Questions regarding the Cape Dory 25

[wjennings]

Good morning Cape Dory Owners!

My name is Will and this Saturday morning I'm going to look at a Cape Dory 25 with the possibility of being its future owner. I'm very excited! I currently sail a Rhodes 19 that I've had forever but now I'm thinking a little bigger would be better to sail and to spend the weekend on.

Can you please provide me with a few tips as to what to look for? Any soft spots in certain places or soft areas near the mast. Engine information. Do they break down a lot? I know currently it's the original outboard from 1978. Yanmar, I think. Any other advise would be fantastic.

I'm so envious of all of you Cape Dory sailors as they are absolutely beautiful boats. I hope to be a proud owner as all of you are, very soon.

Very Sincerely,
Will Jennings

[David Morton]

Hi, Will, welcome to the Board.

I'm a little confused. Cape Dory produced both the CD 25 and the CD 25D. They are not the same boat, not even the same designer! The CD 25 has no internal engine. Furthermore, I don't think Yanmar ever made an outboard!
On the other hand, the CD 25D was built with an internal Yanmar diesel. So, I assume you mean you are looking at a CD 25D with the original Yanmar diesel.
If you could verify which boat you are talking about, there are lots of folks here to offer advice on either one!

I personally own a CD 25D and would be happy to bore you to tears with my opinions. However, I fear that I would be boring you about the wrong boat you are buying, and end up saying, as Rosanna Rosannadanna, aka Gilda Radner, used to say, "Never mind... ".

David

[wjennings]

Hi David,
Thank you so much for replying. Sorry to confuse you. I did miss quote the sellers information. It's is a CD25, that was correct but the engine is a 9.9 Evinrude 2 cycle longshaft outboard. Electric start. So you can put me in contact with a CD25-er, that'd be fantastic!

I currently sail my Rhodes 19. I can gab and gab about that for days so I understand what you mean!

Thank you again and enjoy sailing your CD25D!

Best,
Will

[Zeida]

Hello Will…
check out the link: < reefroof.com > a beautiful restoration of a CD-25 whose owner, Stan Freihofer can answer any question you may have regarding those lovely small yachts. I had my 25 for 18 years and that boat taught me how to sail. I now own a CD-33, but i have nothing but good memories of the CD25. In the section of Projects on this board you will find lots of information on every model and size of the Cape Dories. Good luck with your future purchase.

Zeida

[Jdpmus]

Wow! A 9.9 horse OB in a 25!. Was someone using it to water-ski?

Mine has a 6 horse Johnson 2cycle; plenty of power to push in and out of the marina. I also think that folk with 25's in salt water have additional issues than those of us who sail fresh water. I would try it for a while with the existing OB; that may be perfect while you learn the boat (wish I could have electric start too). If the PO was a racing guy/gal (mine was), you may have more hardware than you would use while cruising. The other posters have good advice regarding seacocks, rigging, deck de-lamination, etc. I also second Zelda's suggestion that you check out Stan's documentation of his restoring "Pearl" on reef roof.com. His work is the gold standard for those of us trying to bring some life back into these beautiful boats.

[Jerry Hammernik]

Will,

If you can post the hull number that will help us as well. I had a 25 for 20 years and am familiar with them like many other members of this board. If it is a 78 it should have a bridge deck. That means there is a seat running across the companionway. That makes for a stronger boat. Check the hatch boards for fit. If they are a sloppy fit it could mean the hull is spreading. There was a known problem with that in that era. Happened to boats that were sailed hard. There was a factory fix for it.

When you see the boat take LOTS of pictures. That will help us comment accurately if we can see areas in question. I agree with looking at Stan's boat. A textbook example of how to do it right.

Those Johnson/Evinrude outboards were nearly bulletproof. I had a 15 hp in mine. The 9.9 and the 15 were the same engine with just a different carburetor. You can never have too much power. The day I launched mine for the first time I wound up towing in a 35 foot wooden sailboat with a dead engine. There is a modification to the engine that will allow it to run with the hatch closed. Helps a lot with the noise. An outboard in that compartment can drive saints to drink after a few hours. I once ran mine for 14 hours on a windless day crossing Lake Michigan. I sat on the bow and let the autopilot steer to preserve my sanity. Lol

Good luck. I liked mine so much that the only reason I moved on was for a CD28.

[Keyscaptainadam]

Im a big fan of the CD25 and have applied my painstaking efforts at beautifying Velella since 2011.

More on her refit at..

www.adam-waywell.squarespace.com

Good shopping!

adam
SV Velella