Re: Century Coronado - Cardel conversion?
Hello Skibumpmc:
I'm confused. I thought the hulls and windshields were the same on Coronados and Cardels. So, my current goal is to copy a friend's Cardel sliding top and install it on an open Cardel or Coronado to be purchased in the future. But, then I noted in you post that the windshields are different? Could you elaborate? Thanks, Bill Patton
Bill,
First off...The Coronado and the Cardel are the exact same hull.
Secondly...The windshield is also essentially the same on Coronado's and Cardel's. In fact, the windshields on the "Heritage Series" (Coronado, Cardel, Arabian, Sabre & Resorter) from the 60's, 70's, 80's & 90's are essentially all the same; there may be size differences with some models, like the Resorter 16/17 and a few other models, but they all appear to be the same.
So, while the "front" part of the windshield is essentially the same on the Heritage Series, the are differences in the "side wings" or "return" on the sides of the windshield on various models. For example, some Arabians (late 70's & 80's) have very long "returns" or "side wing" windows that go almost to the rear bench seat while the early 1970's do not.
On Coronado's with Hardtops and Cardel's with Sliding Soft-Tops, Century deleted part of the "return" or "side wings" on these models. The reason, was most likely for docking, as it would be hard to pull up to a dock and grab a pier with a Hardtop or Soft-top (in the closed position). The Hardtop Coronado's also had sliding side windows, so the driver could open the window for ventilation and also for ease of docking.
Click here & see my notes...
Again, to my knowledge, I believe the Sliding soft-top was only offered as an option on the Cardel and probably only for a few years in the 1980's. The Hardtop was still offered on the Coronado's in the 1980's, but the popularity of this option was waning, as most people preferred "open-air" boating. Subsequently, many people removed the Hardtops from their Coronados and you can always tell one of those "neutered" boats by the lack of the "side-wing" windows on them. (
Look back at the earlier of a "neutered" Cardel that probably had a sliding soft-top, attached in a previous post)
My advice...Why buy the top before you have the boat? Since you have a friend who apparently has a Cardel with the sliding soft-top, you can always use that as a template and any canvas shop should be able to fabricate one. That said, if you are looking for a Cardel, my advice to you is find/buy the boat first, because these models are "very rare" and hard to find... FYI, I started looking for Cardel's in 2000 and I usually only saw 2 or 3 ever available, per year (Bought mine in 2005). Beyond that, my Cardel was the "20th" boat made in 1986, so one of the last made in Manistee in December of 1986. Production numbers are unknown, but using 1986 as an example, that means that there may have only been 100 to 150 Cardels, ever produced....Finding one with the sliding soft-top will truly be a arduous endeavor.
That said, obviously, you will have an easier time finding a Coronado and adding the soft-top...Whatever you find & buy, you can certainly leave the "side wing" windows intact, but just remember, when you pull up to a dock (especially if you are alone) you will have a difficult time reaching around the side-wing to grab the dock, if the top is in the forward/closed position.
As I mentioned, I started looking for a Cardel in 2000 and it has become a hobby of mine, ever since, so I consider myself an expert on Coronado's & Cardel's. In the past 12 years, I only saw one Cardel for sale with the sliding soft-top and that was maybe 3 to 5 years ago...In all my years of Googling and searching for them, I simply never saw another one.
My only other advice is,
ideally, to not buy the I/O version of the Cardel...Buy a V-Drive Cardel or a Direct-Drive Coronado. I'm not bashing the I/O...It's still a beautiful boat, but just not as desirable. The V-Drive and Direct-Drive will get up and go much quicker (even with 8 to 10 people on board). With the I/O, you also lose that nice one-piece swim platform. Beyond that, I also believe that most of the I/O's did not have the transom exhaust and I, personally love the sound of a big-block 454 or 440 with the transom exhaust.
Here is a video of my boat...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdOe_XE1Ths