Fiberglass composition and history.

P

Paul Smith

New member
I am researching C-Dory 22s and am curious about manufacturing processes used over the years. I found one thread that said there have been very few cases of hull blistering reported. Another thread commented that the boats have been manufactured by several different owners over the years. This raises several questions:

What resins have been used during various periods?

Are the laminates hand laid or chopper gunned?

Info concerning manufacturing techniques are not always available to the general buyer especially for a boat made over such a long period. Techniques and material knowledge have improved with time also.

Does any one on this forum have any info concerning this topic or general comments on the quality of these hulls? Thanks.
 
No chopper gun ever, only hand laid to my knowledge; No clue on resins; only major change was from a flatiron dory to one with a very shallow v hull - late 80's; and switching from a plywood core to an end grain balsa core maybe at the same time. Others on the forum are much more knowledgeable, hopefully they will pipe in.

Jay
 
Seems like this question comes up a lot. Here are a few threads regarding "which years are better" (and my opinion continues to be that if buying used, it's more important how well the boat has been cared for, than how it was constructed, they are all good years!)

October 2016:
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=24760

July 2016:
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=24385

Feb 2016:
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=23888

Aug 2012:
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=18568

Jan 2008:
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=7882

There are probably more threads, I just put "years' into the google search box in the upper left and these hits are from the first couple of pages.

-Mike
 
You are correct that there is little osmotic blistering. Part of this is that many of the boats are in colder waters, many are trailer kept, many are out of the water year around. Few are kept in warm waters year around--that factor alone may be a major issue with blistering.

There are a few cases of gel coat blistering under the water line. Probably these are due to poor adherance--such as lack of continuity in the layup process.

All have been hand laid up to my knowledge.

Brand of resin? I know that Cook Composits Gel coat has been used fairly consistently.

You need to contact the current builder to see if they are using at least one layer of vinyl ester resin. If they are doing resin infusion.

The "not quite so good" years--are a combination of issues. One is that there were some quality control issues during a certain period of time. Most if not all of those issues have been resolved by owners. For the most part it did not involve laminate quality.

When you say you are "researching" C Dorys--is that from a scientific standpoint, or for personal purchase?
 
First of all thanks to everyone who contributed an answer. Have only recently discovered the C-Dory. I am interested in it as a trailerable cruiser/camper. First off I just like her looks; secondly she strikes me as being in the same category as my current RV (Casita) with the added advantages of going afloat.

Have owned fiberglas boats in the past and have played around a bit with FG hull repair on the Gulf. I now live 1/2 the year on a nice Texas Hill Country lake and half near Lake Michigan. So, a "commuter" cruiser would be a fun asset. Thus an exploration of the CD. Although FG construction is a great material is also technically complex and has caused many incautious buyers significant grief; that is why I am researching her. I'd most likely look for a used one. Unfortunately, there seem to be few C-Dory's in this neck of the woods. I am encouraged that there seem to be a few owners in the Great Lakes area. Thanks again and I will continue to haunt this forum.
 
PM Sent.
Many of us travel some distance to buy our C Dorys. All but one of mine was at least 1000 miles from my home in Pensacola.

Generally the quality is high, and you won't go wrong with any year of boat. What other brand has in the high 90% of all boats built still being used regularly?
 
Thataway,
I had pretty much come to the conclusion that I'd have to go somewhere "far, far away" to get one. :-) There are a few in Texas but none reasonably close to put my eyeballs on. Curiously there is one in Seabrook where I lived for over 20 years but have not been back to in many years. It looks like I missed a good buy in Houston a few months back. Oh Well...

In any case I will need to enter into negotiations with my "CEO" before I can get serious.
Thanks.
 
Paul Smith":se1cc485 said:
Thataway,
I had pretty much come to the conclusion that I'd have to go somewhere "far, far away" to get one. :-) There are a few in Texas but none reasonably close to put my eyeballs on. Curiously there is one in Seabrook where I lived for over 20 years but have not been back to in many years. It looks like I missed a good buy in Houston a few months back. Oh Well...

In any case I will need to enter into negotiations with my "CEO" before I can get serious.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Start by always referring to the garage as a "two boat garage". That way just getting one boat will seem like a compromise.
 
Hello Paul Smith,

Hopefully, in the near future we can welcome you to the Texas C-Dory owners club. We are in Cypress, NW of Houston. Drop by anytime, it is just a 3 1/2 hour drive. We are retired and usually available. You would be welcome to climb aboard and spend as much time looking the boat over as you like. Ours is a 1989 22 Cruiser. When I was having trouble convincing my wife, it helped a lot for her to visit with other women that had C-Dory experiences to share. Mine too, was reluctant at first, but now she is 100% C-Brat.
We have had ours for about 8 years and have the entire navigable lengths of the, Mississippi, Ohio, Tenn-Tom, Arkansas, and Missouri rivers in our logbooks.
We still have many more to explore. I will send you my Cell phone number by PM.

Tex and Sharon
Bixby's Cub
 
Tex
That is a very generous offer. Thank you. It will probably be 6 months to a year before funds are available for this project so I am not in a hurry. If circumstances occur in the meantime I may give you a call and arrange a visit. Thanks again.
Paul
 
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