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Originally Posted by newmansautobody
(Post 4917124)
We are at LOTO too and just got my first cat this year, 32 Skater I/O. I love the boat, we are at the 32mm so that size is good for me. The size might depend where you are on the lake. As far as insurance goes, it was tough to get. I ended up using Buzz with Total Dollar. First year cat owner on 125mph boats is expensive. There are very few places that will insure them. It helped that I had taken a performance class with Tres, it was basically a requirement to get the insurance. Sounds like it drops significantly on your second year. I also took his class again just to get more training on that type of boat. Well worth it when you are running those speeds. Hope that helps some.
I am at the 24.5mm. i tried using Buzz for my MTI and he told me I had to take the Tres class to get insured too. But I ended up going to Jessica at WIA and she was half the price for the same coverage without the class, but when I take the class the insurance price will drop further yet. |
Originally Posted by Twodocs
(Post 4917126)
I recently went through this.
Recommend calling Justin Wagner at Waves and Wheels. |
Originally Posted by offshorexcursion
(Post 4917129)
My vote is a badass custom inboard cat!!!
The only negatives to custom fast offshore performance boats are the maintenance and that they are not as versatile or comfortable for pleasure when not running hard. Well you already have the solution to that! A sweet CC or cruiser as a second boat takes away all the negatives of a REAL offshore powerboat. I shouldn't need to list all the positives of a badass inboard cat. That's what this sport is all about! Outboard cats are pretty cool............if they were not so overpriced. They are great as a 2nd or 3rd boat, and I understand how they work good for an only boat if you want a performance boat without some of the negatives of an inboard. But if you can afford multiple boats I think a real offshore boat needs to be one of them! so many things I agree with that you said which is my dilemma but at the same time I think twice about going all in right off the bat haha. the OB Cat’s do seem overpriced, but then again people are paying it which drives the price, where io cats are much harder to sell. OB cats as long as they have a good paint scheme have a buyer waiting. BUT dang do I love when I see a sweet io cat! |
Originally Posted by lake p.a.l.
(Post 4917143)
How many hours a year do you plan to run this cat? Do you plan to tow it ? What's your budget?
Inboard cats ride better in the rough. Outboards are easier on maintenance & fuel use. How fast do you want to go with 6 people & full of fuel ? 38'+ OB with 6 people & 100+ gallons of fuel will struggle to get to 120. |
Originally Posted by vdrsnk04
(Post 4917119)
Ok guys, I’ve been going back and forth on whether or not to start this conversation as it’s very opinionated. But what the heck it is winter time anyway. Right now I have a MTI 42v quad 400r (v10’s). Been contemplating adding a cat to the stable. So far I’ve driven a C4000, 390x, PP420. All outboard boats, I haven’t driven an inboard cat yet as I originally only had intentions of going the outboard route.
I’ve had inboard powerboats before just v-bottoms in the 40’ size and never owned a cat. but I loved the cats so far. Just need to decide on what to do. as a first time cat owner do you guys have an opinion if I should go shorter then what I’ve drove so far and if I/O or OB is easier to drive in as a first time cat person, is either one easier to get insured on? thanks in advance for the fun conversation ahead! edit: thought I should add more context. This is at LOTO. When it gets real rough like LOTO does I’ll go to the CC and not the cat most likely. Personally I'd go with an inboard Cat of at least 40+ feet. Nothing against the OB's but I like the IB's better. You can't go wrong with a Mystic, Skater or MTI. As for insurance Total Dollar is your best bet and it's not cheap but not over the top. That is depending on the power you have. |
Originally Posted by 4195
(Post 4917204)
I am in the middle of a Mystic C4000 build. I had a few Cigarettes and then a 50" Marquis SC (My one mistake) and then just sold my 2023 38' Mystic CC with quad 300r's. Very excited about the boat. Demo'd the C4000 and was blown away. We ran 124 with 3 people and 1/2 tanks. Boat is very big and the cockpit layout was a winner. Love the MTI as well but the price difference was attractive. The MTI will be faster with the same power but have heard from some the Mystic tunnel is the preferred ride in the rough water. Honestly I would be happy with any of the above mentioned boats. The outboards are reliable great warranty and super fuel efficient and have better resale. Insurance is a factor. I talked with several people before I found 2 companies that would write it and the Tres course is a must and I was quoted right around $12k. I have a boating resume thats 20 plus years.
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Originally Posted by IGetWet
(Post 4917212)
Good input and opinions. As others have said, I’d say it comes down to budget and amount of hours put on per season. My dream would be to have a I/O 40’+ cat for occasional use, poker runs etc, and a “hang out” boat for more daily use. If you’d use the cat for around 50hrs a season, and a 1100 qc4v gets 200-300hrs between rebuilds, seems like a no brainer to me.
Look forward to the inevitable 10+ pages to come during these winter months. |
Originally Posted by ICDEDPPL
(Post 4917206)
I agree with Lucky Jr. once you go sitdown cat it would be very hard to go back to a V stand up.
We went out in some really sloppy stuff in a 36 Doug Wright in LOTO thought it handled it just as well as any 38 V without all the slamming. Went out in a 42 MTI with 1350`s .. wasn`t rough but that Boat is as smooth as silk and the power just comes on like a freight train. More cockpit room and much better reliability/MPG from an outboard cat with less rough water handling.Easier to insure. H2Live goes on adventures in a OB and 400-500 mile trips are no problem and trouble free. Knowing I could cross Lake Michigan and buzz around all summer reliably sounds really nice. Inboard cat has the loud cool factor, less cockpit space, better rough water handling but if you live at loto the water is mostly calm during weekdays. Personally I like the sound of the superchargers on a 450R at higher rpms. If someone made a OB cat with a cabin like the new Nortech, I`d never wanna see another BBC in my life. So over engine rebuilds and dealing with all that. that annoying maintenance is my biggest concern. I love how I have it now with my OB’s. I go to LOTO for the weekend fire it up and take off and put it away at the end and come back in a couple weeks for the same thing. Hardly ever have any issues between. Then while gone I can focus on what I need to rather then more maintenance calls from the dealership. |
Originally Posted by vdrsnk04
(Post 4917238)
. I go to LOTO for the weekend fire it up and take off and put it away at the end and come back in a couple weeks for the same thing. Hardly ever have any issues between. Then while gone I can focus on what I need to rather then more maintenance calls from the dealership.
If you have the stomach for BBC breakdowns and issues and being down and spending a bunch of money all the time for some cool factor , that is your decision. The folks that think your ride is cool and sounds great if they pitched in with work and $$ to fix BBC issues then great I`ll run BBC for the rest of my life lol. The 1100/1350/1550 aren`t that loud anyway.. the turbos kill a lot of the sound. |
Originally Posted by vdrsnk04
(Post 4917233)
these are things I probably should have answered. I plan to only run 40 hours a year at this point on it, I will keep my CC. I am less concerned about up front cost rather than getting what is right for me at this time. So far I have considered everything from $300k-$1m. I’d like to do 120-140 with a few people (wife and kids, or whenever I have a few friends with).
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...6d55e9a214.jpg |
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