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I saw this article in the Seattle PI today. It sure sounds like a 22' C-Dory. Does anyone know anymore about this?

(AP) CANNON BEACH, Ore. – The U.S. Coast Guard says four men made it safely to shore after their dory boat started taking on water off Cannon Beach. Petty Officer Third Class Tara Molle says the Coast Guard Group Astoria received a mayday call Sunday morning from the 22-foot dory. The Coast Guard sent a helicopter and two boats to help. When the helicopter arrived, one man was already on the beach and two were almost there. The helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer to assist the last man. All four men declined medical attention. The Coast Guard praised them for wearing life jackets.
 
I saw this on the news this morning, but didn't realize the boat was a CDory. It sounded like they were pulling crab pots in shallow water and got too close to the surf line.

Here's what I read on line...
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Aug-10-2008 20:34printcomments
Coast Guard Responds to Sinking Vessel Near Cannon Beach
Salem-News.com

The men had life jackets and other emergency equipment that the Coast Guard says make a huge difference.

Photo: U.S. Coast Guard

(CANNON BEACH, Ore.) - The Coast Guard assisted a capsized vessel with four men on board off of Cannon Beach, Oregon, Sunday morning. The Coast Guard Group in Astoria says they received a mayday call at 6:10 AM, from a 22-foot dory with four men on board. The caller said they were taking on water outside of the surf line off of Cannon Beach and were in need of immediate assistance.

The Coast Guard 13th District Command Center also received a position from the vessel's Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) that had been activated by one of the men. This allowed rescue agencies to be alerted with accurate information concerning the location of the boat.

Around this time, the Air Station Astoria launched an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew to the scene. Additionally, two 47-foot motor lifeboat crews from Station Cape Disappointment, Washington, and one 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Station Tillamook Bay, Oregon, were also launched to assist.

The helicopter crew arrived at the dory at 6:32 AM, and noticed that one man had made it to the beach and two more were almost to the shore. The helicopter crew lowered a rescue swimmer into the water to assist the last man in swimming to shore.

Cannon Beach Fire Rescue arrived on the beach ready to give medical attention if necessary. All four of the men were wearing their life jackets and declined medical attention.

"Because they were wearing life jackets, especially in the surf zone, it greatly increased their chances of survival," said John Howk, a controller for the 13th Coast Guard District Command Center.

The Coast Guard says it is a great reminder that life jackets save lives.

"Statistics show that a person's chance of survival greatly improves when wearing a life jacket. All children under the age of 12 and who weigh less than 90 pounds are required to wear a life jacket at all times while boating. Before boating, be sure that all life jackets are in good shape, fit properly and are stowed in an easily accessible location."

The Coast Guard says they encourage all boaters to use a common sense approach and a know-before-you-go attitude before and during a boating trip. Life jackets, radios, navigation equipment and weather forecasts are necessary preparations whenever you venture out on your boat. Have your vessel inspected by the Coast Guard Auxiliary, file a float plan, and ensure you and your passengers are familiar with all safety equipment.
 
Dory's (not C-Dory's) are popular boats on the Oregon coast. There was recently an article in Boating Magazine about these boats and how they are launched right from the beach and go through the surf. Perhaps the dory mentioned in the article is one of these, but I have no way of knowing for certain.
 
I was wondering the same thing. I do know that the ocean was not kind on the day they were out. Lot's of windwaves at short intervals. The good news is that it sounds like they were well perpared for an emergency (epirb ect..). Seems rare these days. Glad all are ok.
 
I would be willing to bet it was a dory, they are pretty popular on the northern oregon coast. Back in the 60's and 70's there were hundreds of them out there, mostly plywood. Still some around.
 
The Daily Astorian is one of the few newspapers in the world that requires a subscription to read their stuff online. I cannot read the article, but I was able to swipe the teaser sentence, and it leads me to believe that this boat was a true dory. Besides, the CG doesn't call a C-Dory a dory. They call it a pleasure craft. Here's the opening sentence in the local story. Note the reference to "crossing the surf".


Bill Keller drilled the importance of wearing life jackets when crossing the surf as he introduced his children, and later his grandchildren, to dory fishing.
Click to expand...
 
I believe the Coast Guard was referring to a true "Dory", a boat with a transom so narrow that it is almost a "double ender". When I have discussed a "C-Dory" with experienced Coasties, they have not classified it as a "Dory" due to the wide transom and the enclosed cabin.

Having watched dories launched through the Oregon surf, I agree with 20dauntless and lloyds that it must have been a true "Dory". As there are not many safe enclosed launching areas on the Oregon coast, you must launch directly into the surf and row like hell. If you try to motor out, it can be further hell on your prop and engine as you are ingesting all that sand into the cooling system, but the fisherpersons who do it daily are some of the very best in the world at controlling their craft, like the Coasties that train in that same stuff.

According to "Wikipedia" a "Dory" is defined as the following:
The hullform is characterized by a bottom that is transversely flat and sometimes bowed fore-and-aft. (This curvature is known as 'rocker'.) The stern is frequently a raked surface (a narrow transom) that tapers sharply toward the bottom forming a nearly double-ended boat. The traditional bottom is made from planks laid fore and aft and not transverse, although some hulls have a second set of planks laid over the first in a pattern that is crosswise to the main hull for additional wear and strength.
Despite their simplicity of design, dories are well known for their seaworthiness and rowing ease. Because of their narrow bottoms, they do not exhibit much initial stability and have often been called 'tippy'. They exhibit high ultimate stability, however, tipping to a point and then stiffening up significantly and resisting further rolling tendencies. Dories by design are quite voluminous and can carry a heavy load for their size and will continue to retain their great ultimate stability even when heavily loaded.
 
The true "Dorys" that launch and retrieve off the beach are open boats, an 20 -24ft is very common. They are OB powered, with the OB mounted in a well, just forward of a nearly or actually pointed stern. A thrill to watch as they work their way in and out through the surf line. I can't say I have seen many rowed out. Generally they are backed down on a trailer right into the surf, rolled off the trailer and pushed by hand out to floating depth, spun end for end, then usually a crew of 2 or 3 will push it out to a depth the OB can be started, and then they go out through the surf line. The trip back in through the breakers and up on to the shore is run, power on, catch the wave and run and surf as far in as it will go. One crew bails out and heads for the truck and trailer and the other stays with the boat. The launch is usually on a rising tide, the return is usually on a lowering tide. There used to be a commercial dory fleet that ran out of Pacific City, just south of Cape Kiwanda. Many of the dory men launched at Cannon Beach as well, but that was not as regular as at the Pacific City region.
 
Our friend Tim on here, formerly of the Lynn Marie, used to run with the Cannon Beach fleet. He can tell some stories. I don't know why the Cannon Beach fleet is no longer but it could be because it's not legal to drive on the beach anymore.

If you Google Pacific dory fleet there is a lot of info and some video out there.
 
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