Skater To Offer Entry-Level Cat In 2014
 

Just in, an affordable Skater catamaran—look for one 2014. http://speedonthewater.com/new-boats...el-cat-in-2014.

Something to look forward to in 2014.

Just so the insurance companies can price prospective buyers out...

I wish there was a way to do this with an I/O package.

Just not an outboaed fan unless behind a CC.

Will it be a flat deck?

Good God only a hundred grand . http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/...p/drivingz.gif

24 with twin I/O....LOL

That is a steal compared to the money to insure a hundred mile an hour cat!

That has changed somewhat. I got a quote on a 120mph cat about 2 months ago. FLORIDA coverage with WINDSTORM was about $6000 a year. Not saying it's cheap but if you pay cash for the boat paying $500 a month for insurance shouldn't deter someone.

Granted, I have a LOT of hours on the wheel of a 100++ cat in race conditions so that helped.

The normal range for a Merc 525ish (guess Merc 550 now) single engine cat 24-27' range is 100K. Sad but on a trailer with color that's the starting range. An outboard should be able to lower that by 15Kish over an I/O. It's won't be a "Flat Deck" for that price range but could be configured for an I/O if they add a pod to it.

what would be really cool is to somehow incorporate the size cat (24-25) with the twin 200's in one of the existing P-classes for racing. make a great starter boater and something one could get there feet wet racing.

I think this is great news and for those who don't like outboards I have to say the new optis from merc are impressive and burn very little fuel. I think this is great news for us skater fans who have been wanting updated hull technology in smaller cats.

I gotcha. I was quoted $2500 for a 110 mph cat. My buddy just picked up a 28 Skater and pays 4k after Tres class . Kinda ****ty for only a few months. I wish success for Pete but the insurance will kill it for most. Especially in a dying hobby...

Cash Bar- YOU have a lot of hours? For real?

Photo swap alert: My friend Ryan Beckley, who owns a Skater 24, pointed out that I had used an image of a Skater 28, which indeed I had and should have noticed right off the bat from the deck differences. (Plus, uh, the 24 is substantially smaller than the 28.) My bad. Now the story has a photo of a Skater 24, courtesy of Mr. Beckley.

As for the rest, carry on, gentlemen. Differing perspectives and opinions are what make online communities interesting.

Really? Seems like Skater and MTI are killing it.

With regards to the other comments, a stupid A25 Cobalt cost over $100,000. Uhhhh... I'll take a new Skater please.

That's still close to the same price for a 25' cat with MR power that it was 15 years ago or so if memory serves . I guess it just shocked me that 100 mph and entry level were used in the same sentence . I guess we've come a long way baby .

Yeah, really....

I give Peter credit for trying to bring more people into performance boating. Brand loyalty is big. i wish him luck and forward to seeing the new product. Outboards are the way to go. With the price of fuel Optis are the way to go. He better make a deal with mercury to offer a warranty on those motors as well.
Not sure what the warranty is on them.

Gayest post ever... You don't even own a boat and all you do is bum rides off everyone else's boats....now you have wheeled millions of hours in RACE conditions?? The only other person that I have remotely heard say something similar from is my mom, talking about her paddle boat in a 5mph headwind.....

skater built 24 flat deck awhile back. really cool piece

Yeah, maybe he should market it to DNR officers. There will be more coast guard (weird because I live on a river) and DNR boats than pleasure boats soon.

Yes, That one was 150K then ( I believe on S&F someone said it was an 06) it was the standard 24' Bottom with a Flat Deck and 1/4 canopy's. Slick looking ride but expensive as he!!. I'd like to know where it went and how it ran if anyone knows..

$100K 15 yrs ago? I remember quite a few years ago at the Miami boat show at the Biscayne Marriott in water display, AO had their 26' Cat in the water with a sign that read "Guaranteed 100+ mph boat"... I don't remember the price of the boat back then.

I know some of the West Coast builders are in the 100K starting range (25-28' boats) with the very of basic's Merc inboard and the prices only go up from there. They will tell you that they are not making any real profit at that range and those are vinyl boats built in less than 24-30 hrs of labor of glass work plus rigging.

