Harry Krause wrote:
wrote:
Cape Cruiser 23 Venture
When one gets a first look at the new 2006 Cape Cruiser 23' Venture,
it is almost impossible to avoid making mental comparisons with a long
established and incredibly successful series of boats manufactured in
the Pacific NW. Even in an industry where it isn't unheard of to
"splash" a competitor's boat (use a finished hull to create a
mold from which to build knock-offs), few people care much for a
"copy cat". We dropped into Granite Boatworks, at Twin Bridges
Marina on the Swinomish Channel, and we learned some interesting and
very legitimate reasons for the unmistakable "family resemblance."
Chilly Sterner, of Cape Cruiser Boat Works, showed us through a new
23' Venture and explained, "The boat is really just the latest in a
series of Roy Toland hulls. Mr. Toland was building and selling MARBEN
trawlers back in the 1970's, when he got an idea for a flat-bottomed,
dory style boat that he felt would be well received by regional sport
fishermen. Mr. Toland called his first boat a C-Dory, and introduced it
at one of the Sportsman's Shows in 1979. The boat proved to be a hit,
and Mr. Toland soon phased out production of the MARBEN trawler to
concentrate exclusively on meeting the demand for C-Dorys. The company
he started was eventually sold, and continues to build a lot of great
boats that sell well all across the United States."
It looks like a C-Dory and it has 5 degrees of deadrise at the transom.
Maybe it's okay for your waters, but around here, your fillings would
fall out in any sort of chop at planing speeds. It also has a
balsa-cored hull. Gives me the shivers.
That's 8 degrees at the transom.
Definitely not a deep-V hull, but that's how you get 25 knots out of
this boat with a 90-HP motor. If you want to drive a deeper hull
through chop at planing speeds you will need a lot more HP and
ga$oline. Everything is a trade off. There aren't any underwater
through hulls on this outboard boat with a portapottie, and it is very
likely to be rack stored or sit on a trailer between uses. While
Viking, Bertram, Hatteras, et al have had some issues with balsa coring
I am not sure the risk is anywhere nearly close for a Cape Cruiser. I
agree that people need to weigh the risks vs. the benefits and make the
best available decision (or best educated guess).