Htm Ss-24 Or Other Lake Cats
 

I AM ABOUT TO BUY A NEW BOAT AND WANT A CAT. I AM LOOKING AT THE HTM SS-24 WITH A MERCRUISER 525. ANY ADVICE ON THIS BOAT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED OR OTHER SUGGESTIONS ON 24 TO 26 FOOT CATS.

I have a HTM SR-24. What would you like to know?

Sr-24 is one of the few cats that offer a cabin. It's because of the cabin that their proportions are a little off.

They have a unique bottom that I havn't ever seen on another cat. Being a small cat and the bottom design, I wonder how hard the boat lands. I know that mine lands pretty hard and it doesn't have that flat of a bottom.

It is one rough ride at LOTO.

I would take a ride in the HTM, 25' or 26' Eliminator Daytona and the 2600 American offshore. There is a really nice 2600 for sale in Cincinnati, Ohio.

KC-that's what I was suspecting.

The AO is a splash of the Talon. Now that Hustler is building the Talon 25, I'd go with them before AO.

I HAVE BEEN TALKING TO ELIMINATOR TODAY AND THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT A DAYTONA 25 OR 26. WHICH IS THE WAY TO GO?

The 25 is faster, the 26 is about 2' longer and rides rough water better.

I always thought the Htm's tunnel was similar to Talon????
Maybe not, but its what I remembered.

24 Cat has a smoother ride then any 22 V, but they are rougher then mine :(
But Faster :(

Eliminator 26'
 

We have a 26' with twin 300X Mercs. Great lake boat...handled LOTO with no problem. If you need or want a cabin...this boat has a very decent one.
Great ride with speeds of 110+.
Rode in the 28' at the Miami Boat Show...Great ride also.
Had twin 300X Mercs on it. Triples would be better!:D

The HTM is a very fast hull but I don't think they turn real well.

As a past HTM SS24 owner I feel compelled to offer you my .02. First off you will not find a faster hull in this size catagory. The HTM will out plane, out accelerate and out run anything out there. Cornering is not the HTM's best feature, but they don't corner all that bad. They do require a whole bunch of seat time to learn the ins and the outs of getting it to corner well. They are very sensitive to trim and deceleration and exceleration throughout the corner. As for creature comforts, the HTM is also by far way ahead of any other boats in its class. Even the lower deck SS24 has a very nice under deck area and tons of storage. The SR24 which is the taller deck is huge underneath and has a couple more features the the SS24. Both have tons of storage as well and the rigging is very clean. The biggest factor when considering a boat in this size range is where do you plan on using it most? What type of water conditions can you expect. The HTM thrives on flat to 2' chop, put once it starts getting rough you better hold on. In my opinion you can't go wrong with the HTM, but if you are going to be boating in rougher conditions I would look at the Talon for sure. The Talon has less creature comforts, but runs hard in the chop. Please feel free to ask me any questions and I will be happy to answer them for you.

Post your question on Hotboat.net, there are a lot of people on that board that own cats in the size range you are looking at.

I have owned an Eliminator, and two DCB cats in that size range. Both build quality boats, but the DCB's are rigged better among other things.

Eliminator 26' if it was my dollar:cool:

I'm in favor of the American Offshore myself of course.

Don

If you really want the boat to run, the Eliminator 26' will take much more power than the 25. I'm not sure why, but that seems to be the trend. The 26 does have the F-16 canopys which look a lot better than the new 25 deck. Yes, the old 25 deck is still available (my personal choice). The Eliminator will also give you some really nice in gel graphics. Be forwarned-I have personally seen some Eliminators that were very sloppily rigged. Supposedly they have 2 shops that do their rigging. One does impeccible work, the other very sloppy work. I don't know which one does which.

MN-The HTM has a totally different bottom from the Talon. The AO, Firehawk and Howard (?), and proably a couple others all decended from the Talon. They all have a full center pod that's a little deeper than the outer sponsons. This was done to get the boat to corner flat, maybe even lean in a scooch. I believe the 25' Elim is slightly above the sponsons so it will tend to lean to the outside.

The HTM will have a more harsh ride in rough water. The Eliminator will be faster and ride softer in the rough. Who actually uses those tiny cabins in any boat?? I run a 25' Warlock that is awesome in the rough water and runs 100 mph. 24 Skater (used) is another choice for O/B power. The west coast builders have a lot of selections these days. HTM is low on my list. Looks pregnant, rough ride and needs a ton of hp to run fast.

Hey Randall,

Hope this will help. Have been in both @ speeds 100+. The SR24/SS24 is definitely the fastest of the field. I own a 26 daytona and for ride, you can't beat it. I really think you need to evaluate where you will be using the boat the most and the conditions of the water. All of the boats you mentioned have ther good points and bad including mine. I live on a freshwater lake, my buddy with the htm also lives there. I almost bought a HTM before I bought my daytona. He talked me out of it because of the day to day ride. 90% of our boating is on lakes, but we do go to the river once in a while and it can get rough. My buddy hates the rough stuff in his HTM. For a great ride and good speed you can't beat the daytona, cuts the water great and rides flatter than most of the others. For stock power, my neighbor has a 26 daytona just like mine, stock 525 runs 80+.


