[ndsailor]

If you only plan to day sail and maybe overnight the Cape Dory 25 will be fine. I owned a 25 and loved it and with a big genoa had no problems with light air. There are 2 types of cd-25''s though and each is quite different from the other. One has an inboard diesel and the entire front V-berth area is sacrificed to provide a large area for the head. It also has a rig with more sail area than the earlier model CD-25. The other CD-25 has an outboard motor in a motorwell aft which puts the screw behind the rudder creating some difficulty manuvering under power in tight quarters, but other than that the boat sails very well (in my opinion). Below, the cabin space is tight but comfortable. The cockpit is nice and if you put a cushion across the motorwell cover and another across the back of the stern rail , you have a very comfortable couch-like lounging area to the rear of all the action in the cockpit. I think that the CD-25 with the motorwell would be an excellant choice for a tinkerer as it is simple enough to take care of without the hassles of having an inboard with stuffing box and thru hulls and cutlass bearings and the rest of the big boat type fittings for plumbing. One choice you might like to make is whether you want the large plexiglass windows of the early-early cd-25 or (my preference) the CD_25 with the six bronze opening portlights.

 

[ndsailor]

One more thing to consider...at 6ft 2 you may not be able to fit the quarter or v-berth of the CD-25, I remodeled my interior and took out the two forward bulkheads which enclosed the head and replaced it with a single bulkhead running directly under the mast which increased the length of the v-berth to 7 feet, also moved the table area in the main cabin from the aft bulkhead to the forward bulkhead and extended the quarterberths leg room aft under the cockpit seats, extending them to 6ft-3 inches...you might want to check the larger Cape Dories in this case to see if you fit better below decks unless reclining in the cabin is not a priority....or make the layout changes as I did, but that was far from tinkering...it was a major project.....Rick