When Don and I talk to other boaters – especially all the folks we’re meeting online and in the Marina - people want to know what kind of
boat we have.
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| Florian on the truck, arriving in Ventura, CA - and in her slip with Don |
When we reply that she’s a Robinhood 36, just about every
person exhibits that tilted-head-Huh?-look… “Never heard of ‘em.” When we explain she’s just like a Cape
Dory, faces light up with familiarity, and they nod at us approvingly.
(Especially the full keel & classic design affectionados.)
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| Florian's roomy deck is perfect for one of our niece's to explore |
We wrote a little
in this post about our experience with
all the Cape Dory folks at Robinhood Marine. The Robinhood 36 is pretty much the same boat as the Cape
Dory 36 – glassed in the CD hull mold – but all of them were built after 1991,
when Cape Dory morphed into Robinhood, so they are a teeny bit modified.
Here is a great page on the Cape Dory Owners Association site, reviewing the history of Cape Dory and the transition to Robinhood Marine.
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| Just after Don re-painted the Dorade cowls |
As I understand it from
Dave Perry, the toe rail and sheer
line are slightly changed, and some of the crazing issues on Cape Dorys were addressed on Robinhoods, but that was more of a cosmetic issue and didn't affect the integrity of the decks. Some of the wiring and bones are a little
modernized, but over all, Cape Dory 36 & Robinhood 36 are sisters.
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Florian's galley the day she was lowered into Pacific water.
I sat and stared - marinating on the realization that we owned this beautiful boat. |
When Don and I were searching for a boat, we looked at a
number of Cape Dory 36's, and I don't recall any overwhelming differences between
our Robinhood and a Cape Dory. Same hull, same teak, same layout, built by the
same hands – with the same plans, but in Maine instead of Massachusetts.
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| Photos I snapped of Florian the day she was moved from the truck to the water |
I’d be curious to hear from other CD owners about
differences – especially if you’ve got a 36. Check out some of our pics here
and let us know if your boat is very different from ours.
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| Sitting on the v-berth, looking aft |
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| Florian on the first weekend in her slip |
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On the truck - just arrived from Maine (April 2012).
Getting acquainted with [petting] her hull. :) |
6 comments:
Thank-you for the background on the Robinhood 36. It's a handsome boat with a warm interior. She looks to be well founded and will prove to be a good cruiser.
I concur: The CD36 and the Robinhood are virtually identical. I see a few differences here and there, but there were changes between the early-model CD36s and the later models. Our cockpit coaming, for example, is teak board. In the cabin, the mast is exposed and the head compartment does not extend as far forward into the v-berth as yours appears to. Otherwise, she's much the same...Gorgeous and traditional!
By the way, I love the picture of you patting her hull. I do that several times during the winter to reassure Ariel that she'll be in the water again soon.
That's just a lovely hull! I see that you are already treating her like a member of the family!
Yeah, she really looks great. Warm, cozy, clean and homey. Looking forward to seeing her come along.
Thanks for all the nice comments, folks. As for petting her hull (and toe rail, and deck, and bulkheads, etc.) I can't explain where this habit came from, but it's almost unconscious - as I step aboard, or leave at the end of a weekend. And when I correspond with her original owners - the folks she was built for in 96 - they ask us to pat her hull with a hello from them. It's a sweet and funny thing, this boat-love. :)
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