Skater is in the ball park for a single outboard, epoxy, vacuum hull with good rigging and power.

have you seen the 24 with I/O that runs 100+ with stock ls 5.3l? http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...-bravo-1s.html

30 hours of labor to build a boat? We'd all be building our own in a weekend if it were that easy. I should be able to get a new hull for $3000 assuming $100/hr labor, and then materials? Is that what you're suggesting?

I remember back in like 02-03 cougar had a ad on the back of magazines that said 100mph for $100,000. So now with the dollar having a different value this seems like a deal.

Yes sir , that is what I was trying to point out . All these years later , same price , very good value .

If they could build a flat deck 24-25ft for a 100k sign me up now. I understand on the bigger skaters the decks are individually constructed, but can't see why a flat deck top mold couldn't be made for a smaller boat to standardise it?..

Ditto! Its under the Skater owners forum. Bad Ass! 100k and entry level don't belong in the same sentence. Lol

Now that the 2.5 selection is dwindling down to racers only and clapped out used stuff, I cant see too much excitement here...I am a huge skater fan too. The Opti is an option giving up the simplicity of a 2.5, the optis have had their share of problems also. Etec is also complex, but may be a better option than an opti. The four stroke stuff is not there in performance IMHO and seems to be a better fit for CC boats and pontoons. To get a 4stroke to have a reasonable power to weight ratio I think turbo outie and nobody to my knowledge builds one. There are also so many west coast cats out there in that range...given that the majority of them are pod boats, a lot of those are available with outies. All that said I cant wait to see it.

No where did I say it has to be a twin package.

You took that upon your self to assume that....and you know what they say about those that assume.

This is one of the bigger obstacles I see...The lightweight high performance Mercury's are essentially gone. The 200XS is a great motor, but they're only made in limited production numbers and they're $19k with NO warranty. The small outboard high performance boat market is limited on engine choices and most manufacturers are forced into changing current models to adapt to the larger 3 liter package (250XS, 300XS, etc)

Maybe, if the market sees more of these "entry level" boats come online, it'll force Mercury to bring the 200XS (or similar 2.5 platform motors) back into regular production. Or maybe, they'll mount the 4 banger Verado on a 15" mid and turn the boost up... Unfortunately, neither will probably happen.

Problem with that market is you have a constant debate between the haves and have nots. Guys who have been using 30 year old designs or newer "pops" of 30 year old boats with used outboard power and feel entitled to a microscopic price point for 100+ mph. Truth is that consumer doesn't realize (and sometimes "self righteously" avoids) the costs previously invested in hull development, engines, etc, and the skyrocketing cost of new "green" motors, hydraulic steering, instruments, props, etc, etc. None of this stuff is developed for free and huge budgets are needed and must be amortized. I'll bet Peter will need to build at least a dozen of these simply to recoup his tooling and design costs. Meanwhile some low life will try and "borrow" one to make a mold so he can be a money making "hero" to the low price point folks. Where is this coming from you ask?..... It's happened to Peter repeatedly....and...it happened to me.

2 seasons racing/testing PLUS all my great friends that like to have me drive when they throttle. But you knew that.... :angry-smiley-038:

I have no idea what you THINK you know about me but you should maybe check the SBI results for a few years back, as well as how many FAST cat owners(MY FRIENDS) that have had me handle the wheel.

If you would like a list I can send you a PM.

Back to the thread.

Cash- I had no idea u raced, I knew about all the other pleasure driving, didnt know just how much time...

I made a statement. Never assumed you said anything about a twin package because I did. ?

Save the PM. Back to the thread, which is about entry level cats. Posting insurance rates of an "experienced" cat driver is besides the point don't you think?

If I took it the wrong way then my bad but from my side I thought you were laughing at an idea that I would toss twins i/o's in a 24' boat.

My thoughts were if Skater did something along the lines of what R.P.M did and put that on market at around the $100k mark.

Valid point. On with the thread.

Text me again. I deleted your contact by mistake.