Where did all the Chris Cats go?
 

I am trying to find some history on the old Chris Cat race boats. The following is a list of ones I know.

Danny Humes owned a black shadow with #4's or #5's on standoff boxes. Ran it in "D" class in the early 90's. It was sponsored by Valvoline. I think it was sold and turned into a pleasure boat.

There was Sonny Hawkins black Chris that also ran in "D" class. His had the Linder side by side canopies. I thought he ran #5's on boxes as well.

Pipeline express ran on the East Coast I believe. It ran "C" class. Good running boat.

Greg Denboer still has his white and green shadow. He ran in Grand Haven this summer. He is running small blocks and #4's.

There was the old ACR systems boat which is for sale with outboards.

Let me know if you know of anymore our there. I remember a time when they were all over the race circuit. These would make great poker run boats. Most likely they all are by now but I would love to find one for a project boat.

Whirlygig.

Whirly
Do a search for Chris Cat. There are numerous threads, which included discussions about the Chris.
Due

I believe Rolling Thunder, out of N.J.,is one.

They are now American Offshore. Ask T2x the details on the boats you listed.

Nope...That is a Baja.


T2x

Re: Where did all the Chris Cats go?
 

Just an FYI..... half the boats you listed above are not Chris Cats..... They are Shadow Cats, which are narrower, built at a completely different company and time and have different sponson pads. Both Chris Cats and Shadows were designed by George Linder, but had somewhat different dimensions and characteristics. For your project boat I suggest a Chris Cat for big blocks, or a Shadow Cat for outboards and/or small blocks.

T2x

Chris set up
 

T2X

Thanx for the info. I was interested in why the shadows run better with small blocks and the Chris' with big blocks.

What's the best drive setup on a chris. 3's, 4's or 5's and with or without standoff boxes.

Someone had told me once the 3's were the fastest without boxes but I'm not sure.

whirlygig.

Ooops!:o

When I owned a Chris, it ran 125 (GPS) with #3s. A good friend had 3s, but is now updating with boxes and 4s or 5s. It's a great hull.
Due

Contact "Flashback" here on the board.

He has the nicest one I have ever seen.

I know he did a lot of research and has a wealth of information on them.

They are a real "Classic". I love to see them, especialy with the radar arch!

Dock,

Thanx. I have gone back and spent some time reviewing the old posts on the Chris'. There is a substantial amount of information about them. There is still an amazing following for this boat. Others see the same thing I do, history and performance/fun for the dollar.

Where else can you 2 MPH per dollar?

T2x thank you for all of your input on the Chris in the past threads. I am still interested in what setup was considered the best with a big block Chris. #3's, #4's or #5's with or without boxes. Again, I have been told #3's without but I am not sure.

Whirlygig

DueClaws,

I read your old posts as well. Thank you for your input. I know you have had quite a bit of experience with the Chris. Why did you sell? What power did you have to get her to run a buck and a quarter? If I might ask, what did you sell her for. I am trying to get an idea of what I have to spend to get the right boat.

I don't need to run quite that fast. If the boat ran 110 MPH I would be happy. The cruise seems to regulate the top end. I would like a good poker run cruise of 70 to 75 MPH at 3500 RPM or so.

Whirlygig

Dock,

Correction: 2 MPH per $1000.00

Whirlygig

Damn, I was already looking in the for sale section!:D :D :D :D

Hey Dock,

Loved Tombstone. My wife bought me a movie poster signed by the Russell, Kilmer, Elliot and Paxton.

One of my favorite movies.

Whirlygig

Whirly-
responses to your questions:

Why did you sell?
Wanted a bigger cat, with a canopy-type cockpit.

What power did you have to get her to run a buck and a quarter?
800 hp

If I might ask, what did you sell her for.
I'd prefer not to disclose this, but I believe it was a fair price for both parties.

Due

Due,

Thanx for the reply, that helps.

whirly

Fastest Shadows ran.... against the transom with #3's...but that was before 4's or 5's.

Today I'd go with #6's against the transom........

But each boat is different (C/G, power etc) and the props available today (5 blades) might change the whole dynamic...... In most cases however we did not experience much improvement with set backs.

T2x

I thought the same, but just confirmed that Last Rolling Thunder was a Baja....Current is a Cougar.

Mc Gary,
There are two Rolling Thunders, one a Baja, the other is a Jaguar.

Makes sense, thus the confusion. The one at Arnold's in Pt Pleasant, is the Jag.....That's the one i usually see, as it is across the street from my uncles boatyard.

