C-Dory type design?

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by Deering, Dec 28, 2020.

  1. Deering
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    Deering Senior Member

    My brother has caught the bug to build a small cruiser capable of doing the Inside Passage from Seattle to Alaska, but still small enough to trailer around to larger lakes in the area. He also wants it to be shallow draft and beachable. He's done several smaller plywood/epoxy boats & kayaks, but this would be the biggest project he's tackled. I've told him to find a used boat that comes close to his criteria, but he wants to build his own - I know many of you understand that attitude.

    We're thinking something along the lines of a C-Dory 22. The dory hull meets the draft and beachable requirements, and it planes with low power and is pretty efficient with acceptable range. I know dory hulls are rough rides when it's snotty, but he's retired and can pick his weather windows.

    Any designs out there we should be looking at? A stretched version of the Bateau 19' Harbor Master might do it. Perhaps an enlarged Devlin Banjo 20, though I can't tell what type of hull it is. Perhaps some other dory hull with a cabin added to it?

    Many thanks for any thoughts.
     
  2. fallguy
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    fallguy Senior Member

    Well, I bought a plan with that in mind, but decided it was the wrong boat. And it was bigger than all the boats you are considering.

    My requirements were 400 mile range, shower, toilet, ability to see high above a two meter swell-for safety. And the problem I ran into was the boat I selected was not capable of the last one. I decided it was not really best to build an all purpose boat, but a boat with a flybridge could work.

    I would recommend my favorite boat for the trip. That is the Skoota 28 by Richard Woods. The next boats up in the series are larger and will take much longer to build. Ask me how I know!

    The 28 with a helm riser will get you up above the water nicely for safety and for better views during the voyage.
     
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  3. DCockey
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    DCockey Senior Member

    Look at the Tolman Skiffs. They are V-bottom, not flat bottom, but are designed for amateur construction. Renn Tolman lived in Alaska and designed the skiffs for conditions in Alaska. A Tolman Skiff hull may take a few more hours to build than a flat bottom dory hull, but the difference will be very small compared to the total time to complete a boat with either type of hull.
    Tolman Skiffs: Boat Plans in Book Form https://www.tolmanskiffs.com/
     
  4. cracked_ribs
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    cracked_ribs Senior Member

    Personally I would go with something more like the Bateau DE23 or 25...a fairly shallow V beaches pretty well, rides better, and does more. The Tolmans are also good boats, he took a lot from a couple of Mertens designs.

    Another option might be the Bluejacket 24. Again very beachable, very capable, small motor for a big boat.

    Or the B&B Outer Banks series, also good performers in a similar vein.
     
  5. DCockey
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    DCockey Senior Member

    I seriously doubt Tolman took anything from Mertens' designs. Renn Tolman designed the first Tolman skiff with a V-bottom circa 1984. The widebody version was designed in 1994 and the Jumbo in 1999.

    Perhaps it would be reasonable to say Tolman's designs and some of Mertens' designs have some similarities.
     
  6. fallguy
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    fallguy Senior Member

    Mertens has been studying boats for many years. I know his boats fairly well and he doesn't have a design like a Tolman skiff other than a Panga. The Pangas have their own history, of course.

    I was very fortunate to get his collection of magazines that date back to the war when he would have not been born even. Spme have been sold as a friendly gesture to other boat lovers via ebay.

    But I think, too, it is unfair to suggest any chicken n egg relationship. The only chicken an egg thing I truly wonder about is the stitch n glue aspect of Tolman. That may be what he took away from Mertens; not sure. But Tolman's early boats were not.
     
  7. DCockey
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    DCockey Senior Member

    Stitch and glue was developed in Britain circa 1960. It was widely known by 1984 when Renn Tolman used it in his first V-bottom skiff.
     
  8. cracked_ribs
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    cracked_ribs Senior Member

    Well, it's possible I'm misremembering comments Jacques made back around 2002, although they struck me at the time as I was designing my first boat at that moment. He was working on his C series at the same time Renn was drawing up the Jumbo.

    The C series is, according to Jacques, nearly identical I believe to the Jumbo, although I don't know the Tolmans as well as Jacques' boats - it's possible he was referring to the standard, I'm not sure. I remember him writing on his forum more like ten years ago that they were similar enough that performance would be equivalent and the only real difference would be the building method.
     
  9. Russell Brown
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    Russell Brown Senior Member

    The C-Dory hull shape is unique and they do seem to work really well with low HP. Not sure why that underwater shape is not explored more.
     
  10. Deering
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    Deering Senior Member

    I haven't spent much time in them personally, but have heard a lot of testimonials from owners up here. It should be noted that all of the other models C-Dory is making now have gone to some sort of vee-hull, with a corresponding increase in hp requirement.
     
  11. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    Is it like a vee hull with a big slice taken off the apex of the vee ?
     
  12. Deering
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    Deering Senior Member

    That's a pretty good description.
     
  13. cracked_ribs
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    cracked_ribs Senior Member

    Yes, exactly. They're not uncommon where I am; people who like them like the low fuel costs; people who don't like them don't like the ride in rough water. It's definitely a throttle back situation, that's for sure...more commonly here most people run 20-24 degree V hulls and go fast when possible, so it's a bit of a hard sell if you're used to the idea that you can run 40 knots and slice through chop, and all of a sudden 20 is about the limit and you're going to float on top of the chop.

    They have a very loyal following, though.
     
  14. Deering
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    Deering Senior Member

    I've been looking at the DE23 and BlueJacket designs that you suggested. Both have a lot going for them. Thanks.

    The Bateau website forum has a great build series from a guy in Romania who built a DE23 and photographed the process extensively over the past year (and did a beautiful job of it). It's a great reality check for the brother on the level of effort and commitment it's going to require...a much bigger job than building a 16' stitch-and-glue skiff. Hopefully I scared him off. But building a boat is generally not a rational decision...speaking from experience.
     

  15. cracked_ribs
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    cracked_ribs Senior Member

    I have certainly never been rational when undertaking it, that's for sure.

    I am building a 16' stitch and glue skiff right now and it's about all the effort I can handle... for sure the finishing out of a 23 or 25 footer is a whole other level and a lot of what to me at least is just boring cabinet work inside a small room.

    On the other hand, traveling in a boat made with your own hands is pretty amazing,so maybe the rational choice isn't the right choice.
     
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