its true, the cat is a good looking boat, and it rides very smooth, but if you hit a wave the wrong way your in serious trouble. they capsize easily that way, more that a v-hull would. all im saying is you have to be careful on these boats. so before you go bashing on what someone has to say you might want to get your own facts strait Wolakrab
GP,
You making a blanket statement saying cats are more dangerous than mono-hulls is silly. You may as well said that a 36’ Contender w/trips is more dangerous than a 16’ jon boat.
I have my facts straight…each type hull has handling characteristics unique to them. For example, you would not want to drift beam-to in 6’ seas at 6 seconds in a deep-V mono. Just like you need to be careful in a following or quartering stern sea with a cat.
Each has their disadvantages and advantages. But, like I said originally, in the hands of an experienced operator who is familiar with each’s handling characterists, one is no more dangerous than the other.
I didn’t “bash” you…all I did was say your statement was silly. I have said plenty of silly things in my lifetime, and when someone called me on it, I didn’t get upset. No insult was intended. Sorry if you took it that way.
Anyway, this thread has been derailed enough…not that it really belonged in this section anyway…
“Never argue with an idiot…he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.”
dont all cats get better fuel economy and ride better than a v-hull?
not necessarily...
I think what striperNailer was saying was that, with everything else being equal, a cat will generally weigh less and have less drag in the water, therefore having better fuel economy with that soft “cat-like” ride.
You are a stickler for details sir. You must work for the government or something…
2005 236 Sailfish
225 Yamaha 4-stroke
Actually cat boats generally do ride better all things being equal. That being said, they definately are not lighter and they do not have less drag through the water.
All things being equal they are heavier as they have 2 hulls and they have to be overbuilt to keep the two hulls together. Also, most are not fully planing so they don’t really get out of the water resulting in much more displacement (drag). Cat boats generally are slower and poorer fuel economy compared to similar class monohulls. I have a 26 sea cat that rides better then most 30+ monos, but it is a pig…a nice smooth, slow, gas guzzling pig.
its true, the cat is a good looking boat, and it rides very smooth, but if you hit a wave the wrong way your in serious trouble. they capsize easily that way, more that a v-hull would. all im saying is you have to be careful on these boats. so before you go bashing on what someone has to say you might want to get your own facts strait Wolakrab
Dude, I like your name…it is pretty ■■■■ funny… but judging by the above words you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. I think you are taking what you heard about one incident ivolving a cat up in MI and making some sort of blanket statement.
Instead of me calling you wrong, how bout you throw some facts out there to prove your statement.
“It is well known to those skilled in the marine arts, catamarans suffer from the serious disadvantage that they are considerably less stable in rough seas and from a propensity for submarining their forward hulls into large head seas which can result in the forward end of the hull “digging in” and the vessel flipping end for end. By its very nature, a planing type catamaran has the disadvantage that it is significantly affected by waves and is not always comfortable to drive.” www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/catamaran.htm
I’m sorry I’ve been so “silly” and not provided a good source on a topic that you should know about. What I should have said is that if you are not very experienced in handling catamarans, they can capsize easily in rough seas. I’m not saying monohulls can’t.
so you’re saying that after building 2 boats your boat outperforms every catamaran that has ever been produced? thats a pretty bold statement even for the internet. u should take your boat to the miami boat show next year and let the saltwater press decide. do some side by side comparisons with twin vee, glacier bay, world cat, and so on. when u get dean travis clarke and some of those guys agreeing with you then your statement will start to have some merit.
That’s exactly what I am saying. Not just cats, everything.
When 2 well known gulf coast charter fisherman in the most prolific Yellowfin tuna fishing grounds in the US buy them from a guy that used to work telecom, then yes that is exactly what I am saying.
We will probably be at Miami in 09. We will also have a review in Center Console Angler in a couple of months. The publisher, Sean Oleary used to be with Saltwater Sportsman.
