Cape Dory 25 D Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

What distinguishes the 25D structurally is the thoroughness of her glasswork and ballast encapsulation. The hull is a moderately heavy solid layup of mat and roving, and the lead ballast casting is carried in a hollow keel molding with the voids filled by polyester slurry and heavily glassed over on the inside of the hull. Decks and cabin tops are cored with end grain balsa, and the deck is bonded to the hull with a semi-rigid polyester compound. On the underside of the hull flange a heavy aluminum plate is glassed in with unidirectional roving, reinforcing the joint that the shroud lugs load. Practical Sailor judged the 25D probably one of the strongest boats of her size on the market, and the same review noted that a full molded hull liner — a heavy solid layup nearly as thick as the hull — carries the major furniture components, adding stiffness below.

The rudder hangs from the back of the keel, and all deck hardware is through-bolted with stainless steel bolts and aluminum backing plates; Spartan seacocks serve every below-water through-hull. Teak toerails, rubbing strake, cabintop handrails, and cockpit coamings soften an otherwise glass-and-bronze structure, and the gelcoat quality is excellent.

Rig and Handling

The 25D's rig is substantially more modern than the 25's: a mast 4½ feet taller, a J measurement over a foot longer, and a higher-aspect-ratio mainsail. The deck-stepped mast is served by an aluminum compression column directly under it that transfers rig load to the keel, though the mast was originally drawn to step through to the keel. Shrouds attach to cast bronze lugs resting on the deck over the hull/deck flange, each bolted with two 3/8-inch stainless machine screws — an immensely strong installation for a boat of 5,000 pounds displacement and less prone to leakage than conventional bulkhead-mounted flat-bar chainplates. A recessed inboard jib track complements the rail-mounted genoa track, and a full-width mainsheet traveler sits at the aft cockpit end. Jiffy reefing is standard.

Underbody changes matter as much as the rig. The extra 6 inches of draft, 9 inches of beam, hard bilges, and 350 pounds of additional ballast over the 25 should make her quite stiff, and Practical Sailor allowed that the 25D may actually have better performance potential than the 25. The two-bladed solid bronze prop sits in an aperture at the aft end of the keel that extends into the rudder, which costs a little rudder efficiency under sail through cross-ventilation but tucks the gear securely.

Power and Systems

Inboard diesel power comes from a raw-water-cooled Yanmar 1QM of 7½ horsepower — at 154 pounds one of the lightest small diesels available — turning a 2.62:1 reduction gear through a conventional installation that met ABYC standards. A 13-gallon fuel tank under the cockpit yields roughly 250 miles of powered range. A 20-gallon polyethylene water tank sits under the starboard quarterberth, which the review called the best berth in the boat. The galley stove is a recessed two-burner Kenyon alcohol unit with integral tank.

Accommodations

The 25D's interior is unusual in discarding a forward cabin in favor of a huge head that can take a shower, with 5′9″ headroom, two hanging lockers, a small sink, and solid towel-rack grab rails. A Bomar hatch and two opening ports vent it. Honest main-cabin headroom of about 5′11″ is won by dropping the cabin sole into the bilge. The hull outboard of the settee is lined with ash rather than teak, the settee backs are properly angled and padded, and the starboard settee extends to a double with some maneuvering, giving nominal accommodations for four. Main-cabin cross-ventilation is excellent via four opening bronze ports, and the settees run through the head bulkhead to form dresser alcoves. A shallow locker to starboard over the quarterberth and a deep locker to port complete the stowage, with stuffing-box access through the port locker.

Known Issues

Bilge access is only through a small trap in the main cabin sole, which limits inspection and pumping reach. The optional shower, if fitted, drains directly into the bilge — an arrangement the review found wanting. The propeller aperture intruding into the rudder causes slight loss of rudder efficiency under sail. A few 25Ds were delivered with pedestal steering, which frees cockpit seating but reads as oversized for the boat.

The Verdict

The Cape Dory 25D is a deliberate pocket cruiser: heavily built, stiff, and appointed for a couple to live aboard and venture offshore, with a rig and underbody that outclass the earlier 25's modest ambitions. She is not a racer, but her construction discipline and genuine cruising layout make her a durable small yacht.

Pros