What's the deal with my waterline?

[wikakaru]

My CD22 came with a huge 9.8 HP Tohatsu with an electric starter that weighed around 100 pounds. Yesterday I replaced it with a little Yamaha 2.5 that weighs around 40 pounds. The boat has always squatted at the stern when at rest, and removing all that weight has helped some, but not completely.

There is still more bottom paint showing forward than aft. It seems to me that the boot stripe/bottom paint junction line curves up towards the bow.

Do you think one of the previous owners screwed up the waterline? Should I try to re-level it by moving it up at the stern?

Do I have a trim problem and need to add some trim ballast forward?

Chime in!

Top: with 9.8 HP Tohatsu and empty water tank; bottom: with 2.5 HP Yamaha and full water tank. (The water tank is 24 gallons under the V-berth).

2020-07-07 Arietta with old and new engines.jpg

Here's the original line drawing for your reference:

CD22 Hull.jpg

Thanks in advance for your input!

Jim

[Jim Walsh]

Pretty boat. She looks well trimmed with the new outboard. It appears someone may have changed the waterline level forward. You could move it down but it may not be an easy project. You’ll have to weigh the potential benefits against the cost and effort to make the adjustment. If the gelcoat was sanded to enhance the boot top and antifouling adhesion it may be a real pain to get the topside gel coat looking presentable again.

[kerrydeare]

... The boat has always squatted at the stern when at rest, and removing all that weight has helped some, but not completely ... There is still more bottom paint showing forward than aft. It seems to me that the boot stripe/bottom paint junction line curves up towards the bow ...

In my experience, these boats (and I chance to say the entire fleet from smallest to longest) have always seemed to "squat" and appear down by the stern. Just why this is I cannot say, but if you begin to look at many examples of the Cape Dory fleet as they sit in the water, I suspect you will see this trend.

It used to be the case that the boot strip was painted to "flare" a bit at both bow and stern. This type of paint job was thought to be quite "yar" and gave a bit of jauntiness to the boat. Some folks also thought that the boat painted like this appeared to be in motion even while on her mooring. I did this on my own CD 28 but getting the right look was not all that straightforward. BTW, I am not really making this stuff up.

In short, I suggest you just live with it until the times comes when it starts to look right.

[RC James]

Personally, 2 dead batteries in the V-berth of the 25D worked for extra weight, or perhaps more Chain in the AnchorLocker?
Truly, it is a personal choice..... extra weight forward may benefit pointing abilities in a breeze. but the boat is always going to squat when under power ...... I think your new engine selection and trim at anchor look good.

The forward bottom/lower line of the bootstripecould be dropped a bit, similar to what military aircraft did to their engine intakes in the 60's-70's, and painted/arced upward to meet the original bootstripe as it runs aft.

Geez... Fast! even at anchor!!

[mgphl52]

Congrats on switching to a proper sized outboard! As for the apparent "curve" of the boot stripe, I suggest you simply accept it as an "optional delusion"...

[sloopjohnl]

if my '76 Ty with its original water line, 2hp Honda and all the usual gear on board is any comparison we are on the same par. your boat looks great from here. maybe if you removed the Yamaha and all the gear on board it would float a little different and the way it came out of the factory, but seems irrelevant. again, it looks good overall!

[robwm]

She looks good, whether you think she's "squatting" or not.

A couple of reasons that may explain the look:
1) While you reduced the weight on the aft end by half+, it is still 40 lbs worth of weight hanging there. If you compare the original to the new look, it seems to me that the bow went down by about half/thereabouts. That weight 2) was not intended to be there by Mr Alberg, as reflected by the line drawing where the stripe is parallel to the water line and the aft end is appendage free.

Last, for good measure, let me throw in a 3rd possible reason: optical illusion due to the curvature of the hull and the fact that the photo is not looking dead-on and at the level of the stripe/water. The line drawing is.

No matter the reason, and in my unbiased opinion as a CD22 owner, that's a nice looking boat !

Robert

[s2sailorlis]

Curious but do you always leave the outboard bracket down?

[wikakaru]

If the gelcoat was sanded to enhance the boot top and antifouling adhesion it may be a real pain to get the topside gel coat looking presentable again.

