New Owner Cape Dory 28

Been here reading for a while, finally bought a small down east style trawler. It's my first boat ever. I have a lot to learn. Jeff

Congratulations and welcome aboard!

Those boats have great lines, I have always admired them.

I look forward to more posts about your experiences.

Best Wishes

Welcome Aboard! Always liked the Cape Dory 28.

Pretty nice first boat.
Nice to have you aboard TF... it's a great group.
Where abouts is home port?

Welcome, we sailed a 28 Cape Dory sloop. Great boat but no surprise since it’s a Cape Dory. We visited one docked at West End in the Bahamas year ago.

Welcome. I like those boats a lot. What power do you have?

I had a Cape Dory 28 when we lived in NC, but unlike the OP's boat it had no fly bridge. It had the Chrysler 275 hp gasser. Would do 12 kts at 3,200 rpm and topped out at about 19 kts at 4,400 rpm. A little noisy though. I understand the Volvo diesel version is even noisier. The Westerbeke 100 hp version is strictly a displacement speed cruiser and should be fairly quiet.



By far the best engine for that boat is a repowered Yanmar 4LH 220 hp 4 cylinder diesel. Maybe not much quieter than the Volvo but a very solid engine.



David

Welcome aboard. Pretty boat.

Welcome aboard.

Like you, we're first time boat owners. That first year is pretty overwhelming!

Now in year five and feeling comfortable, edging into confident

Oh, and two tips:

1) Buy Nigel Calder's book on marine electrical and mechanical repairs, and

2) buy the parts, service, and owner manuals for your engine.

HopCar said:

Welcome Aboard! Always liked the Cape Dory 28.

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Thanks, do the Ellis and CD share the same hull ?

Bacchus said:

Pretty nice first boat.
Nice to have you aboard TF... it's a great group.
Where abouts is home port?

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Thanks, Chesapeake City, MD.

Jeff F said:

Welcome. I like those boats a lot. What power do you have?

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Volvo 40B , 165 HP, not fast, but runs well.

MurrayM said:

Welcome aboard.

Like you, we're first time boat owners. That first year is pretty overwhelming!

Now in year five and feeling comfortable, edging into confident

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Hoping to get as much time on the water as possible before the season is over; got a late start. First solo last week without my training captain.

MurrayM said:

Oh, and two tips:

1) Buy Nigel Calder's book on marine electrical and mechanical repairs, and

2) buy the parts, service, and owner manuals for your engine.

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Thanks, I got number #2, I'll look into #1.

mollygray said:

Thanks, do the Ellis and CD share the same hull ?

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No, but they are similar. I actually lost my Ellis in the last hurricane to hit Miami.

Congratulations on your new boat! I drooled over the CD 28's for years while boat shopping. You can't go wrong with a quality boat like you bought.

Welcome and congratulations. What fun boat!

That's a fine looking boat, welcome

Good luck a great looking boat. I currently have a 30' Cape Dory and it is serving me well.

Welcome to TF! you have a fine vessel in that Cape Dory!

Reelhappy said:

Good luck a great looking boat. I currently have a 30' Cape Dory and it is serving me well.

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Thanks, does the CD 30 have twins ?

Yes the 30 has twin 200hp Volvo diesels and a 12' beam. The 30' model was a failure because it was so much more money with the 2 diesels that people either bought the 28 which was the most popular or they went to the 33 once spending the money for twins. Only 17 were built and mine is 17 which was completed by Robinhood Marine because of the bankruptcy in 91.

Currently thinking about going from sail to power. Like the lines of a CD28. One question at this point is noise in cabin? How loud is the Volvo diesel? Being a sailor I have grown to appreciate a quiet boat. I realize it will be louder in the cabin than my current C36 but is it tolerable? Thanks.

rbyham said:

Currently thinking about going from sail to power. Like the lines of a CD28. One question at this point is noise in cabin? How loud is the Volvo diesel? Being a sailor I have grown to appreciate a quiet boat. I realize it will be louder in the cabin than my current C36 but is it tolerable? Thanks.

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A powerboat will not likely ever come close to the quiet of a sailboat unless it is electric. And boat builders typically don’t do sound insulation well. But it is something that can be retrofitted by the owner fairly reasonably. The key is quality insulation and attention to detail. Seal up all openings that the builder or PO left open and use the heaviest insulation possible.

I wish you good luck in the boat search. I have been "peeking" for several years now and I am still in the "dock walking" phase. I can say that personally I never look twice if I see a Volvo engine. Just never heard enough positive stuff about them. Good lines on the cape

If you find a CD28 with the Yanmar 4LH 240 hp engine, jump on it. That is a very nice engine, and some CD28s were repowered with it.

I used to own a gasser CD28. The engine room insulation was sloppy at best, but as noted above, you can add modern insulation and improve the sound significantly. The sound of the gasser never bothered me, but I am sure that a diesel would inherently be noisier.

I know you probably want a diesel, but fuel economy with the 275 hp Chrysler was tolerable. Mine would burn 12-13 gph at 16 kts. The Volvo diesel would probably burn 8-9 gph at that speed.

David

CD is a fine boat, heavier than most of similar size. A friend has a 30 with twin 240s. If you are looking at a pilothouse it will be plenty loud as you are sitting on top of the engine. A fly bridge would be much less so. You can't compare it to the silence of sailing. Whether you can tolerate the noise is a personal preference.