No center pod
 

This past weekend I saw a 26 Awesome Cat at our local lake. I noticed that it was a true cat, no center pod. Most of the cats I have seen that size have center pods. Just curious to hear from 26 Awesome Cat owners how these boats handle. The boat looked great sitting in the water. I noticed it had a fairly large door to the cabin area and a deck hatch. Is there really a cabin down there?

Re: No center pod
 

Yes to all of the above :drink:

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Can you share some specifics of the ride? How does the boat plane, run in rough water, turn, etc? What is an ideal power plant and drive for the 26 Cat? What type of top speed can you see with a stock 525 EFI? How fast can the boat get going within 20 seconds at a stand still with this type of power? Is the ride similar to AO's 26 cat?

Re: No center pod
 

I also have a 26 Awesome without a center pod. Unfortunatly, due to the condition of the boat when I bought it, I am rebuilding it and have not had it on the water yet. But it is probably 2 weeks away!! :o). One thing different, mine is a twin outboard. I have no living under at all. Just feet room then drops down to bulkheads. Anxious to see how it rides and top speed - I have no idea.

re anyone own 31'
 

anyone own 31' cat that did work on x dim and props

Re: re anyone own 31'
 

Getting down to the final stages of completion. No, I have not altered the Gimbal height/location in the transom. Once the gimbals, and outdrives are back on the boat, I am going to accurately (laser sight) measure the X dimension on my 31. Will let you know what I come up with. This number will be from a stock 1998 Awesome hull. As far as props, well that will have to be later since I am going up some 540 total HP.

Re: No center pod
 

I also have 31' 1999 cat with hp 500 bravo dr's. i'am at 89-91 mpi i think it can do better

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My brother owns this '98 26 Awesome Cat - runs triple digits - true tunnel -rides great in the rough.

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Hey Ran-Dom, Forgot that you had told me that your brother owned a 26' Awesome. What power is he running? Still don't have my boat in the water yet. Still working on finishing the engine area and the motors. You will see mine in 06. New motors, new interior, new dash, new----------almost everything.

Re: No center pod
 

Vendetta, With your HP500's, what prop model and size/pitch are you running when you got your 89-91 mph?

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Your brother's boat is nice looking. All white boat sometimes makes a great statement. Great seeing someone taking good care of their Awesome. New owner is talking about forming an Awesome Owners Club. Time will tell. I am keeping a positive attitude.

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He runs a 800 hp blower & a B-Max drive -which he recently purchased.

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What speed is he running with that of setup?

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rotax454... the prop is 32 pitch mirage plus @4700 rpm's .. this weekend it ran 89.7 mph. I am sending the props out and having them relieved a little to about 5000 - 5100 and see if I can get a little stern lift out of it other than that I am happy with the speed and performance. Does anyone else out there have an awesome cat with hp500's and running this kind of speed or better?

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has ran 110 - now w/ B-Max last night on Tattle tale GPS Speedo was 105 -

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Have you ran the Bravo I prop?

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My mistake I was running the bravo 1 props the mirage plus doesn't work on my boat.

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Ahhhhhhh. Thought that the four blade bravo would be your baseline prop. Being only generally knowledgeable about the Merc HP500, are yours stock? What is the rpm/peak HP mark? At what RPM does the torque peak? It would be interesting to see a HP/torque/RPM chart on your motor. To see where the HP and torque intersect each other. Your motor carb or EFI?

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my hp 500 are stock except for gasget matching intake and heads also install marlin intake and 1050 Holley carbs. So there almost stock ha ha .the power band on hp 500 are 5250 rpm. like to see picture of your boat

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absolutely!!!!! Bring um all on!!!

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How in the Hell do you attach a jpeg file to one of these posts? Every stinking time I try, it comes back with an error message stating that the "file is too large". Please, someone help out here.

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I am rebuilding my 1997 31' Awesom Thundercat. I was powered with twin gen VI 502 500 HP Mercrusers pushing 28 pitch bravos at 5300 rpm making high 80's. I felt something was heavy on the boat and decided to power up and repair small problems with a new paint job and took to Houston Kustom Kolors for the work. Thery discovered problems with transom. Rotten wood and two pieces of marine plywood scabbed to make the 10' beam. Removed same and used super stromg special 10" single piece to replace. they found that drain from bow cabin was blocked when the factory installed fuel tanks. 1500 gallons H2O were traped in bow of boat. I had to install pumps to drain. Have rebuilt the engines to 540 blowers using B&M 250's and holly twin 750's on each.These Dino 740 HP 6000 rpm with 700 FP torque. Gonna try 34' 5 blades to break 100 mph mark. will advise result

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Sounds like you have your heart (and wallet) into your boat. Great seeing others try pride in their rebuild projects. Gotta send some pics. If you have the same trouble that I had, PM me with your email address and we can exchange pics on our projects. Mine has been a two year complete (minus the cabin) redone. Paint, rigging, motors, you name and I have probably rebuild, redone, redesigned, or simply replaced it. I understand your bow water issue. My 98 has six bildge pumps. One for each section of the sponsons. Observation: You store your boat outside when not in use?