Good thought. Maybe I will hold off on re-doing the waterline until I repaint the boat. The decks need to be refurbished because of all the randomly-oriented cracks in the gelcoat, and when that is done it makes sense to replace the teak, and when that is done it makes sense to go ahead and just paint the topsides, too, and of course that means repainting the boot stripe. I'm trying to put all of that off as long as possible...

Jim

[wikakaru]

It used to be the case that the boot strip was painted to "flare" a bit at both bow and stern. This type of paint job was thought to be quite "yar" and gave a bit of jauntiness to the boat. Some folks also thought that the boat painted like this appeared to be in motion even while on her mooring. I did this on my own CD 28 but getting the right look was not all that straightforward. BTW, I am not really making this stuff up.

In short, I suggest you just live with it until the times comes when it starts to look right.

Yes, if you look at the original drawing, Alberg drew a slight flare to the boot stripe forward, but it is way less than what I have.

Learning to "live with it until it looks right" is a good philosophy on a boat. Just like how all those "temporary" fixes somehow become permanent...

[wikakaru]

She looks good, whether you think she's "squatting" or not.

A couple of reasons that may explain the look:
1) While you reduced the weight on the aft end by half+, it is still 40 lbs worth of weight hanging there. If you compare the original to the new look, it seems to me that the bow went down by about half/thereabouts. That weight 2) was not intended to be there by Mr Alberg, as reflected by the line drawing where the stripe is parallel to the water line and the aft end is appendage free.

Last, for good measure, let me throw in a 3rd possible reason: optical illusion due to the curvature of the hull and the fact that the photo is not looking dead-on and at the level of the stripe/water. The line drawing is.

No matter the reason, and in my unbiased opinion as a CD22 owner, that's a nice looking boat !

Robert

I have to think that, while Alberg didn't draw the lines based on having an outboard mounted on the transom, he also probably used "half-load displacement" for his calculations, meaning that he assumed the water tank was half full. Half a tank is 12 gallons, or 96 pounds of water. I would think that my "extra half" water tank would offset the weight of the little 2.5 outboard.

As you say, the lines drawings are a different perspective than the photos. Actually they are probably not "perspective" drawings at all.
The fact that the stanchions, winches, cleats, etc that exist on both port and starboard sides are all exactly in line for the drawings mean that no perspective was used, (or perhaps it's more correct to say that the focal point is an infinite distance away). If you look closely at the alignment of the stanchions in my two photos, you can see that I took my two shots from different places, too. Oh well, you get the idea.

Alberg really had an eye for drawing nice looking boats!

[wikakaru]

Curious but do you always leave the outboard bracket down?

That outboard bracket has been seized up since the day I bought the boat. It used to be stuck a little higher than it is now and the 9.8HP could be tilted--barely--out of the water. But over the winter the boatyard somehow moved the outboard bracket into the down position, and I couldn't get the 9.8 to tilt up out of the water any more. Try as I might I couldn't get the bracket to move. I don't know how they did it. Probably took a forklift to it.

I'm looking for a new removable outboard bracket to replace that piece of junk so I can sail the boat mostly without an engine and not have an ugly bracket hanging back there. If you have any ideas in that regard, please post your suggestions to this thread: http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=37318

--Jim

[tjr818]

. . . As you say, the lines drawings are a different perspective than the photos. Actually they are probably not "perspective" drawings at all.
The fact that the stanchions, winches, cleats, etc that exist on both port and starboard sides are all exactly in line for the drawings mean that no perspective was used, (or perhaps it's more correct to say that the focal point is an infinite distance away). If you look closely at the alignment of the stanchions in my two photos, you can see that I took my two shots from different places, too. Oh well, you get the idea.

Alberg really had an eye for drawing nice looking boats!

Line drawings are what the designer had in mind, many things get changed when the boat goes into production. Take a look at the line drawing and you will see a curve to the from to the cabin top that is not there on the boat. Take a look at the line drawing transom and you will see that it has a far more pronounced curve than the final production boat. I am sure that there are other changes too.

[mgphl52]

Take a look at the line drawing transom and you will see that it has a far more pronounced curve than the final production boat. I am sure that there are other changes too.

i believe that is caused by perspective... The line drawing represents the "view" of your eye being exactly perpendicular at each location. That is not the view you get with a camera and the lens being mid-ship, hence the stern curve "disappears."

[casampson]

My CD 25 rode high in the bow by six to eight inches. I filled the water tank this season, and she has leveled off considerably.