LOTO cat question....
 

All of my experience has been with V-hulls. The big V-hull that I was looking at, has fallen through. I have accidently found a 31 foot cat with twin 454's and #3s,,. I am looking for a boat that will comfortably handle the LOTO on a busy weekend. Will a 31' cat do that? I know my 31' twin 454 V-hull could not, thats why I am in the process of moving up. I am going to go for a test drive, but I thought I would call upon the experience of the "board" for help.

I don't know about comfortably, but it will handle it. What kind of cat is it?

From what I saw of the cats down there, they were ridding quite nicely on the heavy chop.

Awesome 31
 

The boat in question is an Awesome 31. My problem is that I not only want the boat to "handle" the 4 & 5 footers of the Labor Day weekend,,, I want the boat to behave nicely in those conditons. Am I asking too much of a cat of that size?

My experience has been with 31 and 38 Scarabs and 31' Chris cat on the Ozarks. The cat rode much better than the 31 scarab once you got it on top of the waves. I could run all over the place at 70mph even on holiday weekends with the cat. Just get on the throttles and power over the waves. At 30-40mph the V hulls rode much better (no big surprise).
IMHO a 31' I/O cat is one of the best choices for the ozarks if you dont need a big cabin. Oh yeah, and you can outrun 95% of the boats down there if it breaks 100mph.
Gary

I am glad I asked
 

Maybe I am answering my own questions with your (the boards) help. My son will be 3 1/2 by next summer and will be riding along most everywhere by then. Which does play into the decsion making factor. I am not considering the cat because of the speed factor,,, I will never be the King of the Lake, but I have always been interested in the battle of V's vs. cat's.

Question for Gary
 

I was just curious,,, I didn't know Chris Craft made a "cat" until you posted... Wow,,, how did you like that boat,,, from what I have found it was kinda before its time. My grandfather used to swear by Chris Craft,, back in the 80's.

I agree with Gary. I have a Chris Cat I run down there is it does very good, but you have to be willing to let the boat run fast enough to get on top of the waves. The Awsome is basically a copy of the ChrisCat/Shawdow cat as is the American Offshore cat.

mike

Ok,, what happens when its at 30mph
 

To show my lack of experience with cat's what happens to a cat at slower speeds? If a V hull out performs a cat at 30 mph,,, what is the typical behavior of a cat at that speed? I am just asking because I don't know...

Again thanks for the help.

Can you say deck boat?
 

At 30 MPH every bit of hull/tunnel is in the water- you will bounce, probably more than a V and when it gets real snotty you may sneeze and get wet.

That said, the awesome is a known hull and likely has more weight and family amenities than many others. You really need to bum a ride in a comparable boat at Loto to answer your question. I'd get it and just get used to a faster cruise.

I get around Ok in my 25' Daytona at Loto but in the real snotty intersections I am boat surfing and the bilge pump is running.

Goodluck!

Hey sink
 

I dont know your price range but W-point marine (3mm) has a 38 awsome for sale, it is nice and will handle the rough stuff great, the marina has owned it since new, awsome stereo and great cabin.

The # is 573-365-0781, ask for Mike,

I think they want 130k

Tell them Randy sent ya

Just a thought

Randy Wild

So.....is bigger better?
 

Would a larger cat be better? I guess this is kinda a rhytorical question? But, I know a 38 V handles the lake better than a 31 V,, so it would only make sense for the cat correct?

I'm not sure....but don't the Awsomes have a full tunnel and the Chris Cats/AO's have a center sponson?

That is the only cat I have ever riden in, and it was sweeeeeettttt

No center pods in the CC, AO, Shadow, or Awesome 31'. The Eliminators and Warlocks have center pods. Less "sneezing" in center pod cats (my experience) at low speeds too. Hey, but on a 95 degree day like today, a little spray feels good.
BTW, SinkorSwim, I think the chris cat is a widened version of the original shadow hull. About a half dozen companies (American Offshore, Awesome, etc) splashed the 31' chris cat or bought their molds fot their own boats. Some changed the top deck or dash slightly.
Gary

38 awsome
 

It has cabin entrances on both sides, and the middle is full king size bed, it is huge

Give Mike a call @ W-POINT MARINA

Gary would you say.....
 

that the Chris Craft "Cat" is a boat that you would recomend looking at; for the LOTO if you had to do it all over again? I have had a offer to purchase one since this thread started. Or could I have anyone's thoughts on the Chris Craft "cat".

SinkorSwim,

Give us a call at the manufacture and we will answer all your questions on the 31' Thundercat.

Thanks and have an AWESOME day!


Marie
Awesome Powerboats
810-765-8191

I love this board!
 

Thank you Marie I will defiantely call and talk to someone after the holiday is over.

You know I was reading a post on the board and someone came up with a good point. The LOTO has a supposed 35mph speed limit at night. Will a 30' cat plane out at 35mph?

Thoughts? Facts?

Thanks again

I would buy a Chris Cat again for LOTO. The 38 Awsome at W PT. is a nice boat, I looked at and thought about buying but it is a lot of money for something I would only be able to use 10-20 times a year.

Awsome also makes a 26 footer that is real nice.

If you are looking at a Chris Cat if it has SSM #2's STAY AWAY, or plan on an additional $20K to replace them.

mike

Thanks for the heads up,,,
 

Just curious,, why don't you like the #2's, is it because of the TRS foundations? KatDriver,,,what is your opinion on the night driveability?

#2's Parts are getting impossible to find and they are not very strong. I would go with a straight TRS before I would go with a #2.

I think the Chris would be ok at night. I have never driven it at night at LOTO. I generally will not drive on LOTO at night. To many dumb asses running around without lights and other things.

mike

You are correct
 

How sad, but how true it is about the night driving at the LOTO...

Chris Cat for sale
 

I have a 31 AO that is almost finished. I have an old Chris Cat for sale if anyone is interested. Go to WWW.Texastelecom.net and look at the pic's. The bike and the Vet are also for sale. Got to pay for the new motors and drives. Call me if you are interested my name is Ron 214-986-7390.

Sinkorswim, I've got a 30 Cobra Cat for sale in the classifieds section. Runs like a champ in the rough stuff too. Check it out. Ric

I have a 36 skater which I can run in the low 30s going across a sloppy 2-3 ft chop and not get wet. It is a lot smoother when I go faster. The only time I have had tunnel sneeze is having to slow down going through an inlet where the tide was going against the wind and you were getting some nasty walls of 4-5s which I didn't have the ---- to try and run on top of. But even in that the tunnel sneeze was a spray and not a drenching. I would think with the 36 awesome you would have no problem at all but I am not familiar with how that cat handles. Go for a ride and see.

Good Luck

Just wanted to say thanks....
 

I have printed the entire thread,, and will be using this information in my search for my next LOTO boat,, wether it be a "V" or a "cat" is still up in the air, but thanks for the information.

Really too much money for me
 

At this point in time I want to try and stay in the 75K range,, really not more than 95K. Which I am thankful for the amount of options that gives me.. There are quite a few used nice V hulls in the 38 foot range to choose from and with the help from the board it looks like there are quite a few cats out there in my price range also.