Seller's Description
Prairie, our 1976 Cape Dory 25 is a one of a kind boat. Prairie is ready to sail. Cape Dory Yachts have a reputation for the quality of their construction and seaworthiness of their design, Prairie is unique even in the Cape Dory family. Purchased in August of 2002, we moved her into my shop and embarked on a complete re-fit, restoration and upgrade. This became a 3 2/1 year project with an estimated 3000 hours of work. She was stripped down to a bare hull inside and out. We set about to make her the finest little pocket cruiser afloat. Initial work was completed and she was re-launched in June of 2006. Over the years we have continued to refine and dial in various aspects of Prairie making her an exceptional boat for her size and class.
Prairie was the winner of the 2007 CDSOA Great Lakes Fleet restoration project of the year.
Equipment: GROUND TACKLE: Custom bow roller, Sealed anchor locker 14 pound Delta anchor on the bow roller with 30 of 1/4 chain. 150 5/8 rode. Secondary anchor, Fortress FX-11 aluminum Danforth. 15 of chain. 150 of 1/2 Rode. SAILS AND MAST: Mainsail, Battened Rolly Tasker with 2 jiffy reef points. Harkin Lazy jacks and a sunbrella sail cover. Headsail, 150 Rolly Tasker genoa on a ProFurl R-25 roller furler. Asymmetrical spinnaker with snuffer. Removable inner fore stay with staysail and storm jib. Anchor riding sail. Running rigging new at re-build. Lines lead aft. Topping Lift, Lazy Jacks, Boom Vang, Mast mounter whisker pole. Mast base plate with turning blocks. LED anchor light. Windex. STANDING RIGGING: New at the re-build. Swaged on the top, Sta-Lok on the bottom. Removable inner fore stay for use as a cutter rig or flying the storm jib. HULL AND DECK: New flanged bronze thru-hulls with ball valves. Hull to deck joint, thru bolted every 12”. Custom mast wiring waterproof pass through. The main cabin bulkheads tabbed into hull, for actual load bearing. Aft cockpit to cabin bulkheads tabbed into hull. New life lines at re-build. Hull has an Interlux epoxy barrier coat. Always a fresh water boat. New bottom paint 2022 season VC-17. The deck and topsides sprayed with PPG Delfleet. a two part polyurethane. Swim ladder. Custom spray dodger. Lexan window in the front hatch with Nicro solar fan. Pad eye in the cockpit for harness attachment. Jack lines. 4 Beckson opening port lights with rain shields. 4 Beckson fixed port lights. Deck fill for the freshwater. Deck outlet for holding tank. Aft mounted Life Sling. PROPULSION: 8 hp Honda four stroke, BF8D4LRA two cylinder 20 shaft with electric start and alternator. Custom motor mount. Side mount controls. The engine was inspected by a Honda Marine dealer in 2019. Estimated total hours 200-250. 3 gallon fuel tank. ELECTRICAL: All new wiring and electrical control panels, DC and AC. Two group 27 AGM batteries with custom boxes, about 5 years old. Shore power with control panel. Guest 2610 10 amp battery charger. 110v outlet. 50 power cord. About 30 watts of solar power. USB and cigarette lighter charging. Cabin lights are LED. V berth 12v outlet. Standard Horizon VHF Radio, mast mounted antenna. Older Garmin chart plotter with remote antenna. Depth sounder and knot log. Raymarine tiller pilot. CABIN: Heavily insulated ice box. Custom built in storage: Settee locker have top access. Galley cabinet with door that doubles as a working surface. White laminate countertops. Custom cabin dining table. 25 gallon fresh water system. Cartridge water filter. Stainless steel sink with hand pump. One burner Coleman propane cabin stove. Magma, propane grill mounted on aft guard rails. Headmate 1460 marine head. 18.5 gallon holding tank. Cabin floor inlay, compass rose. 3 bilge pumps. 1 electric 50 GPH electric,2 hand pumps. ALSO INCLUDED: 6 10 Mercury inflatable with Cruise-N-Carry model 6600 1.5 hp outboard. 1999 Mac-Lander double axle trailer. Purchased new in 2002. Model 18TFRSB. Electric brakes.
Specs
- Designer
- George H. Stadel Jr.
- Builder
- Cape Dory Yachts
- Association
- Cape Dory Sailboat Owners Association
- # Built
- 845
- Hull
- Monohull
- Keel
- Long
- Rudder
- ?
