Are Cape Dory Sailboats as Cool as they Look?

[Scott]

I'm thinking of downsizing from a newer 26' keel boat to a smaller, less expensive, less hassle sailboat. I bought the keel boat thinking the family would do some future cruising and a bunch of daysailing, nice cabin, enclosed head, etc... Family has made it clear they don't want to go cruising.... I don't have a tow vehicle able to tow the 6500 pounds, and I don't have plans to get one now. My wife and daughter sailed with me just once this summer, though I get out sailing 2-3 times a week, and always ask if they want to come along. Turns out they like to motor out, drop anchor, lounge and swim :-> So now I'm thinking that I might get a smaller sailboat for the express purpose of day sailing.

Last summer I would occasionally see this silver haired lady single handed sailing a beautiful sailboat. One day I got close enough to compliment her on the boat and ask what it was. A Cape Dory. I don't know what size it was, 20' maybe, but I sure liked the lines of the boat.

I would sure like to hear comments from owners of the Cape Dory's. How do they handle or sail in light winds, moderate winds, heavy winds? What do you think of them? I don't know a thing about them and this is my first inquiry. Thanks, Scott in Minnesota

[mashenden]

For similar reasons (kids, soccer, busy, wife not overly thrilled) I downsized from a 30' American Marine Seychelles to a 18' CD Typhoon. What a great move. I can sail it solo without a sweat, or with the kids when there are no conflicts, or even on rare occasions when my wife joins me (and with confidence that a sudden gust will be minimized by the adequate keel).

This weekend I sailed with some friends in a decent blow. Spray coming over the side. Plenty of wind. I downsized the jib slightly and kept on keeping on. What a great end to the season.

At the end of the day I pulled it out on the trailer, sprayed it off, lowered the mast and stowed the sails/motor in the garage. Just as easy as that, I am winterized.

[Paul D.]

Scott,

I cannot say enough about the Typhoon. Though I did get a bigger boat, the Typhoon will always be in my heart. I first went sailing on one with four other guys for a night sail in my teens. We all crashed on that boat, somehow, I think I slept out in the cockpit. But it was a defining moment. 18 years later I saw one in a field and bought it complete with Hornet's nest down below, and fixed her up. See Good Old Boat magazine for the article, and sailed happily for four years. My good friend bought her and still sails her.

You cannot find a prettier, better sailing boat for the money. She is stable yet responsive. In light zephers I passed M scows on our city lake. Really pissed them off. Admittedly I had sewn up new sails and found a mylar genoa that was really fun. In a blow, you can reef down and power nicely without worry of flipping. you'll get wet, but they make very nice rain coats now, and with a sweater underneath one you'll be fine in the cold.

On Lake Superior, in May, a friend and employee of mine, one of the top 100 american climbers at the time and an acknowledged glutton for punishment and suffering, went out in 30 knots and four footers. It was quite cold but we beat upwind and ran down for an entire grey afternoon. He said, " This is the sort of thing you say was really fun...the next day." We are still telling people about that sail six years later.

So, if you can't tell I am rather biased, but at least I have real experience with one.

Is a Cape Dory a cool boat? Yes.

Paul

[Will Wheatley]

They are great boats but you came to the wrong place to hear otherwise.
I am not sure from your post if you plan on keeping the boat in the water or if you want to get a trailerable boat.
I have a CD25 and it is a terrific boat I sail it solo 99% of the time and it is easy to handle alone but big enough that on the days that my wife and two young boys come along there is enough room without feeling crowded. I keep it in a slip but there are folks who trailer them. In my opinion a 25's rig is substantail enough that it takes a while to set her up and break her down even with a good mast lowering/raising system so if you want to trailer you should consider one of the smaller models. Several folks mentioned the Typhoon, the CD22 and 22D are both worth looking at as well. If you go to the top of the page on the message board you will see "Cape Dorys" in between "Registry" And "LMCDOA", click on that and you can learn all about the whole line of Cape Dorys.

Happy Sailoring~~~~/)~~~~

[John Danicic]

For once I agree with my brother.

There is nothing cooler then a Cape Dory. Your accountant will agree because the resale values are good. They were built to last with high quality gear so your marina workers will agree. If you get a Typhoon, you can easily launch and tow it with a moderate sized car or van or small pickup truck. In any mooring area or harbor, the CDs stand out from their less pretty brethren. And, if you are like many Cape Dory owners, your heart will flutter as you take that one last look at her as you head for the car after a sail. Now that's cool.

