16ft cruiser offshore

P

psd0034

New member
I am looking at purchasing a 16 foot cruiser. I love the compact size of the boat and the light weight for long range towing. I am very new to C-dory and have fallen for the 16 foot boat at a couple of boat shows.

I would like to get a boat that is very versatile. It's obvious the 16 footer does fine in bays, rivers, and lakes. Has anyone taken this boat for any limited off-shore trips?

I am not looking to go Tuna fishing in open water, but for very limited close to shore on a calm day kinda use.

My other choices would be Arima and Boston Whaler. None offer the protection of the 16 foot dory....that and I must admit I like the look of the C-dory the best.

I know that I will get people writing about the 22 footers..and that is an outstanding design...but...currently I am exploring only the 16 for easy storage.

Basically I am looking for anyone's experience as to what kind of conditions this little boat will handle?
 
Hi Psd, there was a fairly lengthy discussion on the 16 and its ability to work the Channel Islands in So Cal several months ago. You might try to search the archives. If I remember the consensus correctly, it was that you could do it if you picked your days and times of days closely. You might try PM'ing, Keith on C-Pup. I hope that I got the name right. He is out of the Los Angeles area, if you try to use the Brat Map. Anyway, he has made the crossing to Catalina Island many times down there and has extensive experience with ocean going in a 16. Good luck w/ your hunt. I too have been longing for a 16 Cruiser for far too long. I know that the Outboard Motor Shop in Alameda had a new 2008 Cruiser that they were blowing out when I visited there about 3 weeks ago. Let us know how it turns out.
 
Welcome to the site Paul!
I don't have a 16' C-Dory, but the bottom line for any boat (particularly smaller boats) is recent weather information. Marine forecasts are updated about every 5 hours here in MA. Check online before you leave the house then switch over to a weather channel on your VHF if you want an update. I use the following site:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/zone/usamz.htm

It's also critical to have the necessary safety gear including a VHF, compass with corrected or at least known deviation offset, detailed charts of the area you will cruise, at least a hand-held GPS, etc. Too many people who occasionally cruise in the ocean do so with nothing more than a cell phone.

With a calm day, a calm forecast (these two do not always align), and the appropriate safety gear you can comfortably and safety cruise on the ocean with your C-16.
 
Paul I had my 16 in the ocean many times. One inlet I went out throught reguarly, typically had well spaced 3 to 5 foot swells. It required pretty intense piloting but the 16 handled them well sort of as if it bobbed over them like a cork. Once through the inlet it was fairly comfortable but I did stay near shore. I traded up to the 22 mainly because the capacity of the 16 is pretty much limited to two people and preformance really begins to suffer above that.
 
There is a story I heard directly from the teller of a night spent crossing the southern tip of Lake Michigan in his 16 Cruiser named "Itch". When he left Chicago in the early afternoon the waves were running 2'-4' with no prediction of worsening weather. As a seasoned boater with many hours at the helm of his C-Dory these conditions did not concern him overly. Turns out two fronts collided and he ended up "surfing" 15-20 footers all night long only reaching the harbor at Michigan City at daybreak.

I have a hard copy of the telling that I'll send if you pm me with your email address.

As others have already said, the key to taking this sturdy little craft on the "Big" water is to know what the weather forecast is and to be totally prepared with redundant navigational, communication and safety equipment.

Charlie
 
There is a story I heard directly from the teller of a night spent crossing the southern tip of Lake Michigan in his 16 Cruiser named "Itch". When he left Chicago in the early afternoon the waves were running 2'-4' with no prediction of worsening weather. As a seasoned boater with many hours at the helm of his C-Dory these conditions did not concern him overly. Turns out two fronts collided and he ended up "surfing" 15-20 footers all night long only reaching the harbor at Michigan City at daybreak.

I have a hard copy of the telling that I'll send if you pm me with your email address.

As others have already said, the key to taking this sturdy little craft on the "Big" water is to know what the weather forecast is and to be totally prepared with redundant navigational, communication and safety equipment.

Charlie
 
I routinely take my 16' angler out off shore into the Pacific ocean, and I concur it mostly has to due with the skill and wisdom of the captain. We often go out 7-8 miles to watch the whales on the edge of the Monterey Bay and Pacific, but I constantly watch the weather and am ready to make a run into shore on a moments notice. Equipment is critical too -GPS, plenty of fuel, duel batteries, VHF, off shore sfaety kit-I look at it this way-your life may depend on it, don't be cheap or ignorant. There is no help close enough, even if you get a flare off.
Just to add, this boat was used for commercial fishing when new and I have the log books showing routine fishing out of San Francisco to the Farrallon islands-25 miles off shore in some dangerous waters outside the Golden Gate bridge through the potato patch. The last owner showed me pictures of him and a sister boat tuna fishing at the 30 mile weather buoy outside the Monterey Bay.
So the boat is very capable in the right hands.
I too was also looking at boston whalers or the arima-both great boats but a wet ride-I decided slower and warmer was the way I wanted to go. Although I did set a new speed record the other day-39 mile per hour surfing down a wave with a stiff breeze behind us-you bet I was driving straight!
 
If you're lucky, you can survive some awful sea conditions in a boat that is not designed to be where you take it.

I went out fishing near shore at Monterey years ago in a 12 ft Gregor open aluminum boat, and gradually worked my way 9 miles north of Monterey, and a mile offshore of Sand City, near Moss Landing, all in fairly calm conditions, at first at least.

Then the wind picked up, but with the salmon bite on and lots of party boats around, I didn't feel threatened until the water started slopping over the transom.

So I headed back down the coast in about 15 mph winds with 2-4 foot waves abeam, threading my way from wave to wave between the whitecaps, letting them pass me by abeam, planing along with the 18 hp engine.

Shoulda scared the behoovers out of me, but because I'd sailed 14 foot dinghy sailboats in those conditions there in Monterey Bay, I knew as long as I didn't flip or take a wave into the boat, I'd be OK. (If you dump or capsize a racing sailboat, you can simply (up)right it, climb back in, and sail away.)

Lesson learned: stay weather wise, watch your wandering position and distance home, exercise caution, and don't panic and make the situation worse!

Joe. :lol:
 
For us, the C-Dory 16' Cruiser is perfect for off shore day trips & whale watching.

We plan our trips around the weather, but also look at tide & currents. There's a lot of local tidal variations which may preclude us from transiting some passes, inlets & harbors. For extended trips, I try to time our arrival & exit of narrow passages during neap high tides.
Trips can be planned around tides & currents months ahead.

Weather is different beast. There are lots of weeks where we only get "liquid" sunshine in Juneau. Rain shouldn't deter anyone from going out, but consider having an alternate harbor or bay identified in case you get caught in wind or waves and need to find a safe anchorage quickly.

Enjoy!
 
I use mine occasionally out of Yaquina Bay and have been out 20 miles for halibut and salmon. You just have to pick your days and do a little planning relative to tides and forcasted conditions. If things get bad that far out of Yaquina the run back is an hour or so so you have to start out at the first sign of changing weather, and then you hope the tide hasn't coupled with adverse winds. But when weather underground says 3 foot swells at 9 seconds or more I know it is time to go out. You won't be able to go every day but you can certainly do it on the good days. I have learned that the chines will really dig in when you are going too fast on the front of a big wave and get just a little careless with your steering. That is not a good feeling.
 
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