Heck, there's even a roller coaster nearby called rolling thunder....

I have one of the Chris Cats here at my shop undergoing a complete rebuild. The boat was supposedly built and raced as an outboard boat and was then converted to a sterndrive after retirement. Don't know what it was raced as but it was black boat. It is currently getting rigged with #5's on 12 inch boxes with twin turbo open class engines and crashboxes. Motors are making almost 1400 hp each when you put the boost to them. It should make an interesting poker run boat.
Steven Schmidt
Competitive Edge Marine Motorsports.
954-564-0015

Wirly, I worked on Humes boat back in the late 80's I did alot of glass on that boat, Bob Kaiser took Humes and Myself for a few good test runs.......... Ahh' Them were the days !!!!!! Great Lakes Racing used to be known by a bunch of associations that Co-Mingled and shared points. We don't see that anymore Dammit!!!! The boat was a Motion Cat that took forever to 'cure' but I think that helped it in the longrun as it went on to Win a few D class races badged as 'Peppers of St.Clair' piloted by Danny, and two brothers whose names escape me great team, alot of fun! It was then sponsored by EXIDE, my good friend Bob Stack was Driver for 2 years.... They always put on a show...... I'm not sure what became of my old friends or the boat? Maybe give Sparky at Vicious Marine on Hall rd in Harrison Twp, Mi. a shout Viciousone on the board, he might know more as he bought the Motion Cat molds, modified them and builds a very light fast Cat...... They used to call the boats Clem's Gems after the owner's first name We built alot of Cats in this area......... See Ya, Bill

Jolley,

Thanx for the reply. Those were the days. I raced a Saber 28 in production "A" class. Got to know Danny well. A class act for sure. I remember 1991 in Chicago it was terrible nasty 5 - 7's. The race ran south along the shore, into the breakwall where it would get calm, then spit you out into some big ones down the back strech.

Danny was running the black cat at the time. 383 strokers built by a company in Detroit, the name escapes me, but great motors. I think that boat was set up with #4's on boxes and it was fast. If I remember somewhere in the high 115 to 120 range with small blocks and crash boxes. Not bad for 670 HP small blocks. He went out and smoked everybody, big vee bottoms and all. That was back when the cats and vees ran together. The worst part about it was they stopped about 1/4 mile from the finish line. Apparently there was some confusion to exactly where it was. Most of the courses we had back then used the same start and finish line but this one was different, the finish line was about three miles up from the start. Those poor guys were sick. They got their guts beat out for an hour and a half, beat all the other "big" boats only to fall short 1/4 mile. I believe I actually shed a tear!

Anyway, you'll have to help me out because I was certain they ran a shadow. Let me know.

If you ever want to dig up a great rough water race on video, call Jeff at freeze frame and have him send you a copy of the Chicago race in 91'. It was a joint venture with the air show as well, if I am not mistaken, there is some good air show footage as well.

Lance

T2x,

As expected, your sentiments on chris set up are identical to that of your old friend George Linder. I had an opportunity to speak with him earlier this week. He was gracious to give me some time and spoke extensively on all of the setup he had in his "file".

No boxes needed. The threes run great by them selves. The boat I am looking at is a shadow and has #4's against the transom with small blocks so that should be fine. The motors run on 18" shafts. The boat seems well balanced.

Thanx for your experience.

Lance

Steve,

Tell the guy with the 1400 HP twin turbos HE'S CRAZY! I hope he has a will. The boat will run a buck and a quarter with a pair of 800 sc's, ask Dueclaws.

In an open cockpit no less. Whew!

Lance

Cool !!!!!!!!;) :cool:

Whirlygig

There was a Chris Cat in the classifieds several weeks back, no motors but included #2 speedmaster drives. Its been for sale for a few years now, dont know why it has not sold. Asking price was 25k and was located in Fort Myers Fla.

One thing you should seriously check out if you buy a Chris, is that the low water pic ups were tru hull mounted. At high speeds the sealant used around the pickup, flaked away, leaving an exposed area where water could be forced up through the laminate. Long term, this could be a major problem in the transom area. This was explained to me by John Estes. He used to own the Chris that was featured in HotBoat a few years back.

Get a survey, or at the very least, get a moisture test on the hull before purchase.

If there are no problems, the pick ups can be fabricated to be mounted on the exterior of transom instead of thru hull. I think John had his made by Marine Machine. I had a survey on my Chris when I bought it. Everything was in great shape, as it was all redone by the previous owner, including the transom. I have not relocated the pic ups yet though.

