New Marinaut Finally Home

Without a doubt, the 215 Marinaut is the best looking of all of the C-Dorys and their cousins (IMHO). My wife agrees (at least on this point).

The Marinaut has very pleasing lines with it's design form following intended function (great handling small boat design).
 
C-Nile":5zv6f0q9 said:
chromer":5zv6f0q9 said:
I think the Marinaut has to look this way. It avoids a legal battle over copycats.
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Other than the distinctive round windows, sharp deadrise at the bow tapering into 3 degrees of deadrise at the stern, no lapstrakes, fully enclosed space between the hull and welded-into-the-hull floor pan, saddle fuel tanks, open berth, Mascoat Delta-T insulation in the cabin, closed cell foam coring throughout the boat, large windows and deep splashwell with lots of storage beneath it, the Marinaut could be accused of copying a C-Dory. Thank God it has those features, or else the manufacturer and designers could have had copycat lawsuits on their hands! :lol:
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There's a little history to Chromer's comments. When the C-Dory company was acquired a number of years ago, there was a non-compete clause the prevented the former owners of the company from building a derivative boat. The former owners set up to build the Cape Cruiser and were sued by the then current owners of the C-Dory line. They lost that court battle and the Cape Cruiser molds were handed over the C-Dory and became the "Venture" series. I don't know all the particulars of who was involved in that lawsuit and non-compete clause but given that the former original owners were the Toland family and that Ben Tolan was a Marinaut designer, it's possible that some aspects of the legal battle either directly or indirectly influenced the design of the Marinaut (if for no other reason than want to make it different enough that people didn't jump to theories that weren't supported by whatever legal agreements were in place). Interestingly, the 26' Cape Cruiser did have the Marinaut name and that may lead to additional cause for speculation. See this link for some of that history and this link for one of the original ads to the Cape Cruise boats. The bottom line is I don't know and I suspect none of the other posters know if there were indeed constraints on the Marinaut design due to those previous legal battles.

Regardless, the Marinaut is different in a number of ways (as Rich points out above) and to my knowledge isn't and probably never will be subject to a similar legal battle as what took place between C-Dory and Cape Cruiser. Depending on personal preference, some or all of the changes may be regarded as improvements, neutral or downgrades. As was pointed out above, personal preference plays a large role in one's opinion.

Nonetheless, many of us think as fondly of our boats as we do our spouses and children. As a result, we shouldn't be too surprised if someone reacts to a negative comment about their boat's design. It's similar to saying, "to my eye, your wife's a little chubby" or "IMHO, your kid is a little odd looking". No matter how you try to justify comments like that (e.g. "she may be very attractive to you", or "the kid seems very functional in spite of his odd looks"), it's hard to not be perceived as rude by the spouse or parent. :wink:
 
I like the look of the Marinaut especially this one with the grey hull. Bigger windows are in my opinion better for light and visibility.

Can someone tell me how the cockpit size varies between a 22' Cruiser and the 23' Marinaut
 
rogerbum":8vquvw2t said:
redbaronace":8vquvw2t said:
I like the look of the Marinaut especially this one with the grey hull. Bigger windows are in my opinion better for light and visibility.

Can someone tell me how the cockpit size varies between a 22' Cruiser and the 23' Marinaut
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There isn't a 23' Marinaut. Only a 21.5. Here's a nice chart that contains the comparison you're interested in (and some others too).
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Thanks for the chart. That was very helpful.
 
redbaronace":3ud6c97q said:
rogerbum":3ud6c97q said:
redbaronace":3ud6c97q said:
I like the look of the Marinaut especially this one with the grey hull. Bigger windows are in my opinion better for light and visibility.

Can someone tell me how the cockpit size varies between a 22' Cruiser and the 23' Marinaut
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There isn't a 23' Marinaut. Only a 21.5. Here's a nice chart that contains the comparison you're interested in (and some others too).
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Thanks for the chart. That was very helpful.
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Actually, the chart does not quite tell the story. Please see the below link. It is difficult to measure, because the cabin feels like it is 7.6 feet long. The berth opens and extends into the cabin, so from our standpoint, it feels like there is that much space, and there is. Further, the cabin is much wider than 6 feet if you measure the space about 18" above the water line. That space is put to good use for storage in the dinette area. Finally, while the boat is 21' 6.5" long, its overall length is 24' (anchor to back of engine). She feels like a bigger boat, as do most C-Dory's, because she is not a deep-V hull. Get into any CD 22 or Marinaut, and then climb on board a deep V 25 footer, and I'll wager our boats have more interior space more often than not.

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potter water":3uwekrq6 said:
" You can tell a man that his wife is ugly, but never, ever, criticize his dog, his gun, his horse, his truck or his boat."
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You got that right. (It's a good thing my wife doesn't read my posts.
 
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