New to me ‘92, 22’ C Dory baselining advice

S

Spiralinguist

New member
I’ve been looking for a boat for a couple years. I had sold a 20 foot Triumph center consul with a Honda motor. After seeing a C Dory online I was hooked. In the Northeast there are not many for sale. I found one two hours away last week made an offer and made the drive. The owner had bought it from a family who had basically forgot they owned it. He had it for about five years and did lots of repairs. The boat was in great condition in his driveway and the 90 hp Honda start it up quickly when cold and sounded great.
We have a family of five and have taken it out twice. The engine hesitates after half throttle and won’t go any faster. After replacing the spark plugs it improved somewhat. It has a great functioning raymarine sonar and simrad fishfinder chart potter. My wife is fixing up the upholstery and I am replacing the rear bilge pump to make it automatic. It came with a dual battery set up and a solar panel to charge the accessory battery. He had installed a new radio and speakers and USB ports. The prior owner said he never use the Bimini top and when I put it up it looked almost new. I am having someone look at the Honda engine. It was very difficult to find someone that will work on a Honda engine surprisingly. The fuel gauge does not work so I need to figure out how to tell how much fuel is left. Is there anything that I should baseline that is known to be problematic in this year C Dory? Any help or advice would be appreciated. Once I figure out how to add some pictures I will.[/img]
 
Welcome aboard! On the Honda, if the carburetors were not drained after each use, there can be some issues with the jets, or even the floats. Also it the boat is older, it is possible that the fuel lines are not constable with the Ethanol fuel (Alcohol tends to detiorrate old lines). Also could be fuel filter or even fuel pump issues. You did the right thing to start with the spark plugs.

Many of t he 22's didn't have fuel gauges. We. just look at the level in the plastic tanks--some boats have cut outs in the panel in front of the tank, but even if not, you can see the fuel level from the center.

Good on the like new Bimini. It sounds as if you found a gem...maybe a little polishing to make it truly shine the most.

Ask a moderator (TyBoo) on the Our member page, for an album so you can post photos of your boat, projects and adventures.
 
The Thug Tug,
Congrats on joining C-Brats and to the purchase of your new to you C-Dory. Sounds like you may have an issue with the carburetor on the motor if so equipped. Your mechanic will be able to rectify this issue. Go to the header on the top of the C-Brats column and click on 'Memberlist'. After that click on the Username 'cbadmin' and ask our administrators to set you up for the ability to post photos as a new member. Looking forward to seeing photos of your new purchase and of what you do in the future with your C-Dory.
 
Congratulations! We are also new owners of a 94 22' Cruiser that was restored by the previous owner. We have been very happy with the boat. Ours is currently tied in slip at the top of the Chesapeake Bay.

The 115 Yamaha is plenty of power (and may in fact be too much -- it's rare the water is smooth enough to make cruising at 25-30 comfortable). It's also stern heavy so a Permatrim is almost mandatory.

The boat has fuel gauges but I learned from flying that the only thing that matters is a visual inspection. The plastic tanks are translucent so the fuel quantity is easily checked.
 
Bob gave you a good compass heading. And it's probably fuel related. I'd guess there is an issue with the main jet on a couple of your carbs and it wouldn't surprise me in the least a good fuel system cleaning could clear it up. Try that first. I also wouldn't be surprised if it is simple as your fuel filter just needs to be replaced if the engine is running well at lower rpms and loads. That's another thing I'd try first since it's so easy and inexpensive. I'd also check to see if your carbs are even all the way open at full throttle. Sometimes, especially if the boat sat for a long period and it sounds like it has, the cable or linkages can cause this. Hopefully, you won't need to take apart all 4 carbs and clean them up, but that isn't really that big of a deal either, just time consuming and expensive if you're paying 150 bucks an hour for somebody else to do it.
 
Spiralinguist, Congratulations on the "New to You". It looks great. Steady treatment of your gas with Marine Stabil and Startron will help keep things running smoothly once you get to that point. It is worth the additive investment, for sure.

Enjoy your boat, and if you take good care of it it will take good care of you.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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A problem I once had with my outboard cutting out at higher rpms was an air leak into the carburetor due to old fuel lines that allowed air to mixed with fuel before it even got to the carburetor, making the mixture too lean. New fuel lines fixed the problem.
 
Either sea foam or a new battery fixed the problem. She cruises up to 28 mph no problem now. The under warranty blue top optima is a challenge to replace. The online retailer is slow to respond and optima is placing some roadblocks to a quick replacement. NAPA gave me a printout saying the cell was bad. It would not hold a charge after 2 attempts. Optima sent this list of questions for a warranty:

In order to trouble shoot I will need some additional information about the type of application and the issue you are experiencing with your battery. Will the battery not take a charge, or will it not hold a charge? What amperage and battery setting are you charging the battery at?
What is the current voltage of the battery? What amperage and battery setting are you charging the battery at? What is the frequency that the battery is used in your marine application? Is the battery is in storage during the off season? If it is how is the battery maintained while in storage? Do you have any aftermarket accessories? Did the retailer that did the testing attempt to charge the battery prior to testing?


Your current address?
SN# From the side of the battery
Copy of receipt showing the complete receipt including date of purchase, order number and item ordered and retailer it was ordered from. Also include your retailer's contact information.
Fully name
Address
Phone

I’ll update once optima gets back to me.
 
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