thisistank

Jon, bro, don't get me wrong. I'm not slamming you or anyone else for that matter. You know how these threads get though, next thing you know someone will be completely bashing the driver for driving like a maniac when they didn't even see it happen!

Rico's Revenge

I agree that the broken skeg happen as a result of the spin and did not cause the spin. Keep in mind when you guys are "guestimating" speed that that boat is BIG. It was probably going faster than you think.

Regardless of what happened, everyone on board is very lucky to be able to tell the tale.

Tigerlily

The owner of Lick This was renting a condo at Lakewood over the weekend (where our condo is). I saw him docked in the area at Lakewood where the condos keep the boats they use for the owners. When Garrick & I went to get on our boat Lick This was still there...... Steve, aka boat guy for Lakewood, said they had been docked someplace else but for whatever reason had to bring it to Lakewood for the night- Lakwood has a No Boats over 24' rule....he had been trying to get them to move it since 9 (this was about 10) and they were saying they would be right down....we farted around in the slip til almost 10:30 so we could meet em etc...never got a look at them

(Warning: Heresay ahead)

Boat Guy said the following info came from the boat owner ....
1) Lick This cost $1.3M and is owned by the son of *indulgent* parents out of Arizona
2) This is the SECOND version of Lick This
3) First one spun out and totalled at Havasau

end of heresay... and no "indulgent" isn't the word that was used....I cleaned it up a teeny bit

ssherman

I spoke to the owner, throttle man and two of the passengers myself Sunday Morning on the dock @ lake wood where they were staying. They said it just grabbed and came around. as for room i have seen several 46 skaters take tighter turns @ faster speeds. Big thunder marine did a roll in 00 (i think) in key west and he was running very conservative and the owner himself has said they were being to careful and he feels that was part of the issue. The guys in Like this were extremely friendly and generous and were the same way in Havasu.

Has any one considered that all of that debris that was floating could have gotten lodged in a manner to act as a rudder and throw the boat into a turn.

RiverGirl

LET ME MAKE ONE THING CLEAR.....

I might not know the specs on the Skater... (I should) ....but....

I do know the gentleman that owns the skater.
And he is indeed a gentlemen.
Whom works very hard for what he has, and is proud of it!
I haven't spoken to him recently, but I will say... he was very excited and proud of the delievery of his new toy.
He does have experience .. and has owned serveral high performance boats in the past.

I do take the boat guys "information" as very insulting.
As that information is far and beyond the real truth behind
the gentleman who owns Lick This.

Chart

Too Old: thank you for your comments. I did misunderstand.

You have owned cats, and have much experience with them. You are also familar with the Lake. I'd be foolish to ignore your comments. I'm under the impression cats don't turn sharp at speed. Is this an outdated view?

Audiofn

Chart cats when set up properly can rip a turn fairly fast. Check out those Formula 1 boats They do not have skegs on them like the Unlimited Hydro's.

I will say this the guy was really cool on the docks and although he did seem to be pushing some of the numbers a bit he was having fun and did answer EVERY quesion that I heard people ask. He even broke out the helmets to show a guy and explained what everything was. I never intended this to be a bashing string on him, just to maybe understand what COULD have happend.

Jon

boot

Yes cats can turn hard ,REAL HARD , in the right situation !

I drove a 30' Cobra cat with twin 2.5's .I had the owner of the company and the sales men in it with me . The owner of the company told me it would turn on a dime ! I was cruising at about 75-80 mph on somewhat flat water . I chopped the left throttle back , turned the wheel hard left ,and pushed the right throttle hard ! . IT made a REAL tight U-turn ! Probably in less then 100 foot radius ! The owner and salesmen were speachless and didn't let go of the grab handles till we docked !

I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT IS NOT A SMART THING TO DO WITH A CAT ! But it worked !

Also while riding in "Jet Set " a 40' turbine powered skater , I was present during several high speed u-turns ! Going into the turn over 90 mph ,thottleing it through ,and coming out at around 130 mph ! (COMPLETE U-TURN) AMAZING set up on that boat ! Enough G-force to almost push you through the wall ! Don't know how those Arnesons handle that load ,But they do !

skatergear

RE: 'Negative hearsay'
Posting 'negative hearsay' about people is unkind, not informative, and serves no one (esp the writer of 'negative hearsay'). Debating topics does not include badmouthing people.

The owner of "Lick This" is a man who has built an extremely successful business ... on his own ... from the ground up ... with hard work. Just about as nice a guy as you'd want to meet. He is also a very experienced driver. This is his 3rd Skater. And, there has never been a previous Lick This.

RE: Facts on Specs
Skater, 46' with 380C tabs, full time air, 5 seats (all belted).

RE: Facts on Spin Out
There were 4 passengers onboard. "Lick This" was running at 65. Tabs were at positive qtr & drive was down about qtr negative.

The drive is going back to Mercury for warranty, because the skeg broke cleanly off; resulting in loss of control. Mercury said that it could have been a casting problem (there have been casting problems previously).

We're all greatful that everyone is safe.

Audiofn

Thanks for the input Skatergear. I guess I was close on my speed guess. Do skaters/cats ussually spin if there is a skeg break? If so that is real scarry to me, bad casting or not. Also in regards to set up do those cats ussually toss a huge roostertail, or is it ussually lower? I do not recall seeing large tails off the super cats in races. Thanks for the education guys.

Jon