Sail on

John Danicic
CD36 - Mariah - #124
Lake Superior

[Scott]

question

Let me ask some different questions.

What do you like about the Cape Dory?

What don't you like about the Cape Dory?

What do you do for replacement parts since the manufacturer is long gone? Things like rudders, mast?

Remember I was talking about seeing that beautiful Cape Dory skippered by a silver haired gal? I saw her sailboat listed in the directory so I was able to fire off an email. She has a Typhoon. And now I remember seeing one or more sailboats on the lake with "TY" on the sail. Ohhh, so thats what "TY" stands for.

Thanks for the chat.

[Dave]

If your looking for a typhoon give me a call I have one I'm looking to sell.
Dave
(410)905-2257

[Will Wheatley]

Let me ask some different questions.

What do you like about the Cape Dory?

In addition to things I already mentioned, they are great fun to sail even when things are a little rough. They have a relatively shallow draft which lets you get into the tight spots. They are not hard to maintain if you get a really nice one and not hard to restore if you get a fixer-upper. I have sailed in all kinds of weather in my 25 and she is a solid little yacht, very forgiving when things get rough. It is fun to be a regular part of this web site and the CDSOA.

What don't you like about the Cape Dory?

Not very big interiors, especially in the smaller models, when compared to newer boats of similar size but the classic looks of a CD a hard to find in newer boats.

What do you do for replacement parts since the manufacturer is long gone? Things like rudders, mast?


Most parts are still available from a couple places including Spartan Marine who made many of the original parts. I recently ordered a tiller strap from Rig Rite and it worked perfectly. If you look around the web site you will find a lot of the vendors who can supply parts. In any event fixing the boats is totally doable especially when you have this increadible web site to turn to when you need a hand. I have done extensive work on Suzi Q and always find good advise here.

Hope I helped

Happy Sailoring~~~~/)~~~~

[Scott]

This is a great CD website and I appreciate the chance to browse it, learn about the different models, reac the older messages on the board, and ask questions to experienced CD skippers. Thanks.

I sort of have my eye on the Typhoon because of the size. I think all the CD's have a gorgous classic look to them.

How much side slip does a Typhoon experience? I have a 25' shoal winged keel boat, 26" draft, and there is a lot of side slip. I'm guessing from the massive keel under the Typhoon that side slip is minimal when compared to a shoal keel.

How does the Typhoon and Sr. react to puffs? Again to compare, my shoal keel boat heels suddenly and rounds up, often violently. If I leave the boom out and not run close hauled, then the rounding up is lessened but then I can't point as well. I have watched other skippers in that same situation and their boats just heel in the puff, and then speed up, not round up.

At what point do you normally, if there is such a value, reef for singlehanded sailing? Come to think about it, does it have reefing points in the sail?

I only have experience with my 25' keel boat, so I have to ask, does the Typhoon or Typhoon Sr. tip over?

How much can you comfortably heel? Can you get the gunnel touching the water?

Is the Typhoon or Ty Sr. ok with 20 to 25 knot winds?

When I look for a CD, are there any special potential problem areas that I should be aware of? Or what should I focus on? Is rot a typical issue? How are the hulls holding up? I only have experience with a nearly new keel boat, and none with a 25-30 year old boat.

Thanks for all your comments. While I've been sailing a keel boat for only 3 years, I've been sailing and racing catamarans for 22 years.

[MikeRPSU]

Hi, as you can see from my signature, I am a former Cape Dory owner. I do like my current boat (Pearson 31) but I just love Cape Dorys and will someday own another one.

Your last post you posed a few questions:

Puffin (Ty Senior) was my previous boat and currently sails out of Lake Pepin (Minnesota) with her new owner. She handled beautifully. Yes you can heel her over until the toe rail was in the water and the boat still felt very stable.

Compared to your winged keel boat (my Pearson is one of them) the CD will probably be a little slower, but will track and handle much better in the water. Puffin had almost no "side slip" which I believe has a lot to do with the profile of the full keel in the water. My Pearson experiences a little of this.

The boats are SOLID. But they also have cored decks so that is the main concern that you don't have any significant deck delamination. Puffin was 20 years old and the stanchions and deck were as rock solid as the day she left the factory. If you find boats that are well cared for chances are you won't have a problem. Don Casey writes a good book (This Old Boat) on things to check when looking for an older sailboat.