Doc, thanks for the compliment!

I have a 86 Chris Cat with four 2.5 Mercury offshore outboards. It was the old Terminator race boat. Top speed is around 110 mph, but it cruises at around 80 mph or so. Not bad for only 1040 total horsepower.

anyone have any cabin pics?

Tell the guy with the 1400 HP twin turbos HE'S CRAZY! I hope he has a will. The boat
 

Hey I just build them! I already figured it will top top 150 if the boat and driver are foolish enough. The boat is being set up to accelerate quickly so that the he can be far enough ahead of the competition that he will hopefully never have to run all that fast. Time will tell.
Steven Schmidt
Competitive Edge Marine
954-564-0015

hi-perf-2000, here is a scan of the interior out of a 1985 Chris Craft brochure. Its not all that great of a pic but its better than I could get with my boat inside a dim lit garage.

Flashback,

Thanx for the info. I will make sure to get a complete inspection including moisture. I would be foolish not to on a 20 year old hull. What type of power and set up do you have on your Chris? Pics? Speed and cruise numbers? Do tell.


Fastwhitecat: Nice setup. Reminds me of the old "Inter-oceanic bahamian transportation services" setup the guys used to run, four outboards and 300 gallons of fuel :-)

And Steve: I still think your customer needs a will!!!!

Whirly

Whirly-
I have a friend who lives near New Orleans. He has a pair of 1,200 hp+ (14-71 blown 600"+) in his old Shadow Cat called Hot Pursuit. Uses _1-1_ ratio in the #3 drives (non crescent), 12" setback boxes and 3 blade props. He's run 155 plus in that thing. And No: I won't ride with him> But he claims it's a blast and rides great: even when almost the whole boat _lifts_ out of the water and basically rides on the props.

I guess I'm getting old, but just the thought of that scares the _____ out of me!!!:eek: :eek: :eek:
Due

Dueclaws,

What's amazing is that the 3's live with that much grunt. Even though the boat is relatively light (compared to a 38 cig or similar with same power) I would still think it would be difficult to keep the equipment together.

Question is: At a buck and a half, what could he be in hot pursuit of? An airplane?

I have been thinking alot about this. What I would really like to do is find an old, beat up 32 skater, open cockpit, and put a couple of small blocks in it making 640 - 650 HP. 4's or 5's on boxes. A basic replica of Alan and Kirk's Agitator. Aluminum heads and intake, a light setup well balanced. 120 MPH max. That's the boat I would like to build.

A friend of mine has a mid-ninties 32 open cockpit (outboard boat) for sale. No power, just a shell pretty much stripped. Still a hair pricey but tempting. The goal is to build that boat for not a dime more than 60K. It can be done. There was a 32 skater for sale last year with 4's on the back, no power, asking 39K. It was traded to a guy in Wisconsin for a pair of new #6's, drives only. That should put the value at about 35K? Another 25k in power, 5K in headers and misc. and bam.

I figure if I look long enough I will find my project boat.

Whirlygig

AGITATOR
 

I now own the agitator and i still have the united racing engine small blocks. i will sell them if your interested call me 513-477-2780 charlie amann look at the agitator now at www.agitatoroffshore.com;) i also own a 31 american offshore with blower motors it runs 125 see ya

Charlie,

You own my boat! Man I love that boat. I was racing APBA back when Alan and Kirk were running OPT. I always wanted to race with those guys but it seemed we were always running different sanctioning bodies. It was great to watch those guys go out race after race and beat up on everyone else. Ton's of talent and nerves of steel. I felt bad that Kirk had to nominate himself for one of the best throttlemen of all times. If he hadn't done it, I would have. Every year OPT would slap another restriction on them and every year they would win again, true talent.

I was going to ask you to post all the info on their old stroker small blocks but it would be easier if I just give you a call. Feel free to post the info anyway, there may be others out there that are interested, if not, I will ring you tomorrow.

Lance

its funny i had the same problems racing that boat. skater makes a great boat:D

Whirlygig

My Chris Cat has 540ci bowtie blocks @650hp that are naturally aspirated and built by Lingenfelter. I am running #2 speedmasters with 17 x 31 three blade cleavers. She runs out @105 on GPS around 5400rpm I think. Its starts to do the infamous porpoise, better know as the George Linder hop per: T2x @ 92mph and goes away @100mph.

It has been a very dependable boat for me. I just hope it can stay that way.

Here's a picture of a chriscat I came across a few years ago.