Can a C-dory be too Light?

C

Catch 22

New member
I have not used my boat as much as most others, as i have only really had it on the water for about a month now, but in that month I have used it quite a bit, in all kinds of conditions. From my exprience, it seems to handle and take chop much better with four people on board than two, like the more wieght, the better, even up on plane when it's just the flat portion of the boat in the water. I have always tried to keep my (previous) boat, as light and empty as possible, to save wieght and space, this is a bigger boat so i may not be as important but i have it in my head that keeping wieght down on a boat is good. If i go out fishing for the day or overnight, it almost seems like I would like to have some ballast on board just to be able to go over chop better, but then i think, for longer trips or cruises, when i would be more loaded with gear, I'd like to have no extra weight on board...

The reason I ask is, over the winter I will be gutting the interior of the boat, down to the hull, and starting over, including the rear bulkhead, all the original wood is in less than satisfactory shape. I am considering building all the future interior out of carbon fiber panels and glassing it all to the hull, making it a much lighter and stronger hull,with less vibration and noise. I replaced the original transom box with a smaller lighter composite box, but then added new heavier duty fuel tanks, so I think the boat is at about the original wieght. So, should i try and make the boat as light as possible, or is there any risk involved. Has anyone ever encountered a situation where they thought the were over loaded, or too light...? In the racing world we build as light as possible so we can add ballast where we want to when we want to...
 
I don't think Greg "Red Fox" posts here any longer and he may not even have his site anymore. He said that he loaded his 22 down heavy and had pictures where he even made a top to stand on over the cockpit. It looked very heavy. You could tell by looking at his photos weight was not a concern. Reading his posts it sounded as if he spent a great deal of time on is boat. Sometimes for long periods.
As far as the chop get a Permatrim. There is another thread going on now about it. You will love the results. Good luck with projects you plan. 8)
 
I think the only place you might want to add some weight would be up in the bow.
I took the plunge last winter and cut out a hole under the vberth to see if my 1981 had any floatation.
It didn't so I have cut 3 hatches in for storage.
We use the boat mostly for commuting to our cabin but I think it would be a great place for water and holding tank storage, if you were thinking of putting in a full head and galley.
Seeing how we have the same boat I will be interested in seeing your projects as they progress.
I assume you have Trim Tabs on your boat. If not, they should be high on your list of projects.
Good Luck.
Jimbo.
PS How are the new fuel tanks working out??
 
i dont have trim tabs yet, but yes, they are high on the list, i have a permatrim that came with my motor before i had this boat but have not put it back on yet, i really should, the fuel tanks have been great so far, im really pleased, they feed all the way to the bottom without sloshing away from the pick up, no smell of gas ever from the vents, and they look better than the rest of the boat so no complaints, at this time, i dont know of anythting i would have done different, i will keep you posted on that...
 
Kevin: Congrats on you 22 Angler Classic. That boat should give you many great times and a real safe hull. Now, a couple of observations from your post.... "In the racing world..." Cool... I like racing....but, a 22 CD Angler Classic is not a racing hull.... It is a flat bottom boat... and it does not even have the "updated" forward section, but rather it was like my 18' Angler..... one of 14 built, ....all flat. If you have not experienced the surf board effect, do not worry...you will some day. It does not matter if the boat is loaded heavy or light...it has to do with wave movements and angles of attack... but, rest assured....SPEED has a lot to do with the outcome and where the gear in the boat goes. If you race boat hulls, this is old news to you and just looking at the total flat bottom indicates this will happen some day. It ain't all bad once you get use to your hull... but it ain't fun either the first time or two...just let her go where she wants and do not fight it.

You have a wonderful boat to do just what you are doing to it.. Make it what you want it to be. Roger Johnson, SENSEI has a CD22 Angler classic and is and/or has re-worked much of the interior. May want to hook up with him for any lessons learned. ...or not.

A great thing about the CDs is that they are light... and your is flat bottom which is the most economical hull in the water....but, at the expense of just having to slow down a bit for some water conditions. The upside, is that when the deep V boats have to go 6 knots or displacement speed, you can go almost twice that speed in the same mess... but, there are times when they can run on out...and you are going to be more comfortable pushing your nose down a bit, and slowing back to about 16 knots... It is what it is...and, it is a great boat. ....that you can run very , very economically.

Enjoy your build, do not be afraid to get a couple or props, or pairs of props if you have twins for light and heavy loads. Some do not mess with swapping them out, particularly if they are only going to travel some 25 miles or less that day...but, if you go on a long run for a few days, those props may make a large difference.

I also noted on my classic bottom that an inclinometer (yes...like on sail boats) was a wonderful, cheap addition to my classic that truly paid large dividends on fuel mileage. I used the motor trim for up/down of the bow and the tabs to keep her running flat. Flat is good.. I got a cheap one that was small and mounted it on the helm area. The ones that look almost like a line level. ...seems it was less than $10. ...but made a solid nmpg or more difference in every mile, particularly on long runs. I spent the money in the cooler instead of the tanks.

I love your boat and maybe some day if I get ride of a couple I have on hand I just may go that route I go. I miss my classic.

Byrdman
 
Ah a good day on the water. Light as possible going out with the exception of full fuel tanks and 400 pounds of tuna in the back of the cockpit coming in.

Load it with fish!
 
thanks byrdman, yeah i am acually gonna go see roger's boat wednesday and put some graphics on it for him, should be fun. I have also found that 16 mph is the speed that seemed to take the largest variety of conditions comfortably. I am not a speed man, thats why i work on the race boat but have never got in it even though i have had the opportunity, my favorite speed is trolling speed, props is something i need to look into, i have not been able to get the boat over 4800 rpm, even at 32 mph. My last boat was almost flat so I have felt that surfing thing before, not yet on this boat, but only because I can sence it coming and back off a bit, i am so pleased with it's performance so far dispite no trim tabs and just knowing how to drive it...
 
So heres something I noticed on my last trip when I had to get a new prop. My four blade prop suddenly became a three blade while in b.c. and we had to find another prop. Left my spare at home next to the boat parking space. This is why i have a kicker.

So my four blade was really good at pushing the bow down and I had to use the motor trim to push it up all the time. When we got a new prop ( used yard spare, another story for later) it was a three blade. now I cant keep the bow in the water and have to use a lot of trim tab just to get the bow down. It's a hugh difference in angle just from the prop change.

I have also figured out which prop I need. My 4 blade was a 13 1/4x15 and this was to much prop that kept my rpms to low and held the bow down. the new used prop is a 3 blade 13 1/4x13 which has me close to red line but I lost a lot of speed on the top end and my bow is really high. So a good prop would be a 4 x 13 1/4 x13 or a 3x13 1/4x 15. I will get both in the near future and see which I like the most.

My point is that I did not know until now that your prop and number of blades has a lot to do with the amount of lift you get.
 
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