- Construction
- FG
Dimensions
- Length Overall
- 25′ 0″ / 7.6 m
- Waterline Length
- 18′ 0″ / 5.5 m
- Beam
- 6′ 11″ / 2.1 m
- Draft
- 2′ 11″ / 0.9 m
- Displacement
- 4,000 lb / 1,814 kg
- Ballast
- 1,700 lb / 771 kg
Rig and Sails
- Type
- Sloop
- Reported Sail Area
- 262′² / 24.3 m²
- Total Sail Area
- 262′² / 24.4 m²
Mainsail
- Sail Area
- 138′² / 12.8 m²
- P
- 24′ 0″ / 7.3 m
- E
- 11′ 6″ / 3.5 m
- Air Draft
- 31′ 5″ / 9.6 m
Foresail
- Sail Area
- 124′² / 11.5 m²
- I
- 27′ 7″ / 8.4 m
- J
- 8′ 11″ / 2.7 m
- Forestay Length
- 29′ 0″ / 8.8 m
Auxilary Power
- Make
- ?
- Model
- ?
- HP
- ?
- Fuel Type
- ?
- Fuel Capacity
- ?
- Engine Hours
- ?
Accomodations
- Water Capacity
- ?
- Holding Tank Capacity
- ?
- Headroom
- 4′ 11″ / 1.5 m
- Cabins
- 2
Calculations
- Hull Speed
-
5.9 kn
Classic: 5.69 kn
Hull Speed
The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.
Formula
Classic hull speed formula:
Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL
A more accurate formula devised by Dave Gerr in The Propeller Handbook replaces the Speed/Length ratio constant of 1.34 with a calculation based on the Displacement/Length ratio.
Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio.311
Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL
- Sail Area/Displacement
-
16.6
Sail Area / Displacement Ratio
A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.
Formula
SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64)2/3
- SA: Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
- D: Displacement in pounds.
- Ballast/Displacement
-
42.5
>40: stiffer, more powerful
Ballast / Displacement Ratio
A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.
Formula
Ballast / Displacement * 100
- Displacement/Length
-
305.5
300-400: heavy
Displacement / Length Ratio
A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.
Formula
D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³
- D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
- LWL: Waterline length in feet
- Comfort Ratio
-
21.9
20-30: coastal cruiser
Comfort Ratio
This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.
Formula
Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam1.33)
- D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
- LWL: Waterline length in feet
- LOA: Length overall in feet
- Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet
- Capsize Screening
-
1.8
<2.0: better suited for ocean passages
Capsize Screening Formula
This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.
Formula
CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)
- Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet
- D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
Notes
From BlueWaterBoats.org
After years of building small sturdy daysailers from as early as 1964, the Cape Dory 25 was Cape Dory’s first foray into fully fledged cruisers. The story goes that founder Andy Vavolotis got a hold of the molds for the Greenwich 24 from Allied Boat Company in 1972 and raised her freeboard to improve headroom, thereby adding seven inches to her length.
Other alterations included a fully enclosed head, a hanging locker, and an enlarged galley. She’s a sloop rigged full keeler with a narrow low-freeboard hull that invites a wet ride. The design is quite dated but traditionalist will love the classic lines and underwater profile, and of course true to Cape Dory tradition, the construction is bulletproof.
Though the Cape Dory 25 was designed for coastal cruising some have taken their boats offshore. Author Ed Campbell writes of cruising the Gulf Coast of the United States, including a passage to the Bahamas. In one incident his Cape Dory 25 survived a collision with an underwater cable strung between two offshore oil rigs. For offshore work, no doubt good prep is in order, the guys at Atom Voyages suggest reducing the cockpit footwell volume and modifying the companionway dropboards so they don’t fall out when raised slightly.
Headroom is only five feet down below, this didn’t get fixed until the 25D successor came along which bumped it up to five feet eleven inches. Power comes by way of an outboard situated in a well in the lazerette. There have been small changes through the years including a switch from fixed port lights to bronze opening ports around 1979.
Production ended in 1982, when the model was replaced by the beamier, heavier, and deeper Cape Dory 25D. Of all the offshore capable Cape Dorys, non have sold better than the original Cape Dory 25 with a total production run of 846 boats.
Links, References and Further Reading
» Cape Dory Owners Association, Cape Dory 25 brochures, owner discussions, and further information.
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