Condensation in CD25

D

Don and Brenda

New member
This is for all you CD25 owners. I have been researching for months and finally decided on a 23 Venture, so I took the wife out over the weekend to take a peak. She liked the Venture, after we were on level ground she looked over and saw a 25 and climbed aboard, boy did she like the head. So you know what all this means, now am looking at the 25. Wondering if condensation is the same issue with this as with the 22. In looking at the factory numbers the empty weight for both boats is the same, just the shear volume of looking sooo much bigger for the 25. I certainly liked the extra space. This boat is a new 2008 with Honda 150, Wallas refrif, and windlass, so the setup is exactly what I would want. Your thoughts?
 
Hello Don and Brenda , We have a 25CD. We were having a problem with that too but finally figured out that if we leave the back window cracked open it stays dry inside.
Tracy "Dragonfly"
 
Yeah, you have found the attraction of the CD25 - amenities and elbow room! We are not aware of any particular condensation problem, but we always leave the hatch in the vee-berth cracked when we are sleeping in there, as we had noticed a bit above our heads when it was closed.
 
Don and Brenda":x8zv0ww1 said:
Appreciate the feedback, must be the difference in volume between the 22 vs 25 for the condensation.
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It's a very significant difference in volume. If you are cooking, you may need to crack a window open to allow circulation. As far as when sleeping, we've certainly had some condensation in the v-berth on cold nights... not like it's going to "rain down" on you. As mentioned, open the hatch just a bit and that eliminates the problem.

When we get up in the morning after a night at anchor, you may have to wipe down the windows; depends a lot on the outside humidity.

Good luck with your decisions.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
I've told this story before: My wife and I went to the Everett boat show a couple of yrs back. I wanted her to see the 22 Cruiser, which is what I intended to get, but I needed her approval. We climb into the 22 there and the first words out of her mouth are "Oh, this is too small". Fast forward; the 25 is in the driveway. She was a big fan of the larger volume, the head and made a good point that with a grandaughter, it (the enclosed head) would be more comfortable. Of course, it costs a bit more than a 22, but life is too short.
 
So far I have gotten out cheap, this will cost me a nice dinner out just to look, this weekend I will do a test drive, now if they could just transfer the head onto the 22. This boat has a windless, I have never anchored before, however am looking forward to this, of course she did say she was not sleeping on the boat unless it was a yacht. Isn't this consided a mini trawler?
 
We experienced v-berth condensation in the sailboat, especially in Florida in the winter, and Alaska in the summer. I mean it dripped on the blankets, and we went through a lot towels trying to soak it up.

Well, we were expecting it in Journey On, especially with the same amount of people and smaller volume. We may have seen it once, but it wasn't much. It may be because of less activity in the v-berth, but that's life. Anyway, condensation is NOT a problem in the C-25.

The lack of a head is a problem in the smaller C-Dory's, according to Judy.

Boris
 
Don and Brenda":2vaibbd5 said:
So far I have gotten out cheap, this will cost me a nice dinner out just to look, this weekend I will do a test drive, now if they could just transfer the head onto the 22. This boat has a windless, I have never anchored before, however am looking forward to this, of course she did say she was not sleeping on the boat unless it was a yacht. Isn't this consided a mini trawler?
Click to expand...

If they could transfer the head to a 22, you would be without a dinette or a galley! :disgust You need the extra room a 25 provides just to get it all in. And frankly, you will spend more time at the dinette and the galley. :wink: But, as I've said here before: you would not buy a house without a bathroom, so...

Bring your wife to a C-Brat gathering. She will learn from others how fun (even romantic) overnights on the boat can be. If you have not done this before, make sure it is a GREAT experience: stay at a nice marina, with a great restaurant within easy walking distance, on a perfect night (not too hot, not too cold, lots of stars, etc - you just have to set the right mood). :D She will be hooked and asking you, "When can we go out on the boat again?" Then you take her to a nice quiet cove, where you can sit in the cockpit and toast the moonrise. Take your time to work up to the wind gusting to 40, anchored on a lee shore! :twisted:

Good luck with the search. The CD-25 has been a great boat for the cruising we do. You can call it a trailerable trawler; the guy with the water taxi in Boot Key Harbor called our boats "mini motoryachts"... we call it "just right."