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Hello, I now store the boat inside but believe it was outside a lot before I bought it two years ago. the previous owner had no idea why the boat would not preform so he dumped it for 50K. I discovered water in fuel from breather pointed forward and crack in exaust which solved problem. Boat will be complete in 8 weeks from labor day according to Rob at Kustom Kolor in Houston TX. I am James Beard from Little Rock 501-590-4745 or [email protected]

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I am wondering what ever happened after Jones shut down the Awesome Factory. Has anyone bought the assets and molds ect? are there any Awesome support or owners groups? Will they ever be produced again. I think they are heavy and strong and stable so am rebuilding mine. I hope to hear from other Thundercat fans!

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I love my Awesome cat!!!! True tunnels are the way to go. Less drag= MORE SPEED! The handling is amazing at speed. My friend has a 28 eliminator and it feels very heavy and sluggish at speed. I have the 270 that is listed in the classifieds. I had it to 109 mph on gps 2 seasons ago. ( I "de-tuned" it after watching a friend sit out for 2 months waiting for his "trick" motor to be rebuilt, again) Now it runs 99-102 every time.

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By the way, if anyone knows someone looking for a 100+ mph cat for under $50,000 tell them to get a hold of me this week. I am expanding my company which forces me to sell my boat fast. No REASONABLE offer refused. How about $20,000 lower than the boat alone was appraised at!!! "above average, better than most for its age, overall condition of vessel is well maintained and in power away condition- this speaks well of the current owner. fair market value $69,250" Make no mistake, this boat will sell. Someone will be bragging about this deal! It truly hurts me to put this up for sale, but I need to pay it off so the bank will give me the money to expand. Thank you 315-952-0850, Darin

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Yes the company has been purchased as well as all the assets and molds. They will be produced again sometime soon after everything has been updated. Expect a much higher quality layup, rigging and interiors.

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rotax54 I see the picture's you sent me .COOL,keep me posted on your project

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Glad the pics made it. Send some pics of your boat my way. Like seeing our Awesome's and the owners creativity.

The new owner of Awesome has mentioned having an owners rally or gathering sometime in the future. Possibly planned around the LOTO area. Sorta central located which hopefully would bring in many boats. Time will tell. I know of four Awesome owners here in the Detroit Metro Area.

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Fellow Awesome Owners__

Contact me with you name, address, phone #, and a picture of your boat and I will send you a free commemorative addition Awesome t-shirt and bandanna/do-rag. Also, please include your size. As for the owners gathering, there still several weeks of warm weather at LOTO. I welcome you all to stay in my waterfront condo for a weekend of debauchery .

Dan cell# 314-496-6701

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COUNT ME IN DAN................ :drink:

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Dan, Send Me Your Email, So I Could Send You A Picture Of My Awsome Cat . John

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John-
Thanks for the reply. My e-mail address is [email protected] . Please include your address and other info so that I can send you a commemorative edition t-shirt etc. I'm somewhat computer illiterate but I will have my associate put photos of my ride on OSO within the next +/-2 weeks. It is very encouraging to see that my Awesome family's enthusiasm mirrors mine. Dan

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Thanks Dan, I certainly welcome and I am engouraged by your level of commitment when you purchased the Awesome Powerboat company.

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here is my baby

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Yes Dan, The enthusiasm is alive and well within the Awesome family. I have talked to three current owners that are in different stages of rebuilds. I am really looking forward to the 2006 season. A pic of the new McLeod interior bolster seats. Old dash still in place.

Re: No center pod
 

Didn't mean to hijack your thread RJBBC. Yes, the Awesome hull design is a true tunnel. Not picking on any other cat hulls, but several other manufacturers utilize a center pod design for different purposes. The center pod varies in design (width, length and depth). Does the center pod slow the speed of the boat? Yes and No. It does affect the overall handling of the boat. Correct me if I am wrong, but one of the center pods main purpose is to combat porpoising.

Re: No center pod
 

Thanks for the insight. Because the 26 does not have a center pod, does it porpoise at certain speeds? I am told a center pod on a 26 can also enhance turning characteristics, lessons the outside lean at speeds less than 45mph while on plane. We saw two good looking 26 Awesome Cats at the Shootout this year, but they were both idling around Shooters 21 during the race. Would of loved to see one run in the race, maybe next year.

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Also wanted to share an observation from the Shootout. If your driving a 26 ft. boat down the Shootout 2 mile course at WOT the cats were much faster than the Vs (as expected) and appeared more stable(surprised in the dramatic difference in stability).