Three Reasons To Use The Camper Back While Underway

[C-Nile]

There was a thread on the CD forum about the lack of scuppers on the C-Dory's and its cousin the Marinaut. Everyone knows that with most boats our size, a very large wave that poops the cockpit has the potential to submerge the scuppers on boats so equipped, rendering them useless. However, I made a decision with our Marinaut to use our camper back fully up while underway. This has the potential for deflecting a great deal of water from the cockpit. Of course, there are limits, but having the canvas back up mitigates risk.

If the bilge pump ever clogs or otherwise fails when the canvas is down, the cockpit would fill up with water when it rains. My CD 16 filled up with more than a foot of water while unattended for a few days at my dock. Using our camper back would prevent this from happening.

Finally, I like a bone-dry cockpit. Using the camper back while underway keeps the cabin bone dry in even rough conditions.

Rich

 

[JamesTXSD]

It's a sun porch, too. :hot 8)

 

[C-Nile]

It's a sun porch, too. :hot 8)

. Uh oh! -- a fourth reason; in retrospect, the topic should have been worded differently.

 

[dotnmarty]

When we bought our well used 16 foot angler it came with a sort of mini camperback. Turns out it suits our needs very well. It extends the rather claustrophobic angler cabin by several feet. With the sides off it makes for a nice bimini without the inconvenience of the back poles. Finally, and this is the best thing since naval architecture was invented, with the sides and back dropdown installed and the original dropdown installed it provides a private standup head on a 16 footer. Suffice it to say, this is a big deal for a pair of septagenarians out all day. By the way, we also have a slantback mooring cover which actually goes from the cabin roof, over the 'camperback and back to the splashwell.

 

[thataway]

Although we do run with the camper back up when cruising in cooler weather--areas like Like Powell, we do not.

Having a large wave to "poop" the cockpit is very unusual, although it can occur. If you truly have a large wave from the side or even forward, it can get under the snaps, and even left the side curtains.

Again-The scuppers are not at all "rendered useless" The water will drain out, depending on the amount of floatation aft, and the speed the boat is traveling at. Of course the C Dory 22 does not have scuppers. But in the thousands of miles we have traveled in C Dorys we have never had a wave overwhelm the boat--or anything close to it.

 

[C-Nile]

Marty,
I like your mini-camper back on your 16 Angler. It gives you all the benefits of a CD 16 Cruiser cabin, but affords you the option of having quit a large cockpit for fishing or relaxing.

Bob,
You are of course right when you said that a cockpit would drain "...depending on the amount of flotation aft." I'm sure that good boat designers like yourself would ensure that you had the right amount of flotation aft if you designed the cockpit for scuppers. However, if I had a boat with scuppers, I would not be so quick to assume that I would be covered, and would defer to the advice of an expert assessment. It is also reassuring, giving your extensive experience with boats, that you have not been overwhelmed by a wave, and I know you have been in some pretty hellacious conditions. As for the camper back -- even on he hottest days, we seal her up like a drum while underway. We want a dry cockpit. If you look at the movie of us while underway, you will see how much spray the hull kicks up toward the cockpit. I am not knowledgeable if CD 22's have the same characteristic, but if we did not have the camper back, things would get really wet inside the cockpit in certain conditions.

http://www.c-brats.com/albums/C-Nil...LI_NY_on_Sep_18_2013_Taken_by_Irish_Queen.mov

 

[My IRA]

Rich,

Thanks for the wonderful video of Betty Ann in motion. I never tire of seeing these boats in action on the water and your's is a beauty.

 

[C-jeep]

Marty.
I was going to have a full camperback installed on my Angler 16 but I admire your abbreviated version. The problem I have is in regards to my sloped mooring cover. It attaches to to a channel under the cabin roof and slopes back to the motor well. I would have to remove the half camperback when moored so as not to have rain water accumulate. With a full camperback it would not be necessary. Do I understand you correctly that your sloped mooring cover installs over your camperback?
Cheers
Chris Williams

 

[dotnmarty]

Yes Chris, the mooring cover was cut to fit with snaps on the top rear edge of the roof, run over the top of the installed blue bimini and then just slopes down to the snaps at the forward edge of the splashwell. You could simply pull the pins on the blue bimini supports and have a 'normal' slope down the hypotenuse of the triangle but I like covering the whole thing with the mooring cover. By the way, the blue cover shown makes it difficult to use the stainless handholds while boarding. The canvas guy made some heavy duty leather luggage handles and sewed them to the top corners of the bimini. In the picture Dotty is holding onto one of the handles with her left hand.

 

[C-jeep]

Thanks Marty. I think I will poach your picture and show it to my canvass guy.
Cheers

 

[C-Nile]

Rich,

Thanks for the wonderful video of Betty Ann in motion. I never tire of seeing these boats in action on the water and your's is a beauty.

The credit for that video goes to Steve and Eileen of the Irish Queen! Thank you Jerry and Helen, for those kind words. We have had her for three seasons now, and we continue to enjoy our Marinaut. Last year, we spent 21 over nights and travelled 1,000 miles! But we have been on a Venture 23, and you have a beautiful boat, too. I wish more people took videos of the C-Dory family and documented the conditions. In the video of our boat, we were traveling at around 18 knots in one foot seas. We were traveling with the tide, and into the wind. It would be interesting to see if CDory waves climb up the hull toward the cockpit like ours does. I think our trade-off for a slightly smoother ride might be slightly more spray in our cockpit.

 

[My IRA]

Rich,

From your video, Betty Ann seems to ride nicely with minimal spray. The test Marinaut that Helen and I ran with Les, had a very impressive ride and handling characteristics.

We had the pleasure of viewing Betty Ann in the fit and finish stage at Les's shop. I examined it carefully and state with confidence that your Marinaut is best built boat that we have ever examined in detail. Les spares no expense of material or time in his quest to build a flawless boat.

I agree that cruising with the top up is a good practice to keep spray out of the boat (yours rides dry by design).

Enjoy, Betty Ann will out live you and your children.

 

[C-Nile]

Rich,

From your video, Betty Ann seems to ride nicely with minimal spray. The test Marinaut that Helen and I ran with Les, had a very impressive ride and handling characteristics.

We had the pleasure of viewing Betty Ann in the fit and finish stage at Les's shop. I examined it carefully and state with confidence that your Marinaut is best built boat that we have ever examined in detail. Les spares no expense of material or time in his quest to build a flawless boat.

I agree that cruising with the top up is a good practice to keep spray out of the boat (yours rides dry by design).

Enjoy, Betty Ann will out live you and your children.

Thank you for your observations Scooter. We are very pleased with her handling characteristics, space utilization, and fuel economy. And you are right about Les Lampman. He is a man of deep character and integrity. Les promised us that even though our boat was the first, that it would essentially be no different from those that follow, and he was a man of his word -- not only delivering on what he promised, but exceeding it beyond our wildest dreams. My wife and I can't wait for our fourth season to begin!