I finally have my C-Dory!

M

mutski

New member
I flew to Montana Friday and completed the purchase of a 2005 C-Dory 22 Cruiser, sight unseen on the recommendation of a good marine surveyor. I've never done such a thing before! Today I rented a U-Haul pickup and towed itt from storage in Shelton, WA to the TOTE Maritime freight terminal in Tacoma. It should arrive in Anchorage on Sunday; then I will tow it to its new home in Homer, Alaska. 8) :hot :!:

Now lots of learning, cleaning and updates to do! I expect eventually to replace the Hummingbird fishfinder with a good chartplotter. I think it's going to get a new name with its Alaska numbers. I found a denaming ceremony to ensure continued good luck:
http://www.johnvigor.com/Denaming.html

With luck, I'll put it in Kachemak Bay next week! It should be the perfect boat for beachcombing, camping and exploring shallow side bays. In fact, C-Dory seems like the only boat that fits all the requirements for shallow draft, comfort and safety. I'm excited!

Here are some pix:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/svXLl ... authuser=0

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/FB-Ti ... authuser=0

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/PJfmr ... authuser=0

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/u1O_V ... authuser=0

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/nLr5_ ... authuser=0
 
I also bought the same boat sight unseen in Whitehorse, Yukon and hauled at back to Alberta, after a cruise on Atlin Lake. Mistaya began her journey at EQ Marine and had two owners in Port Townsend before she made the journey by barge to Alaska and then to Yukon. Enjoy your boat, you'll have lots of fun.
 
As a former Homer resident and a newish owner of a 22 Cruiser, from where I'm sitting you're making all good choices. Congratulations. That's a great boat for the Bay.
 
The epic journey is over, and my new C-Dory is parked in Homer, AK.

I feel lucky to have survived Interstate 5 in Washington. Towing the boat from Shelton, WA to the freight terminal in Tacoma, a tractor-trailer and I both tried to change lanes to the same hole in traffic. Happily, he yielded before I had time to react. I dropped the boat in Tacoma. Then driving to Seattle, a truck towing a house trailer changed lanes on top of me, and I wound up trapped on the dotted line between the trailer and an adjoining car. I can't even remember how I escaped, but in the process, I almost missed my exit. There were no cars behind, so I dashed across two lands and onto the ramp.

I was halfway down the ramp, when a state trooper pulled up behind me. I was sure he was going to ticket me for the house trailer conflict, but instead he chewed me out for crossing a white line to reach the ramp. Happily, he checked my Alaska license, said his buddy was attending the trooper academy in Sitka, and turned me loose. Then the light at the bottom of the ramp changed suddenly and I crossed the line so the car behind wouldn't hit me. The trooper stopped beside me. I didn't look at him, he didn't turn on his lights, the stoplight turned green and I left. By then, i was so rattled I wanted to stop and collect my wits, but there was no place to pull over.

Tote Maritime delivered my C-Dory safely to Anchorage. For any other Alaskans shipping boats, Tote charged about $7700, similar to Alaska Marine Lines or Samson Tug and Barge. But Tote runs twice weekly, takes four days to Anchorage and uses enclosed ships. The barge companies take two or three weeks and you boat rides exposed an an open deck. Tote seemed like a no-brainer.

The tow to Homer was uneventful, but our driveway was a trial. There isn't enough room to back it in, and after driving in forwards, there isn't enough room to turn it around. I had to drive into the weeds and jockey to get it out of the way. I see driveway improvements in me future!

Now to check it over before a maiden voyage...
 
A first journey never to be forgotten! Now you know about Seattle/I 5 traffic and why I avoided it at all costs when we kept boats in Sequim!

Thanks for the wonderful description of your "first tow" and welcome officially to C Brats. you will love the boat! Congratulations.
 
Was able to see the one picture, looks great and the dual axle trailer is nice and good for crossing multiple lanes of Seattle traffic! I’ve been there towing our 25. I’d don’t know if I’ll tow through Seattle again or head north to Alaska!

Enjoy, perfect timing for Alaska boating season!
 
Welcome aboard.
Im relearning some of this sites little how its dones,,, Great news is our administrators and others will get us thru the crawl walk run journey.
Bottom line... enjoy your boat.
Hi yall ! its been a while.
 
Tyboo set up my photo album and I posted pics from the move to Alaska. The link is under my name at left. Thanks Tyboo!

