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BLOWOVER (Cats)

Old 08-14-2003, 08:29 PM
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Post BLOWOVER (Cats)

Explain to me what and why this happens. Are their hints or chacteristics that a blowover is about to occur? Does the size of the cat or the weight or both play a key role in this action. I`ve seen it happen on big racing cats and that has to leave you wondering if this is "IT"
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Old 08-14-2003, 08:50 PM
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This does not happen often,but nonetheless it does occur. Most often it is when there is BIG power and a tunnel tab. Although not limited strictly to these circumstances, what has happened most frequently is the operators have trimmed the drives to high, put to much tab in the water to pack more air, and stayed on the throttle too long. Certainly it is possible, although highly unlikely, to blow over in rough water by using too much positive trim and running to fast. Again, this is not the most common cause for this scary phenominon, but it can occur.
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Old 08-14-2003, 10:16 PM
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I always hear my husband say this about cats......very fast and some of them are very predictable but once you think you're losing it, it's too late.

Thats all I have to say guy's as I have never really ridden in one pushing the limits.
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Old 08-14-2003, 10:20 PM
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I would buy a CAT but I have to admit I'm scared of blowing over.

My buddy had his CAT blow over and he said once he felt it was going over there was nothing to do but pray!
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Old 08-14-2003, 10:51 PM
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I have owned cats since 1988 and never felt close to blowing over. I assume we are talking about larger 30' + offshore cats. When cat boats started to become popular in the late 70s early80s there was much talk of blowovers but it was found stuffing was much more of a likely scenario. I am not saying it can not happen just it does not seem like much of a problem.
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Old 08-14-2003, 11:06 PM
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Originally posted by mmwalters
I have owned cats since 1988 and never felt close to blowing over. I assume we are talking about larger 30' + offshore cats. When cat boats started to become popular in the late 70s early80s there was much talk of blowovers but it was found stuffing was much more of a likely scenario. I am not saying it can not happen just it does not seem like much of a problem.
I agree with your statement, although 2 instances that come to mind were Cat Can Do in N.C. and I believe Pat Patel's also went over, but the fact of the matter is as you said to stuff them, hook a sponson and spin our barrell roll it. Most of this though is caused by getting a little out of shape and catching a funny wave. It happens especially when you are driving on something that is constantly moving. I alwayscompare it to driving in an earthquake if you never tried it lets just say it will get your attention real fast.

Capo PM me and we will chat about cats bro!

Shane easy on the tunnel tab bro it packs too much air in a head wind.
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Old 08-15-2003, 12:13 AM
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On a somewhat related topic...I'm still on the uphill side of the learning curve with my cat...when I was out this past weekend, I trimmed the boat higher than I've ever done before. It actually wasn't all that high as the drive was still tucked in every so slightly. The boat was still accelerating and had a couple more mph when I ran out of water. The thing about it is that I'm just not used to that loose out of the water feeling. This is a totally different sensation than what I had with my sloppy loose chine walking v bottom. Sometimes the boat also likes to take a hop when it gets out of the water. I've noticed that it always hops to the right, presumably because of the prop rotation. Is what I'm feeling ok? Should I keep on going or am I about to step over that edge?
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Old 08-15-2003, 12:16 AM
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I have been driving cats at very high speeds for over 13 years and have never blown over. I did hit a rouge wave as i was coming on plane once and did get quite a view of the sky.The most common occurance is going into a turn at high speeds- leting off the throttle- then hooking a sponson.Nothing you can do but hang on.It takes lots of practise with the throttle and drive -tab position to sucessfully make a high speed turn.
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Old 08-15-2003, 06:59 AM
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I've had 2 cats now and would never go back to a V hull, Every weekend I have my wife and 3 year old on the boat w/ me, never had a problem with coming close to blowing over. Shane I do agree with you but I think the most important thing that one would need to drive a cat or really any boat is COMMON SENSE!!!!!
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Old 08-15-2003, 07:22 AM
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All good points. Once you learn how to run a cat properly you will never want a vee again. Hooking sponsons, stuffing etc are all functions of one or two different things. Either being way to aggressive and or not knowing what to do.

In pleasure situations there is no reason that I can think of that you should be going through a turn so hard as to spin out, hook a sponson and or barrel roll. If a engine quits at high speed and a spin out or roll occurs that is different, but if it caused by turning to hard at speed, there is no excuse for such an incident in a pleasure situation. One thing that I was taught right from the get go in racing a cat. Always be ready to "check up" on teh wheel. Meaning that as you turn, it is sometimes helpful to turn the whell back the opposite direction to keep the boat upright. This is more the case in smaller cats and especially in cats like the Shadow that I raced. The Shadow had basically vertical gunwales that went right to the chine. Therefore, when turning there was a very sharp edge which did not allow the boat to "slide" through the corners. If you notice on many of the new cats, like a Skater, as the gunwales approach the water line there is a "chine" for lack of a better term, above the water line and at that point the sides begin to "roll" under to the more pronounced chine. This design allows for the boat to slide a bit and does not create such an abrupt edge which can cause the barrel roll. This is not say that you cannot roll these boats, but it is just to illustrate the differences.

Stuffing occurs in a cat is due to a few possible scenarios. If you let off the sticks to quickly when launching off a wave, this will cause the stern to effectively "stall", and in essence almost doing a mini "trip". Stuffing also can occur when launching off of a wave and when you land the stern will hit first on the top of a wave leaving the bow to "fall" into the hole between the wave your stern hit and the next wave. This is usually something that is not due to operator error but you are simply a victim of circumstance. However, reading the water in front of you can certainly help to minimize or prepare you for the impending impact as best you can.

Furthermore, with regard to Cat Can Do. If you have ever watched the video and heard what the throttleman said afterward you will come to some very intersting conclusions. First, the reason behind the blow over. They had a tunnel tab on the boat. They were using it to pack as much air as possible to obtain as much speed as possible. I cannot remember if the indicators for the drives and tab or the switches for the drives and tab were hooked up backwards. Therefore, when they thought they were lifting the tab, and or tucking in the drives, they were in essence doing just the opposite thereby exascerbating the situation. Additonally, the throttleman said in an interview afterward, that as soon as it got out of shape he backed off. Well, if you watch the video you will clearly see he doesn't back off until he is upside down at lightning speed 15 feet off the water. So the moral here...make sure all gauges and swithces work correctly.

Last edited by Shane; 08-15-2003 at 07:41 AM.
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