Good Luck

Speed wise the HTM should be the fastest with the same hp. Mine ran 87(radar) with 500hp(dyno) and low 90's(speedo) with a 540 with around 550hp to 600hp.
A friend told me my boat was like a motor strapped to a piece of plywood.

I've got 3 yrs seat time in my 25' Daytona- 4 sale (shameless plug) It was my first performance boat and real easy to get used to. Great bang for the buck and quality built/rigged (I guess Mira Loma is the "right" factory)

boat listed in OSO classifieds

I know of at least three places that rig Eliminators.... Mira Loma, Havasu & San Diego. There might be some more I don't know about.

I have seen some hit and miss stuff come out of the Mira Loma factory (which is the main one). They produce so many boats a year that I think the QC slips a little at times.

26 NXS American Offshore
500 hp
80 mph

Don

Brad Zastrow,
Not trying to start anything here, but you are way wrong about the HTM being slow and needing lots of HP to go fast. The HTM is the fastest boat in its class bar none. When I had my SS24 it had a 565c.u. 700HP naturally aspirated motor that pushed the boat to 107mph with a 1:50 gear and a 30 pitch prop. It would run 0 (dead stop) to 60mph in 9 seconds. I could pull up on guys in other brand boats that had at least 200HP more then me and smoke them. You are correct though when you say that they don't like the rough stuff. They do ride a bit harsh in anything bigger then about 2' chop.

Randal Walker,
I almost forgot, are looking for new or used and what price are you looking to spend? I know that you are looking for something in the 24'-26' range, but just to let you know I am selling my Spectre 30 I/O for a really good deal if you are interested.

If you are looking for a cat to use in the lakes, Shockwave just released their 26' Cat and has good deals on them until they get a few out there. Here are a couple of pics.

Another pic.. I think they are selling these new for $65k with a 496HO...

wrong pic..

You need to ask yourself many questions prior to determining what 24 to 28 or so cat is right for your application. Some mentioned above so forgive me if I duplicate:

Do you need a cabin and if so how important is it to you?

Do you need or prefer one type of power I/O or Outboard?

Cockpit room?

Type of conditions you will be running in the most?

Purchase price versus resale value?

Speed considerations..is there a number you HAVE to reach?

How many occupants do you usually have?

I think if you answer these honestly, you will be pointed pretty clearly toward a slect 2 or 3 cats. Because they vary so much each has very distinct benefits and drawbacks. New for new, dollar for dollar, I think the 30 Spectre with 496's or custom built big blocks for way less money than phantom black or HP blue will give you the most value for your dollar. That is coming from a SKATER MAN! OSO member Chuck, from Saratoga, NY has a GORGEOUS 30 Spectre with 496's and the fun for the dollar and quality CANNOT BE MATCHED!:) Best of luck.

What area do you live? Do you know people w/ a HTM or Eliminator or what ever you are looking at. Talk to them get there pro's and cons and than go for a ride. Cats in this size range especially have there special characterziations. Like what was said before, what do you need out of a cat, cabin,speed,deep cockpit, stand-up bolsters, etc. Then see which boat fits your want list. Good luck.

THE FIRST thing you need to ask is how much and even IF you can get insurance on a cat. Its tough. Docmanrich here in VA has a bone stock 525 25/26 Eliminator, and he was cancelled; with a clean loss record.

I have another friend building a HUGE and VERY FAST offshore cat, (40 Skater / 160+ MPH), and he cannot get insurance because he has never owned a cat before.

If I were a cat manufacturer, (and I have said this before), I would bond together with the others and approach the Carriers and do something to make it easier to for folks to buy everyone's cat hulls.

Have you ever bought a boat from Hustler? or AO?

Have you given any thought to outboards? I know there are a lot of people here that cant stand them but they have many good points. It will take a blower motor single cat to keep up with a twin 2.5 or 300x outboard boat. With that said the outboards will be able to run wide open all day long with a lot less worries than the blower motor. Sure you dont get the sound from the outboards that you come to enjoy with the blower motors, but the scream of outboards is a pretty good tune too. You normally dont break drives (lower units) with outboards either. I like Eliminator's new 25 with the canopies and twin outboards, that boat should run well, probably 105-110. The 28 at Miami with 300's ran 101 with a different set of props than they had on at the show. At the show I was told it ran 97 as it was then.

THANKYOU ALL FOR YOUR GREAT ADVICE.
I BOUGHT A NEW ELIMINATOR DAYTONA 26 WITH A 496 MAG HO WITH QUARTER CANOPIES. I THINK IT WAS A GOOD CHOICE AND THE COMPANY WAS GREAT TO DEAL WITH.

Good choice, very nice boat. Post some pics when you can.

lmao!!!:D

I would go with 25 daytona - canapied. You will get the best performance, similar room in the cockpit as the rest and a small stabbin cabin. If you want to spend the extra cash take a look at DCB 26 - their rigging is unparralled.

I have an American Offshore 2600 for sale. If you are intrested email me at [email protected] and I will forward you specs,pictures and price.