Opinions on outfitting a 23" C-dory for the NorthWest

S

steveandreina

New member
I am buying a 23" C-dory and it does not have much in accessories on it. Comes with a Honda Motor so was thinking about sticking with a Honda Kicker but not sure what size to look for? a couple of downriggers and maybe looking for some advice on what electronics I should be looking for. thanks :oops:
 
Myself I would spring for a Espar or Webasco diesel heater, Garmin chart plotter and definitely an auto pilot. We use Coastal Explorer map software on a laptop with a USB type GPS puck. I also have a 400 watt inverter with a 6 way surge strip for charging phones camera batteries and powering the laptop while cruising. We carried a Honda 2000 generator and used that for shore power if we wanted to use higher draw 120 volt devices like coffee percolators etc when shore power was not available.. A fan that will move air at the entrance to the v berth like a Caframo Sirocco type fan. They don't usually last more than a couple years but they can be made to blow in or blow out and draw next to nothing amp wise. Memory foam 3 or 4" on top of the standard berth cushions will make sleeping more comfy. A barbecue of some sort comes in handy to keep the cabin from getting too warm as a result of cooking. You can wrap almost anything in tin foil and cook it on the grill. We also carry an induction type hot plate which requires special cookware as manufactured by Magma. They do not take up a lot of space and cook pretty fast. If you can afford it radar and AIS is good to have but you can get away with out it. If you anchor out a lot 50' of chain and 200' of line and a windless is nice to have. I would use a 25 pound Rocna or Mansion Supreme anchor for a little over kill in the emergency brake department. Oh yeah, get a porta potty with a 5 gallon holding tank. It will fit right where the 2 1/2 gallon models call home. I would get a decent VHS radio with DCS. A nice water proof handheld comes in handy. If you intend to cruise a dingy and a 2 1/2 hp 4 stroke motor is a nice asset. Extra hand holds on the front brow and back by your swim platform make it easier to get back on the boat when you are in the water. We had a full camper back enclosure which keeps the cockpit dry and the sun off of you when your not fishing. It like having an extra room. Get a good cooler that really keeps ice longer. We use a 65 qt Engel but there are better ones these days and probably cheaper if you don't have to have a Zeti. Get a 120 quart if you need someplace to put fish. You will want decent unbreakable glasses silver ware and plates. A nice spice rack is cool if you like to cook. Paper towel holder. Window coverings are a must. That ought to get your head spinning. Look at our album we no longer own Will-C but it was a great boat for us. Cannon down riggers or Scotty's will do the downrigger job just fine. I would get a six, eight or ten hp power kicker. I'm sure others will chime in.
D.D.
 
Welcome to C-Dory ownership! Nice to have you here :thup

Since there is no one "best" way to outfit a boat, a lot depends on how you may plan to use it, what your taste is, etc. The more information you can give us about how you will use the boat, who's going to be aboard doing what, where you will use the boat, your budget, etc., the better the answers will fit. Not that you have to get super personal, but to take two totally opposite scenarios:

1) Solo boater, trailers only to small inland freshwater lakes, spends one day board (no nights), keeps boat in a garage.

2) Group of five anglers who go out on the ocean for four-day trips, boat is kept in a slip.

Okay, those are just made up, but you get the idea.
 
If the boat doesn't have one you should certainly put a marine compass at the top of your list (why do they sell C-Dorys without one?). After that a DSC equipped VHF radio, maybe with built in GPS for simplicity, should be a top priority too (get your boat an MMSI number and program it in on the radio). Others will help you add to the shopping list, but these are really important.
 
Dave (Will-C) gives a lot of great advice. We all have different opinions. There are many who have spent more time in the PNW than we have. However, we had done 5 round trips up and down the inland passage, outside of all of the Islands in SE and BC, as well as a lot of cruising in the BC area during a period of over 20 years, so are entirely not novices...

I would have more anchor rode--We have 300 feet--of 8 plait and 50 feet of G 4 chain--a Windlass is essential. In some cases, you need more rode, so we carry an extra 200 feet, as well as several 100 foot rodes. We also carry some poly propylene line for shore tree or rock tie (we also have several 10' chains for Rocks). We also carry several Fortress anchors.