Yesterday I removed the old Humminbird fishfinder, transducer and speed wheel and installed the mount for a new Garmin Echomap 74sv chartplotter. This morning I drilled out the screw holes from the old transducer mount and filled them with epoxy. Wait, wait, wait..... As soon as it hardens, I can install the Garmin transducer.

I bought a heat gun to remove the Washington registration number, turned it on, heard a pop and smoke started pouring out. I guess I'll exchange it for a new one and try again.
 
Good Deal on having her home and getting busy tweak'n er out for your pleasures on the water. Enjoy the journey and Tyboo and administrators are top shelf folks for sure.
 
Welcome to the world of C-Dorys! You will likely really enjoy the boat. I'm at the opposite end of the world from you (Central Texas) but feel sure it will serve you well. May God bless all who sail on her!
 
At long last we took the new old boat for a maiden voyage. We started in calm weather, came back in 2-3 foot seas, pretty calm for Kachemak Bay. It rode well, very comfortable for two people. Sit-down driving feels strange. I stood to drive our prior dory.

Gliches along the way :

After an afternoon on the water, the motor started sputtering when I advanced the throttle. We tried the trolling motor, and it died after a few minutes running full throttle. I managed t limp home with the main running at low speed. Fuel for both motors comes through the transom-mounted filter, so it seems likely that's the problem. I'll buy a new cartridge today.

The tell-tail stream for our 2005 90HP Suzuki did not run. I was about to take it to a mechanic to have the water pump checked when a moare experienced Suzuki owner pulled out the nozzle, cleaned out some salt crystals, and got it going. It quit again before we got home. I'm going to buy the hose flush "earmuffs" and run fresh water through to clean out all the salt.

Trim tabs seem sluggish, stbd side doesn't go down all the way, at least from the guage on the dash. I need to check on shore where I can see what's happening. The Hydraulic Power Unit is mounted on the transom under the motor well. I don't think I can even check the hydraulic fluid without taking it off, don't know if there is room to slide it out of the mounting bracket. Is this the factory install location? Needs further investigation.

Suzuki water pressure and motor tilt guages not functional. More stuff to troubleshoot.

My new Garmin chartplotter sonar plot fails in deep water (30-40 fathoms) somewhere between 15 and 20 knots. Maybe raise the transducer a hair?
 
mutski":2cmqphl8 said:
... The Hydraulic Power Unit is mounted on the transom under the motor well. I don't think I can even check the hydraulic fluid without taking it off, don't know if there is room to slide it out of the mounting bracket. Is this the factory install location? Needs further investigation.
...
Click to expand...

My '08 has the pump mounted under the splashwell between the fuel tanks just over the sump at the back of the cockpit.

My tabs have always worked so I've never tried to check/add/change the HPU fluid.
 
I found the HPU wasn't difficult to remove. Just four screws to remove the mounting bracket, and out it came. The ATF reservoir was almost empty. I filled it and now the trim tabs work. :-)

Fire extinguisher is now mounted with a First Alert Bracket 2 on the wall between the windows on the port side. I used #10 stainless screws with finish washers and some 4000 sealant on the outside. The Kiddie Mariner 10 fire extinguisher didn't fit; I had to trade it for a First Alert Garage extinuisher, and surprisingly I still had to adjust the latch ring with some heavy pliers to close the retainer strap.

I talked to a mechanic about the engine stalling at high throttle. He said it sounds like condensation in the fuel tanks, and I might need to drain and clean them. I bought a spare fuel/water separator cartrige, think I will try once more before draining the tanks. Maybe I'll get a 6-gallon portable tank for backup.

The Suzuki water pressure and motor trim gauges aren't working. I fixed a kink in the water pressure sensor tube, still no reading at idle in the driveway. I dont see anything obvious to fix on the motor trim gauge. Suzuki may have to tackle that one.
 
mutski":20hservn said:
.., I talked to a mechanic about the engine stalling at high throttle. He said it sounds like condensation in the fuel tanks, and I might need to drain and clean them. I bought a spare fuel/water separator cartrige, think I will try once more before draining the tanks. Maybe I'll get a 6-gallon portable tank for backup. ...
Click to expand...

Not sure why the throttle setting would make a difference. If the gas is bad, then the gas is bad. However, in theory if the engine runs at a lesser throttle, you can keep replenishing the gas with new "dry" gas (must be ethanol fuel though). The ethanol in the "dry" gas will pick up about 0.5% of the water. Keep doing this and you will eventually remove all the water in your tank.
 
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