Mary Ellen is a 25-foot, 4,000-pound displacement masthead sloop built in 1980 by Cape Dory Yachts of East Taunton, Massachussetts. Hers is a very traditional design: a full keel fiberglass hull with cut away forefoot gives her good stability and tracking; graceful sheer, low freeboard and lots of exterior teak trim make her easy on the eye. She's designed to reach her speed potential with 10 to 15 degrees of heel on a reach. She won't set any speed records but is heavily built to hold her own in a stiff breeze and bring you back to the mooring safely and in style.

I located her on the shores of Lake Erie and had her trucked to City Island in the Spring of 2003. Her home now is the New York Sailing Center on the northeast side of the island.

Some of her equipment and upgrades that I have made since purchase:

Hardware:
Six bronze opening ports
Four Lewmar bronze #6 single-speed winches (2 new in 2004)
Bronze anchor hawse pipe
Bronze bow and stern cleats and chocks
Stainless steel standing rigging
Deck-stepped aluminum spar
Brand new lifelines, stanchions and bases, 2004
13 lb Danforth anchor with 6 feet of chain and 150 feet of 1/2" braided rode; 16 lb Bruce anchor with 15 feet of chain and 200 feet of 1/2" nylon 3-strand rode

Sails and sail handling:
Mainsail 1980 reconditioned 2003; two sets of reef points, full-length battens. Slab reefing.
Hank-on 150 Genoa 1980 reconditioned 2003
Hank-on 135 Genoa (North Sails), 2000
Hank-on working jib with reef points 1980 reconditioned 2004
UK custom-made asymmetrical spinnaker with ATN sock 2004
Garhauer tackle boom vang, 2004
All new running rigging (T-900 halyards and downhaul, Sta-Set mainsheet, Regatta Braid jib sheets, Sta-Set X Lite light air spinnaker sheets) and halyard shackles (Ronstan, Wichard) 2004
Topping lift, boom vang and all halyards (3) led aft to cockpit for singlehanding

Canvas:
Custom Fairclough winter cover with tubular frame and wooden stringers, 1989
Pacific Blue Sunbrella mainsail cover
Pacific Blue jib ready bag

Cabin:
New custom hunter green settee and vee berth cushions with burgundy vinyl piping and backing plus 4-inch marine grade foam, 2003
New Nicro 24 hour solar vent in forward hatch, 2004
Stainless steel sink
New sink pump, 2003
25 gallon polypropylene water tank in forepeak
New Aquamate 735 portable MSD, 2004
Hanging closet
New custom made lined portlight cutrtains, 2004
Teak veneer on bulkheads
Teak shelves and lockers

Safety:
Flares, 2003
Fire extinguisher, 2003
First aid kit, 2004
Radar reflector
Horn, 2003
Distress flag

Auxilliary power:
New Nissan 4-stroke 6hp outboard with alternator, 2003

Electronics and instrumentation:
New Raymarine ST1000+ tiller autopilot, 2004
Speed, depth (new, in-hull transponder, in 2003), Saturn bulkhead compass
New 11-watt rigid solar panel and voltage regulator, 2004
New masthead Windex 2003
New masthead VHF antenna, 2003
New Si-Tex Mariner VHF radio 2004
New Uniden handheld VHF, 2003
New Aquasignal Series 20 masthead anchor light 2004
Cabin lights (3 in main cabin, 1 in head, 1 in vee berth), running lights (port, starboard and stern new, 2005), steaming light, deck light

Hull and topsides:
Original gelcoat in excellent condition; hull barrier coated in 1997, no blisters; bottom
painted with two coats of VC17m Extra with Biolux, 2005; bootstripe repainted 2005; all exterior teak
varnished with Epifanes Wood Finish Gloss; all nonskid, including upper deck and sea hood surfaces, painted with Interlux Interdeck Beige, 2004

Specifications

Click here for CD25 rigging tension chart

Click here for CD25 settee cushion dimensions