For the Big Cat People here...
 

Ok, I would like a seriously honest opinion on this. In big water, I love the Vee...But Im curious on how a cat handles it say 36-46ft range. Now im talking about rough water, say 4-6ft maybe bigger. I have been in cats on flat calm..but im really curious about how they handle in the rough stuff..

I have a 30 Motion and in 3-4's we have no problem,but you'll have to run 60 mph or better for the cat to work and then the ride is smoother then my 38 Scarab was. No my friends 35 Motion works the same way but can handle even bigger water. I would love to try a 46 Skater out at high speeds in the in some really big water..
Doug
eMotion Racing

Like emotiondriver said, you need to be running 60 or so before the full effects of a cat can be realized. I have run 32 Skaters and they ride much better than a vee. Just my opinion. The effects of the air entrapment hull really cushion the ride. I too would love a ride in a big Skater or Scism. I am sure that as with ANY boat set up is 95% of how well the boat handles the big stuff.

Shane :cool:

I have a 1988 39' express cat with fixed Arneson drives (no trim), And no tabs. I was only in the ocean once before I broke it . :( We had 7 or 8 people on board running 70-80 mph in about 4-5 footers . I would not call 4-5 footers big water. But the boat road straight and true .No launching or slaming down .Just right across the tops ! :D You guys should forget skater ! For a quarter the price you could have an old express cat that will get the job done with 9 or 10 of your closest friends on board ! :D :D :D

Best Running BIG WATER CAT EVER 48' EXPRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know if you call a 36' Skater a "big cat" but one problem with discussing performance is getting people to agree on what the seas actually are and how the waves are being approached. Add to that the effect the wave form and frequency (period) the waves have makes it difficult to have an "apples to apples" comparison.

A cat isn't going to ride better at 60 mph in real four footers in a following sea, for example, unless you have a hell of a throttle man and a pilots license! The speed depends on conditions.

As pointed out, setup and how much air the cat traps are certainly factors.

For us, limited to us, we can run in real 3 to fours without paying to much attention. Five to 6 footers requires our undivided concentration, especially in turns. That is running in all directions to the waves. We have run with V's that seem to behave about the same with somewhat less length, maybe a little better in the corners, not as well on the straights.

That is our experience with a very light cat that traps a lot of air. Different boats will be different.

As far as forgetting Skaters! Run with us at a 100 in 4 footers. Slam it a few times (unavoidable) and poke a sponson into 10 or 20 waves and see what you come back with!!

Ted

Capt. Ted,
I'll run with you in 4's what do you have? We run in that stuff often the only thing different when we get back is more hours on the guages. If the boat is setup right and you can drive why would you poke a sponson?
Doug

Doug
Ted owns and drives the Critical Lift 36 with triple race motors and full canopies.
I don't think you'll run with him in four footers if you really do show up at Daytona.

Ryan,
I'm not running APBA we are running SBI. Pt. Pleasent the first race.
Doug

[ 01-24-2002: Message edited by: eMotiondriver ]

Ryan,
The only thing I'm saying is we run in that water often. The Cheasapeake Bay gives us a wide choice of waters to test in. The 2000 season in P2 we came to a race and it turned out to be big water so thats how we test. You I both know testing in flat stuff is great but to get a full idea where the boat can go find the big stuff.
Doug
eMotion Racing