Venture 26 vs C-Dory 25 ride

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Boont Boater

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I’ve seen posts where some prefer the way the Venture handles the water. I have a more specific question since my wife and my dog never cared for the slapping of the C-25 through choppy water - is there less slapping action in comparable seas with the Venture? I always liked this group. Thanks!
 
Boont Boater,
Two of my friends had a 25 and I had a lot of underway time, on one of those. After enjoying my 22 for 10 years, we wanted more room for many reasons, so we were focused on the 25 as the replacement.
The 25 has a lot going for it, for its size, storage opportunities, a head/shower and simplicity. The ride of the 25 would begin to slam in modest sea conditions, with short chop, but like other boats, just backed off speed to make the ride better.
The 26 is what we ended up with, not because we were shopping for a 26, but because it fell in our lap... The ride of the 26 is better in the mid teens, with much less hull slap then the 25 and steering is predictable (you can actually steer the 26 with one finger on the wheel).
 
Both the 26 and 25 have low dead rise (amount of V at the transom). There is a couple of degrees difference. Practically it depends on how one runs the boats. My personal impression is that there is not a whole lot of practical difference.90% of the time, the ride on the 26 and 25 will be about the same--a lot depending on the skill of the skipper to properly trim the boat.

If you really want a good riding boat in chop (and a lot more HP to make it perform) you need to go to 24* or 26* Deadrise. Not 2* vs 6*, I have had 18* dead rise boats which don't perform any better than the C Dory25.

There are other issues for me--perhaps not for others. One is the headliner--it often is a source of mold and delimitation (can be resolved with teak battens. Neight of these boats are come close to the ride of a Catamaran or a high dead rise boat. But they are excellent cruising compromises.

There is also progressive dead rise forward. The more dead rise, the more Hp to run the boat at planing speeds. The C Dory 25 will plane at a slightly lower speed. If yo get int the very high dead rise, boats, then planing does not occur until in the 17 or so knot speed.

I personally prefer the simplicity and layout of the 25. It lends it self well to the modification of the removal of the port forward bulkhead between the cabin and the V Berth,

Then there is that cabin floor, which often seems to have water under it. Source is a mystery in many boats.

You pays your money and take what is given.
 
I have a hard time believing they ride significantly different from one another as neither are deep v boats and have similar beams and lengths.
 
We had a CD-25 and currently have a Ranger 29. The ride and the comfort level of the Ranger is pretty impressive. However for various reasons The R-29 is going. Now thinking about a boat that I can trailer myself (comfortably), that’s less complicated and cheaper to maintain/house. I also miss the ability to go into “skinny” water :D .
 
A few more comments from me, on this subject.
Every boat is a compromise. Bigger is usually a better ride and deeper V, for going fast, is always the way to go. Of course with the deeper V, we will need much larger power sources to push it. I've owned bigger and I've owned deeper V's, so with the C-Dory, we don't plan on going really fast, we want a comfortable boat, that doesn't break the bank and one that we don't need to mortgage our home to pay for the fuel that we consume.
Now back to the subject of this thread, there is not a substantial difference between the ride of the 25 and the 26. I have ridden on and driven both for hundreds of hours and the difference is that I can plane the 26 in the mid teens and not have the pounding/slap that I had in the 25, for the same wave state.
One thing that I do want to add, is that I use the wipers more on the 26, then on the 25, as the very minor difference to the chin, simply causes a bit more spray. What I find even more interesting, is that on my 22, I really had the spray and this is why I never found a need to change from manual to electric motor wipers on the 22.
If the 26 had not fallen in my lap, I would currently own a 25, because there are more of them. The real selling point for me on the 26, is that it has a deep well deck aft, like my 22 and no squishy hatches with mold under them and in them to constantly mess with. I also am fond of two fuel tanks above deck, like on the 22.
 
The Cape Cruiser 26 will go through 1 foot chop in Puget Sound with ease at 20 knots. That said, the 26 struggles in the ocean with 1 foot chop on top of an ocean swell. Of course the height of the swell and whether or not your going with or against the swell makes a lot of difference. Going into the swell with chop on the swell I feel lucky if I can make 15-16 knots. Most of the time with those conditions I have to slow down to 10-12 knots. However when I get to where I'm going to fish that C-Dory/Cape Cruiser flat bottom makes an excellent fishing platform that bobs up and down without the severe side to side rocking of the deep V's. Also I can go 20 miles offshore, troll all day and use less than 15 gallons of gas. That alone makes the pounding easier to take because your fatter wallet gives you some cushion. On days with with wind chop on big swells I wish I had bought a Sea Sport. On days when the ocean is mild and the price of gas is above $4 a gallon in the marina I'm glad I bought a Cape Cruiser. There is no perfect hull.
 
Coming from the perspective of a long time CD 22 owner, I bet the ride of either boat is an improvement! But actually don't hate the ride of the CD 22 either - just have to understand the limitations of the boat and adjust accordingly. I really like both boats in the discussion quite a lot.
 
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