Let`s discuss single engine cats. I`m thinking in the 25-30 ft range.
Who makes a hull of this description ? Which ones are good / who to stay away from ?

Lastly .... anyone know of an affordable project / hull ?

Older project cat in that size....eliminator, AO, or HTM....?

depends what you're looking for...... I'm assuming you're looking used? I have two ..... a 26 awesome and a new 29 force canopy with an arneson that has had some delays hitting the water.

They are two very very different boats. The force is a west coast custom and the attention to detail shows. It is a canopy and will do a good job of keeping you out of the wind. Whereas the awesome doesn't have one, which is nice sometimes too. The attention to detail on the awesome is not even close. It however is built like a tank. It is not that light and not 100% about speed. It actually has a little fridge, porto potty and a small birth. It has a ton of storage underdeck as well. So with that said the awesome won't be as quick as the force. It is also a true tunnel whereas the force has a center sponson.

I could go on and on but you need to determine what features are important to you and how you will be using the boat. That will eliminate a bunch right off the bat.

PS.....If you're looking for a hull project i would definatley take a close look at a Magic Hull (a west coast custom). If you haven't heard of them they recently went bankrupt and this company has all of their hulls....they have a ton of them and they are going for very good prices. You could be on the water with a brand new boat for an awesome price. And I personally like their boats.

http://www.lbys.com/site_page_12297/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMc7W...eature=related

DCB,
Howard,
Conquest,
AO,
Advantage,
Eliminator,
HTM2,

Just to mane a few of the West Coast builders that offer boats in that size range.



Darrell.

http://www.rpmpowerboats.com/redline.htm

I like the looks and price of the 26 redline.

In order:
28 Skater - twin OB
Distant second
24 Skater - twin OB
25 Talon - twin OB
26 Eliminator - I/O with stand off box
26 DCB - Twin OB or I/O

If you go any bigger, you will need big power to move them and break drives often.

I think the question was "single engine cat".




Darrell.

My choice as well when it comes to cats,
nice size cabin for a small cat as well,
unfortunately for Donman I dont think
there are too many "affordable project " Redlines out there?

I know, but the OP may not have considered twin OB's as an option. They are fast, easy to maintain, CHEAP to insure and there are lots of really nice used boats on the market. Lake Texoma is a choppy lake. A single I/O with any kind of power is going to be tough on Bravo outdrives. South Austin Marine has a nice 28 Daytona with a single B-Max that I know they want to move - ask for Abel if you are interested. You may also want to check screamandfly.com.