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Don and Brenda,
I am surprised no one has mentioned it yet, but in your first post you made a comment about the empty weight of both the 22 and 25 being the same. Not so, not even close. Check the figures again, you will need a very substantial tow vehicle to tow a loaded 25. I don't know if you planned to do any towing but take the extra weight into consideration.
 
Condensation - is this like fogging the windows in the 56 Chev at the drive-in ? Now ask "what's a drive-in....

I wonder if the spray on insulation that has been used cures this problem ?
 
We have not really found any condensation problem with the 25. (we had a little with the 22). But we did put closed cell foam on the V bert sides--and watch under the V berth cushions for any moisture. Agree on opening windows a crack. Also Wallas stove tends to dry out the inside-with external venting. Alcohol or LPG stoves will give moisture.

As for weight, I would be very surprised if the on the trailer, ready to go weight is the same on the 23 and 25. Most 25's run 7000 to 8000 lbs on the trailer. The Fluid marine give a 400 lb greater weight to the C Dory 25. With fuel and water, engines, and gear, it is far more than that.
 
Here's my 2 cents on condensation in a CD25....I used to own one.

It is my understanding that condensation is simply warm, moist air touching a colder surface and then condensing.

So, if the air inside the boat is the same temperature as the air outside the boat and the sides of the boat are the same temperature inside as out then there is no condensation.

I found that in the PNW, since the inside can get warmer than the outside quite often especially at night when people are inside and breathing warm, moist air, and since the sides of a CD25 are not insulated and conduct heat/cold easily, condensation happens.

Boat that have carpeting or some other form of insulation on the walls and ceiling are less likely to have condensation OR they hide it better. E.g. my current boat.

Opening a window allows the warm moist air to migrate out and colder air to migrate in, thus lowering the amount of warm, moist air inside the cabin to touch the walls and condense.

As Dr. Bob stated, depending on the heat source it can be better or worse.

I used to have a teardrop trailer with no insulation in the walls and even with the windows open quite a bit, condensation would be dripping down the walls by morning. On occasion I had similar experiences with the CD25, but less so when I used my Wallas stove or an electric heater during the night.

my advice is worth the price you paid for it.
 
I'm going to add my limited experience and .0000002 cents. On the limited trips to the San Juans on my brother's sailboat we did note some condensation in the forward V berth, especially when my wife and I were sleeping up front vs. just me sleeping by myself. His V berth is NOT insulated and is very similar to my C-dory. All I can say is it was the same time of year in the exact same boat/berth. Now I cannot comment on external temps etc, but the water temp is/was pretty consistent up here. On the second night we mentioned the "moisture" in the V berth to my brother and he advised we open the hatch just a tad. He even had a small block of wood made just for that plan. This idea was not accepted well by my wife as she HATES being cold. But it was summer and although the water temps are consistantly in the low 50's, she agreed to give it a try. Opening the window about 1" drastically reduced the amount of condesnstion we observed. Again, this is anecdotal evidence, but it's all I have to contribute to this debate until I actually PUT the boat in The Sound and enjoy it overnight. :roll:
 
I agree with DR Bob- the CD25 weighs substantially more than my CC23. It pulls easily with our Tahoe and I don't think that would be the case with the 25.
Alan
 
We live in the desert side of Washington State, and we're not used to damp sheets or the condensation that accumulates in a boat in Puget Sound.

We tolerated the condensation for 5 seasons. Last summer we added a solar vent to the hatch above the V berth. It makes an incredible difference in the dryness of the boat. We were much more comfortable after we installed it. It doesn't require much sun to recharge, but we found that if it was cloudy for days the battery would run down. It's very quiet, so that was the only downside that I could find to adding the vent.
Lyle
 
I like the solar vent idea. I looked at a leftover 2008 25 today. and a 23 Venture. I think the 25 is going to over power my truck. The 23 is more to my liking. Tomorrow I will look at a fully loaded 22. Thanks guys for all the info, appreciate it while I am on my search.
 
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