The boat will handle fine in 20-25 knots....you just have to decide how much heel you can tolerate. I didn't like spending my afternoon at 25-30 degrees so I reefed early and often....my wife likes it better that way too. Having also owned a Hobie 18 and a Sunfish, you don't have the same worries about ending up in the drink (unless you are trying to relive the voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald) that you will with a keel boat (especially a full keel boat). With 2-3,000 pounds of lead on the bottom, you'll be hard pressed to ever "turn turtle".

One other comment....the Ty Sr is big enough that you can spend a weekend on it comfortably. Ours had a cooler, porta potty and we had 3 sleeping on it at a time. not sure the Ty is big enough for that.

Good luck. They are beautiful boats.

Mike

[M. R. Bober]

There is nothing cooler then a Cape Dory.
John Danicic
CD36 - Mariah - #124
Lake Superior

I beg to differ. Clearly the skippers are cooler!

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Annapolis (Where we are so cool that our water freezes @ 33F), MD

[Oswego John]

Scott,

Ya wanna talk about cool? Let me tell you how cool my CD is. When I sail in mid August my tiller has 1/4" of frost on it and I have to wear ski mittens.

Man, that's how cool she is. I kid you not.
O J

[bill2]

OJ

Please forgive me, I'm having a senior moment - did you say you sail the great lakes or great slave lake

Fair Winds

Bill

[Paul McCary]

Scott, I am as big a fan of my Typhoon as the others who have posted. But you did ask about any negatives. One thing to look for is "oil canning" of the deck as a result of downward pressure from the mast. You'll find many old posts on this subject on the board. My only other critical observation is that, for most people, the Typhoon is a daysailer. Personal preferences differ, so I'm sure there are many people who regularly overnight in them. It wouldn't be my idea of a good time.

Let us know if and when you make a purchase.

[Scott]

be a facinating boat to me. I'm trying to find out if the there's more to the boat than just its good looks. It looks great and I'm hoping it sails great too.

The Typhoon sailing performance sounds very good, as good as I was expecting or hoping for. While 20-25 knot winds are not my favorites, 20-25 knot puffs are common enough and I was figuring that the full length keel probably gave the Typhoon a real advantage. LIke I said earlier, I want a boat to speed up in a puff, not violently round up, and heel excessively, spilling all the wind. I don't want to have to depower the sailboat too soon. On my 26' keel boat with shoal keel, its very tender, so I have to reef early, thus depower much sooner than I'd like. I watched some boats last summer and how they reacted to puffs. They just heeled and sped up.

Thanks for the tips on the oil canning and delaminations. While I haven't experienced it, I know enough to understand how mast compression occurs (lack of adequate support under the mast, overtightened stays, rot). I will spend a bunch of time this winter going through the old posts to learn this and other issues.

MIke brought up speed. I forgot to ask about that. Typically I'll get 4 to 4.5 knots out of the 26' keelboard in a good breeze. What can you get out of a Typhoon or Typhoon Sr or CD22? While I'm not looking for a rocket, I don't want an ole nag either. I was looking at PHRF numbers last night. The Typhoon is 318 or so. In contrast, I noticed the J22 was 167 something, speaking of a rocket.

Thanks for the comments on cabin space. My keel boat is more like a camper with lots of unused cabin space. This time around I'm looking for a daysailor, less cabin the better. Maybe just enough cabin to hold my junk if its raining. I saw a photo on this forum of a Typhoon with no cabin. Now that looked really interesting!

Thanks for the info on tipping. Yeah I come from catamaran sailing and racing where tipping happens. I was thinking that long deep keel would make it nearly impossible to tip and stay on its side.

I wonder where Oswego John sails if its that cold. I would think Lake Superior maybe?

Thanks for the side slip comments. Yes, I'm thinking the Typhoon or SR, CD22, would have less side slip than my shoal keel boat (26" draft). I'm looking to race with the sailing club, and so side slip is a big factor.

On replacement parts, thanks for the comments. I checked the parts links from this website and found that you can get replacement masts, booms, etc.

I've been enjoying browsing the internet looking at photos of Typhoons, Typhoon Sr, CD22's. It will be a fun winter learning more about the CD boats.

Thanks