littlenige

What a shame it didnīt perform Marco - looked really nice I thought.

littlenige

And extremely light - check out the waterline at the stern.

Black Tornado

I think you are right Nigel.
The problem was that years,firsts for the cats era,the Italian drivers didn't like so much race with cats.
Niccolai tested the new cat only a time in the morning before the race in Venice. Like the Cigarette Cat of Cosentino and Powers the boat was rigged just before the race. To little.
And after that real flat waters race Cosentino abandoned the competitions and Niccolai didn't believe to brought the Molinari's tunnel at a good performance,maybe because he thought that the races in Europe was still Offshore Races,no so well for cats.
Anyone wan't to bought from Niccolai that cat and it ended the days abandoned in a anonimous little shipyard near La Spezia.

Black Tornado

It's true Nigel but maybe is that the real problem. Angelo(not Renato) Molinari's experience went only from lake F1 races and him boats ,three points principally,was tested in the flat waters of Lake of Como and others.
I think it was too much on surface the waterline for a offshore race in Usa style too.
This design it's ok in really flat waters but with a light-medium seas, where instead the Cougar went so well ,that narrow tunnel and high sides become it very hard to drive.

About the Italian drivers and their bad approach to the cat in the last of seventies it's curious to know that was some Italians like Petroni,Mondadori and the same Cosentino to believe in the tunnell way in the early of seventies with some boats like the Ron Jones's design, the wodden Navalcat, or Mike Trimming's tin cats Sir Cats and Nicopao X or the last type in fiberglass with a heavy tubolar structure in 1973-75 Cosentino's Sir Cat.

The same Cosentino after the Venice World Championships before to decide him retirement want to try with the old Sir Cat. We worked inside it cutting the tubolar structure,putting the engines and the cockpits on the sides. But after some tests the project was abandoned.

Black Tornado

To be clear about what I wrote above here some pics.

The first Navalcat was build in USA in 1970 from a Ron Jones design. It was a wodden cat with central engines, cockpit and the stern drives to bung the tunnel.... and drove by Attilio Petroni.


In 1971 the English designer Mike Trimming that directed the designs studio of the Intermarine shipyards in Italy modified the Jones's design in a cat putting the engines and the stern drives on the sides.

Naples Trophy 1971 Intermarine,Francesco Cosentino with Mel Riggs.

Then the same Trimming designed a new cat builted by Intermarine for Francesco Cosentino in 1972,in fiberglass with a internal structure in tin tubolars,still with a central cockpit .
Sir Cat,Cosentino-Petroni,Viareggio-Bastia-Viareggio 1974.


After the World Championships in 1979 where Betty Cook's Cougar 38' impressed alls,in the new team of Petroni,Navalconsult,was raised the old Sir Cat modifying it in the shape of Kaama cutting the tubolar structural system,and putting the cockpits on the side in advanced position.
The modifications was inefficacious and the project was abandoned.


Viareggio,spring 1980,testing the old cat modified.

Only with Renato Molinari seven years after we have in Open 1 a competitive tunnel boat in Italy.

Hauling Trash

I heard that his working with reggie on a cat


Mike