Vee Or Cat Hull
 

Hi All

If we were to compare a 50 foot nortech Vee hull for arguments sake a 50 foot nortech cat, which one would have the abilty to carry more speed in rough weather?

By rough I mean 3 to 6 foot seas.

I have never been for a blast in a cat, and I am concerned It may not be the best choice for us as its more often than not 3-6 foot where we run.

Thanks all.

regards

Constukta

Surely some of your must have some opinion on this?????

I'm guessing the percentage of people on this board who have been on the boats your talking about is slim.

If you are a serious buyer, the manufacturer can probably arrange a ride for you. You can find out first hand.

Good luck!

I have a 40 foot vee and a 27 cat.Although my boat sizes aren't as per your question i could'nt imagine taking my 27 cat in seas half the size that my 40 footer loves.I too only boat offshore.Hope this helps.

Cheers Guys

I was really talking in general terms, ie similar sized cat versus similar sized vee.

One would have to assume a vee hull is always going to be a better sea boat, having never been on a fast cat just thought I would ask the question.

Thanks all

I just purchased a book (Last week) that may help. The name 0f the book is 'Fast Boat Seamanship' by Pike. The book describes each feature of the hulls design along with the pros and cons.(Chines, Strakes,Deadrise) Without knowing the exact hulls what I picked up is a Cat will slap the big waves between the hulls, where as a Vee will slice the wave.

Any 50' should cruise through 3-6's with ease.

I think the general view is that a V of a certain size can handle more seas than a cat of a similar size at a given speed. I have a few race movies and the comments are always that the cats gain an advantage in calmer waters and the Vs in rougher seas. As said I dont think 3-6 foot seas will be a problem for any 50 foot boat if the speeds are within reason

This is all from recent reading, not personal experience, but I think it depends on whether you're trying to span the waves or cut through them/go over them.

If the water is significantly bigger than the boat (six ft waves in a 25 ft boat) a V will ride up and down them and cut through them a lot better.

If you're talking about a nasty three foot wash board coming from all directions (like we've got around here) then I'm told the Cat runs a lot smoother. Met a guy with a 27ft cat that runs 90 in stuff my 26 wouldn't run 50 in.

There are a lot of other factors as well: What speeds are we talking about - how fast are you going in these conditions? What are the V and Cat designed for? There are plenty of pad bottom shallow deadrise V's that suck to be in in big waves, and there are plenty of Offshore Cats (fishing boats, etc.) One of the big factors in how well a Cat can handle rough water is the tunnel height in relation to the water. A really fast cat made for calm water will run the tunnel mere inches from the water. In rough water this design would "slap" into each wave. Wouldn't be a pleasant experience.

So your answer is "it depends"