When I look at cats from the late 80's / early 90's, the hull design looks very similar to the cats today. Even the older Cats have stepped hulls, so what is the design difference from then and now. Are there any differences in handling or how well they do in different types of water? Could you redo a late 80's Cat and have it perform as well as today's Cats? The design in V bottoms are noticabely different, they are no longer "deep V's" and have stepped hulls, but the Cats look the same to me....are they???

well, when Randy Scism invented the catamaran.....

yes, no and no..... (those are the simple answers....)

OU want some,,,, and on the 5th day, Randy looked up and said, "and let there be sponsons" that was about the same time Reggie invented the Beak!

He didn't invent it. He just perfected it.

Blow the dust off this thread for a lot of good cat history. May take a while to read tho.....

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...hlight=HISTORY

Common changes as with deep v's are: vacuum bagging, more carbon fiber, higher tech resins,lighter and lighter.

Wider tunnels, more steps, somewhat deeper steps but not as deep as the deep v's.

Faster and faster.

You forgot to mention the deck changes on the cats. Areodynamics are a big part of cats. Look at decks with built in lift. MTI's are a great example.

Just the answers I was looking for. So Would you say that the newer cats are safer because they have better design features such as wider tunnels, or less safe because they are lighter. Basically what I'm getting at is...are the older Cats less safe because the designs are old, or are they simply heavier and not as fast?? The way the boat sits when its out of the water, the way it handles, etc.

The pad bottom hulls have fallen out of favor to the sharp sponson bottom ,staggered strakes and wider tunnels but mostly better lay ups.