BBYSTWY

So as the title implies...I'm wondering if modern cats are really as scary and dangerous as people and insurance companies make them out to be? I consider myself a pretty experienced boater and I just have this thought in my head as I've never driven cats always vees that you'll be cruising at 80-90 whatever having a great day them BAM gust of wind or a little wrong wave and you flipped over and died. Obviously there are probably 10's of thousands if not more pleasure cats out there and a lot with more money than brains behind the wheel and they seem to be ok....just wondering if it's all hype like the "stepped boats always spin out in corners" argument or if they are inherently much more dangerous of a boat to drive?

Say for instance a 36 eliminator with blower motors, or a DW with outboards, or a Nor-tech supercat or whatever production type cat you can think of...is it possible to take it out and use it like I would use a normal vee performance boat on Lake Michigan or do you have to not go out if it's windy or choppy or whatever?

May seem like a stupid topic but it seems in the insurance company's eyes it's not a matter of if but when you wreck it so I'm wondering what's driving that? Is it that they are a little more dangerous especially in the wrong hands but an experienced boater would be fine or is it that vees are just a lot more forgiving and you can get away with a lack of experience better or something else?

JPEROG

Insurance companies are looking a speed capability and replacement cost more then anything when comes to the outboard cat market. You owe it to yourself to go out in a 32+ foot cat and experience the difference of going over the water rather then through it. I have had lots of Vees and lots of cats over the years and don't see myself with another V-bottom unless I can someday swing getting a 45 or 50 NorTech.

Joe

BBYSTWY

Good to know! So would you say you feel more stable in a cat? Say in like 2-3 footers? I would think it would just glide over them but in the back of my mind I just see disaster hahaha I have a buddy that just picked up a DW with twin 450r's and I'm hoping to catch a ride in it this summer.

Would you say the ride is similar in an OB cat vs an IO? Sorry for all the questions just trying to wrap my head around it all haha

Skater30

The ride is very different in an inboard cat vs an outboard cat. The outboard cats are very flighty and the outboard cats are much more solid. It's just plain physics, the 32' - 44' outboard cats are all in the 4,000 - 6,500 pound range and the similar sized inboard cats are all in the 8,000 - 13,000 pound range. There's no comparison in ride quality, and proof of that is the average race speeds at the offshore races. I started a thread about it a while back, it should answer all your questions of the inboard vs outboard cat argument (just skip through the bickering, the time sheets don't lie).

And just a little background on my personal experience, I converted my former 30' Skater from inboard (7,100#s) to outboard (4,300#s) and it was a drastic difference in how it rode in rough water.

Outboard cats vs inboard cats in the rough - Offshoreonly.com

BBYSTWY

Will check it out thanks!! Just trying to gauge if one will ever be in my realm of thinking...I use it strictly for pleasure and would like to do some poker runs...just don't want to buy a "death trap" as the woman puts it hahaha figured I would ask the brain trust here

BBYSTWY

Thanks for the link to that can't believe I missed that....great information in there thank you!!

BBYSTWY

Also curious if anyone on the boards that sees this has an IO cat on lake michigan...around the southwest michigan/chicago area that would be willing to let me tag along for a ride? I'll pay for fuel just would like to ride in one to see what I may be getting into

JPEROG

I will be interested to see what your thoughts are after running a light weight outboard boat (what boat did your buddy buy?). For lake Michigan use, (I lived and boated Grand Haven and all of West Michigan for 30 years), you won't beat a 40' to 50' inboard cat if you can afford the insurance, fuel, maintenance, and repairs. The next issue is repair time Vs. simple performance boating (I logged over 600 hours on my outboards last year, I logged 20 on my inboard boat and its still down waiting for a motor to come back). For insurance on a new 42 DW with 1100s I was quoted $27,000 a year with use restrictions. My new 42 DW outboard policy is 9,000, my 36 DW is 7,000, and my 32 DW is also 7,000. If my 36 and 32 had 400s instead of 450s, they would be in the "below 130 mph speed bracket" and insurance would be half of what I currently pay. All of my outboard boats are under warranty for 8 years....It's very clear to me why there are so many outboard cats in high demand but the cost of them has gone crazy as well.

Joe

BBYSTWY

Not to up on the OB cat world but its a DW or Wright Performance or whatever...says Wright on the side hahaha I'll post a pic

I am 100% sure I would be in the IO used cat market....for the reason of like you said OB cats have gone insane in price and frankly they really are not that appealing to me...I'm an old school screaming big block kind of guy which as you said has it's costs. I understand the appeal of the OB's they are just not really for me unless it was an old skater with like 300's or something on it as I do like the nostalgia of those for sure.

I wouldn't be looking for huge power or speed numbers....100-110 is plenty for me I was more concerned with the ride and useability. I see now that a lot of the big IO cats are pretty heavy and take a lot of power to run but I would likely be in the sub 40 ft range so that might allow me to run a more "reliable" less aggressive powerplant. I do all my own work and am not afraid of rebuilding a motor whatever it is so that saves on some of the cost.

Was unaware of the huge jump in insurance for IO cats. If you are under the 130 mph range does the huge gap close a little bit or are they always exponentially higher in price than OB cats?

Thanks for taking the time for all the replies guys!

BBYSTWY

This is my buddies boat