No comments from the new guys, huh?....I'm tellin' ya fella's, You gotta read this stuff....

OK, T2x,if you resurrected the 2nd greatest thread, I must resurrect the #1greatest thread ( Hey, I sell vees)

Wow! This is my first time reading this thread. Thanks for digging it up!!

t

T2x,
I ran into Doug at the last race in WI. I was amazed to see him in such good shape. It was great to see him up and around and sharp as ever.
Skaterfest still needs to happen in California.
pat W
You need to talk to PH to see if he will run one of his vees with our drives and in-line packages. He needed them last race.

Hey there Mr. W.

Doug and my son Darren are my two heros.....Doug never ceases to amaze both in terms of technical proficiency...and heart.

Skaterfest needs to be in Douglas Mi.

You need to dry sump my O/B lower units.

Regards,

T2x

When you move Skaterfest to CA I will dry-sump your lower units. You can always call it SkaterfestWest.

What races are you planning on attending with your son?
pat W

Douglas, MI would be quite nice, thank you.

Philip, sorry it took so long to respond (you asked the question on 10-11-2001 ) but here goes. After having now been in the port side seat of several fast cats and after having driven a small cat in choppy water at over 100mph, I have some basis for comparison to the vee-bottoms I've spent so much time in.

I found that cats tend not to like being driven. In the vees I've driven, seemed that at speed I had to keep a strong grip on the wheel and really needed to drive the boat to keep it running level and straight (this is without taking into account running on the edge and experiencing some chine walk). It seemed to me that the cat design tends to need less of a 'hand' on the wheel as the boat tends to find its own level path and you only need to touch the wheel for directional change. Also, riding on the air trapped between the sponsons made for a much smoother ride, though it took some getting used to as it does tend to leave one feeling disconnected to the running surface, water. However, overall I found the cats capable of running harder and faster in rough water with less work while offering a smoother ride to passengers than vee bottoms of comparable or even longer overall hull lenght. So, I'd have to say that I personally enjoyed the cats and will most likely own one some day. But, it is a different feeling and requires a little more faith than running a vee bottom (again because you don't muscle the boat as much but instead let it run with only small directional changes from the driver) so it is not for everyone.

Before I know how much I truly enjoy cats (I'd bet that I go cat soon), I'll need more experience and seat time in all kinds of water plus I'll need some time with a skilled and knowledgeable throttleman to teach me what to do, what not to do and how to do it. Then, I'll need to practice those skills on my own at moderate speeds until I have level of experience that allows me to safely drive and throttle a cat at speed. I'm nowhere near that level. But, it should be fun gaining the seat time...

Sorry you had to wait so long.

P.S. I realized in re-reading this thread I've never taken you and Kim up your offer of a ride in your boat. I'll have to rectify that situation before you lay her up for the winter.

I forgot to give credit where credit is due. T2x gave me my first ride in a catamaran at the innaugural Skaterfest when we took his 28 Skater for a spin. That ride was a direct result of your question 2 years ago, Philip and my response that I'd never been fortunate enough to have been in a cat.

Moral of the story, sometimes you never know what the outcome of one of T2x's thread might be so take them in stride and see what happens.