his boat get sold for 10¢ on the dollar, so I wound up with a sailboat through a mechanic's lien.

I wanted/needed a sailboat like I want a root canal job. I was a confirmed, dyed in the wool power guy.

Now this was about 40 years ago, don't rightly remember for sure.
It was some new fangled boat made by a small shop up in New England somewhere. A '66 Typhoon Weekender. No one ever heard of it. Couldn't race locally in one design matches. It was the only one in the harbour. Race? Ha, lol. I didn't have the first clue on how to sail, never mind win trophies. Talk about a comedy of errors.

This all happened many long years before the CDSOA was ever dreamed of. Hull numbers were of no importance. All the things concerning CDs came to light many years later.

Do you know that after all these years and maybe 12 or 15 boats later, I still own that little Ty W/E #44, or is it #42? Macht nichts. I don't think that I'll ever get rid of it. Probably include it in my will. It's still a classic beauty.

She's a keeper,
O J