Although a grill is nice--especially for that great sea food in the PNW--we do use the Wallas stove, regularly, and never worry about heating the cabin in the PNW--FL is an entirely different matter! We have been comfortable in the summer even in Glacier Bay with the Wallas--and our experience with it has been good, in four boats never had a failure. If you do yer around cruising, then a separate type of forced air diesel heater may be in order. Our experience with the fans has been better than Daves--and we have one over each of the berths. We also have the "eco fan" which uses the heat of the Wallas stove to circulate the air, with a slow large blade on the cook top.

Although we have had autopilots on our long distance cruising boats--and have used them in the slow 6 knot boats we have not used them on our C Dory's in the PNW--I we were doing a lot of fishing, then we would fit an auto pilot. Consider Simard, or Raymarine--although if you go with Garmin electronics--I might favor that brand.

Radar: I feel is is not essential in the PNW--but at time very handy, and will allow boating on some days when you might not with outfit. Either go with the Garmin 24" HD x or one of the Simard/Lowrance 3/4 G broad bands. The latter are great at short ranges, but somewhat limited at long ranges (over 6 miles).

Definitely get the camper back--it is essential for drying out and having a place to put on foul weather gear.

We like a dinghy--for shore side exploring. The 2.5 HP suzuki is a good engine. Get a large enough dinghy to be comfortable--in our opinion 8'6" is a good compromise--our current dinghy is 9 1/2' air floor--and we can us up to 10 hp, and the "kicker" can then serve as a dinghy motor--I would not suggest 8 to 10 hp on less than 9 1/2 foot inflatable.

For a kicker--Honda is good--but they don't make a "high thrust". 6 to 8 HP is plenty for a 23--some go up to `10 hp. Some like to link to the main steering for fishing and auto pilot, There are also auto pilots and remote speed controls for kickers which you might look into.

Also consider that there are some real great advances in marine electronics. There are combo chart plotters which have Fish Finders with CHIRP, Down Scan and side scan. If you are fishing in less than 150 feet of water these are going to be of interest. Get a big enough screen. We are able to run a 10", 7" and 5" screens on our 22--OK that is the exception--and I like new technology, but don't be afraid to have adequate size screens. A 2 x 3 " radar image is not going to be of much help! For instance with the 10" we can have a two 4" x 6" displays. Also the newest electronics allow radar overlay and MARPA without a gyro stabilized compass.

Other things to be sure and have: curtains (snap on for the windows)--we have made both foam or mylar bubble cutouts of the window to keep heat in (cold out) when the weather is more severe.

A window shade over the forward hatch (long days--and short nights) You may want a in sect screen for the door and forward hatch, as well as the forward opening window.

We also like an induction cooker, but have cheaper Wal Mart pans, and can even run it off the EU 1000 generator at a medium setting. Handy for early morning coffee or tea.

For our charging we use 12 volt chargers to USB--no reason for an inverter. Even our Mac has a 12 volt charging system--this is more efficient.

Many have converted the electrical lamps to LED--less power at night
A 12 volt battery monitor is also nice to have--especially if you are using fairly high draw appliances such as a refrigerator.

We can find lots of ways to spend you money!
 
Coastal Explorer on a laptop is mentioned above. OpenCpn is exactly the same, but free open source. In addition, for those of you who have either a late Lowrance or Garmin radar, you can install a radar overlay through a plugin. It works with the free download NOAA maps of the US.

If you order a external GPS receiver to plug in to your laptop, be sure it's compatible with your program. USGlobalSat BU353-S4 USB GPS Receiver is such a one.

Lowrance offers its low power solid state radar, 3G or 4G, which doesn't cook people. It works well. Garmin may now offer an equivalent. Both have an ethernet interface.

Boris
 
I'd get a tablet with GPS and load MX Mariner on it. This gives you a chartplotter with the NOAA charts and you can load all the Active Captain information.

A tablet doesn't take up as much room as a laptop. And for the price of one laptop you can usually get two tablets.
 
After 15 years of cruising in the PNW, I would consider Radar and AIS essential. Auto Pilot would up toward the top of my list if I were outfitting a new boat.
 
Thanks everyone for all the input. I really appreciate it... My goal for this boat is do some fishing, crabbing, cruising in the Sound and periodically tow it up to Chelan, Lake Roosevelt and Maybe Columbia River. I will probably keep in moorage 4 months out of the year either at Everett and Possibley LaConner. Probably be me and the misses and possibly others if t he want to go.
Great info.. keep it coming and Thanks again
 
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