Looking for Cape Dory 33 owners

[Brian Pavicic]

I recently purchased a cape dory 33 that is located in Seattle.I need input from anyone having any experience with this particular boaton the following:-sailing charactistics-engine/mechanical-spare parts-extended voyaging-general info.


bpavicic@infoaccess.com

[Charles Fischer]

I recently purchased a cape dory 33 that is located in Seattle.: I need input from anyone having any experience with this particular boat: on the following:: -sailing charactistics: -engine/mechanical: -spare parts: -extended voyaging: -general info.

As we are planning to leave on our summer cruise on the morning tide, this willbe fairly brief.
Some info:Ours is hull 89, powered with a Universal 24 hp. This is our 4th season with theboat, having moved up from a 25D. We are planning to move aboard for an openended adventure beginning next year. Whether this will be a permanentretirement, or just temporary remains to be seen.
The boat sails comfortably, even in Michigan's square waves. No surprises here.I ran into the fellow who was Cape Dory's quality control manager (now anofficer at Edson) at the Navy Pier boat show this winter, and he felt that the28 and 33 were their best sailing models.
There is another CD33 not far from here, and they also had the Universal diesel,but no owner's manual for it. I copied ours for them, and extend the offer toyou if you need it. The engine seems to be strong, and in good shape. The boathad never been cruised -- good for the engine, I suppose, but it was short oncruising equipment. Westerbeke has the Universal line now, and is a source forengine spares, although some are at astounding prices. We haven't neededanything except routine stuff so far.
Spartan Marine is still in operation in Maine, and they have a lot of thehardware. They also have some, but not a lot, of knowledge about the variousCDs. Also, Andy Vavolotis is building the 36 under the name of Robinhood 36 atRobinhood Marine in Maine.
As far as extended voyaging, that is in the future for us. We have made a numberof changes/additions to this end, however. The list includes: replacing the hotwater heater which had corroded, adding Autohelm 4000 and some new instrumentsto replace some which had failed. We have added a deck-wash pump, radar, GPS.This year I threw out the alcoholic monster whose oven had never been used. Thatfreed up space for an Isotherm refrigeration compressor, a tilt-out waste bin,and a Force 10 propane cooktop. Expensive stuff, only justified by our plans tolive aboard for awhile and a joyful wife. If you have any interest in thesethings I can provide more detail.
Charlie Fischer


73317.1131@CompuServe.COM

[Al Levesque]

I recently purchased a cape dory 33 that is located in Seattle.: I need input from anyone having any experience with this particular boat: on the following:: -sailing charactistics: -engine/mechanical: -spare parts: -extended voyaging: -general info.Congratulations on what we think to be a great choice. (We are new CD33 owners also):). Sorry that we have no experience with the boat except for the trip home from Rhode Island to Salem MA. She sailed beautifully, averaging about 7 knots over the last 10 hours. Of course the weather was ideal. Since then we have only had a few days aboard. The Universal starts readily if the glow plug is activated as recommended by the manufacturer. Our preliminary estimates are that she uses a half gallon per hour at 1800 RPM. That seemed to be a good cruising speed. That is also preliminary. Another initial observation was that there seemed to be less than a few degrees of deviation in the compass.Hope to hear from some experienced CD33 owners.

AlATHENA, CD33



xjjb81a@prodigy.com

[John Keyes]

Thanks Walt for setting up this forum!
With helpful advice from some of the same people I see posting here, I bought a Cape Dory 33 this past spring. We just completed our first season on SPREE, which is CD33 hull #12 (1980).
While the New England summer weather was not quite up to its usual par, nonetheless we had an excellent summer "getting to know" our new boat while exploring the Maine coast. It was with sadness that I spent Saturday preparing SPREE for her Fall haul-out (ironically on one of the nicer days of the year).
Our summer was largely trouble-free, thanks to the generally good condition of the boat, as well as the nearly new Yanmar 26hp diesel the previous owner installed. We found the time to work on a number of minor projects on the boat while cruising the Bath/Boothbay region. Plans for next summer include some more extended cruising "Down East."
Projects for the winter and next summer include:- gain proficiency in radar use- various teak work- refinish cabin sole- choose & install an autopilot- plot some cruises with "The Cap'n"
JohnCape Dory 33 SPREERobinhood, Maine


keyes@openmarket.com