C-Dory 22 Cruiser (Often Searched as Cape Dory 22) Buyer's Guide

Cape Dory 22 or C-Dory 22, clearing up the name first

A lot of people type cape dory 22 into a search bar when the boat they have in mind is the C-Dory 22 Cruiser, the little pilothouse outboard with lapstrake-style plank lines and a cabin brow that looks like it is squinting at the horizon. Cape Dory is a different brand entirely. If you want the trailerable powerboat that C-Brats owners tow from Puget Sound to the Florida Keys, this is the page you need.

C-Dory calls the 22 Cruiser its most successful model, first introduced in January 1987 and in steady production since. The company says refinements over the years came from customer input rather than fashion, and the boat looks it: the basic shape, the dinette to port and the galley-helm to starboard have barely changed.

Ownership of the brand has moved several times. Soundings listed C-Dory Marine Group of Auburn, Washington, as the builder in 2008; by 2011 the parent was Triton Marine Industries in Ferndale. After a 2013 fire destroyed most of the Ferndale equipment, the new Northwest Marine Industries moved to Harris Avenue in Bellingham, where it builds C-Dory alongside Sea Sport, Osprey and Skagit Orca. Northwest Marine traces its own roots to Wright Manufacturing, founded in Bellingham in 1955.

Why a flat-aft dory hull rides better than it looks

C-Dory describes its hull as a modern refinement of the dory: nearly flat at the stern, gradually becoming a V at the bow. Deep reverse chines hold water under the boat, which adds lift and keeps spray down, while the heavy plank lines along the sides stiffen the hull and act as spray knockers. The flatness aft is what makes the boat roll less at rest and track nicely at trolling speed, and it is why the 22 gets on plane with modest power.

The trade-off is that a flat-aft hull pounds when you push hard into a short chop. BoatTEST's review at the Miami show noted hull noise that got distracting when the water got busy, although levels stayed tolerable. Experienced owners slow down, trim the bow and pick their weather, which is the right way to drive any light 22-footer.

Draft is the party trick. C-Dory lists just 7 inches with fuel and without gear, and a thick bottom, so the boat can be nosed onto a beach for beachcombing or pulled up to a remote gravel bar. Height on the trailer is 9 feet 1 inch, which matters if you store it in a garage.

Inside the cabin, a real pilothouse in 22 feet

The appeal of the 22 Cruiser is that it is a true enclosed pilothouse rather than a cuddy. The dinette along the port side converts to a 6-foot-2-inch berth. On the starboard side, the helm and galley share the space, with a stainless sink and an 18-gallon fresh water supply on an electric demand pump. Forward, a 6-foot-3-inch V-berth sits behind a privacy curtain with two reading lights, a Lewmar aluminum-frame hatch and the portable toilet tucked underneath.

Headroom is listed at 6 feet 4 inches, and BoatTEST found that an optional 4 inches of extra cabin height made the interior feel much larger. Interiors are gelcoated and stippled for easy washdown, with fiberglass cabinetry and teak trim. Windows use powder-coated aluminum frames with sliding side windows and screens and an opening center pane.

Be honest about the head situation. There is no enclosed head and no shower on the 22, just a portable toilet under the berth. Great Loop veteran Michael MacLeod, writing in Soundings, eventually traded his 22 for a 25 precisely because he wanted a shower and a proper toilet. For a solo cruiser or a couple on weekend trips, the 22 works. For long cruises with a partner, the 25 Cruiser is the better tool.

Speed, economy and choosing the right outboard

C-Dory rates the current 22 for a single outboard up to 115 hp and leaves the brand choice to the buyer, noting that its technicians can pre-rig any of the five major makes. Earlier boats were rated lower; BoatTEST's test boat carried a 90-hp Honda four-stroke and quoted a 100-hp maximum at the time.

On that Honda 90, BoatTEST recorded a top speed of 32.9 mph and a cruise of 14.2 mph, with the boat on plane in 4.7 seconds and reaching 30 mph in 13.8 seconds. They estimated more than 200 miles of range at cruise. C-Dory itself says the 22 will plane comfortably as low as 9 to 10 mph and quotes an approximate range of 250 miles from two 23-gallon tanks under the motor well.

In practice, a 90 to 115 hp four-stroke is the sweet spot. Owners who mostly run inland waterways can get away with less power, but the extra torque helps when the boat is loaded with gear, water and a kicker. Many owners add a small auxiliary outboard for trolling and redundancy.

• Max power: 115 hp single outboard (current rating)
• BoatTEST, Honda 90: 32.9 mph top, 14.2 mph cruise, 4.7 seconds to plane
• Fuel: up to 46 gallons in two 23-gallon tanks; builder range about 250 miles
• Planes at roughly 9 to 10 mph, per C-Dory

Trailering, the C-Brats and how owners really use them

The 22 Cruiser's biggest feature is the trailer. With a towing weight around 4,390 pounds, a half-ton pickup or a large SUV can pull it, which turns the whole continent into home waters. Soundings quoted a Triton executive in 2011 describing owners groups that travel all over the country, and the owners' community still goes by the name C-Brats.

MacLeod's story is the best illustration of what the boat can do. He ran his first Great Loop on a 22-foot C-Dory with a 90-hp Yamaha, trailered it down the Hudson and launched near the head of navigation on the Mississippi, all with a V-berth that suited one person. The boat had no heat or air conditioning until he added a rooftop unit he later described as heavy, ugly and noisy.

That candor is useful. A 22 Cruiser is a camping boat with a roof, and a very good one. Add a diesel heater, good canvas and a solar panel and it becomes a three-season cruiser in the Pacific Northwest or New England.

What a C-Dory 22 costs to own

Running a 22 Cruiser is cheap by cruising-boat standards. With trailer storage at home, the main costs are insurance, registration, outboard service, trailer bearings and tires, and fuel. We estimate $4,000 to $9,000 a year for a typical owner, more if you keep it in a slip or tow long distances.

The outboard dominates the budget over time. A repower with a modern 90 to 115 hp four-stroke is the single largest expense most owners face, and it also resets resale value. When comparing used boats, price the engine first and the hull second.

Shopping for a used C-Dory 22 for sale

Because C-Dory has built the 22 for nearly four decades, there is a wide spread of used boats, from early 1990s examples with tired two-strokes to late-model boats with low-hour four-strokes and full Northwest packages. Washington state, Oregon and Alaska have the deepest inventories, which is why searches like c dory for sale washington are so common, but boats turn up all over the US.

Expect strong value retention. The design has not changed enough to make older boats feel obsolete, and the owner community keeps demand steady. Our 2026 estimates run from about $18,000 for a project-grade early boat to over $100,000 for a nearly new, fully equipped example. Check cabin height too: some boats have the optional taller cabin, which many owners prefer.