One of the captains, Mike Ellis, was offered a deal with Invincible, but picked the Freeman 33 over an Invincible. He has owned Contender 36’s, ridden on everything out there, but says there is nothing better.
Billy Wells is a laid back guy that has been running Glacier Bays for the last 6 years. He was tired of getting outrun by the bigger monohulls so he was ready for some speed and a good ride. He has been looking at everything for 3 years, but couldnt find anything that he wanted. He bought a boat from a guy that had no name. He bought my boat because it works .
I offered everyone on this site a chance to ride one at Red’s last Friday, but not many of you showed showed up. The next one will be ready for trials in a few months if yall think you can handle it.
Look, I was born and raised in Mt P, went to Wando, know quite a few of you. I am just trying
are you from alaska? last year I fished near ketchikan at a place called Sportsman’s Cove Lodge and I think im going back in July. We saw some pretty amazing wildlife there.
Speaking of Venice, LA; Has anyone fished the famous “Midnight Lump”? Are the stories of the big tuna true? Is it worth a trip down there?
It is kina boring fishing the lump, but there are lots of fish there… it gets a lot of pressure though. It consists of chumming a ton of bait and fighting off giant sharks and bonitia. I have always done better at the rigs. They have lots of big tuna there. When they are busting and holding on the rigs, catching them on topwater plugs is some of the coolest fishing you can ever do. I am talking about 80 to 150lb tuna skying all around the boat…knocking the plug 15 feet in the air… the guy Billy who got one of the cats is pretty good at it… I have fished with him and a few of the other guides down there. ( He is one of Greg’s buddies) It gets to the point that no one wants to reel in another fish… we have had many days like that down there…it is worth a trip… lots of options besides tuna too…
OK, I think that Catamaran boats have some attributes that make them popular and unique. However, it is fatuous to offer to bet on economy vs. speed. Please go to my profile and I e-mail me and I will bet you (I would prefer to bet a dollar, but if we must, I can satisfy my part of the pecuniary challenge). There is a reason that, until you get to 100+ feet, the US Military uses monohull vessels for high performance tasks.
Anyway, having said that, I would be remiss unless I admitted that the Freeman is “the nicest Cat. I have ever seen”. That is a personal quote. I also think that Freeman is talented enough to build a monohull that would be revered.
Justice
USA # 1
“I seem temptation coming. but it seen me coming first” Otis Campbell
Guy keep in mind “not all cats are created EQUAL” . Billys cats are planning hulls unlike the others. The other cats that everyone is familiar with are displacement hulls. good rides but slow. The faster the freeman 33 goes the more it comes out the water…just like the monohulls. Thats one reason why this baby tops out at 50+mph. The freeman is also hand made and is much lighter than the “other” cats. To be quite honest this is a unique design and a unique cat. The combination of length, width , weight and planning design on this thing puts it in a different class. It should be called a “fatamaran” rather than a “catamaran”. Until you ride in it you just don’t understand.
bully, will you be making any smaller models in the future?
Luke 8:22-25
Absolutely
We are considering a 28’with a 9.5’ beam, just waiting for the customer to say the word. The fuel economy with a pair of zuke 175’s would be insane. I am thinking 2+ mpg at the end of the day.
knockdown is right. Totally in a class by its own. As on-water hazards go and as mentioned in this string, anyone not paying attention can get in a situation no matter the sled with ever changing conditions. But those that did not know that you could take the “white knuckles” out of dropping off the tops of 4 to 5 footers, you should take the opportunity to catch a ride on one of these if you have not already. Also, ask “BULLY” about the performance specs. and how performance is uniquely related to this boat’s planing hull design. At the end of the day, draw your own conclusions from being on the boat and discussing the info. with BULLY. You could be missing a opportunity to make your passion for fishing and being on the water a much better experience. simply check into the boat further to see how it is different and what you did not know you would like and were missing in a fishing boat. After all, they are built local, let’s give locals all the support we can! </font id=“red”>
