this is my first cat so im just tryin to get some feedback on the hull handling characteristics. i am inexperienced in driving catamarans (have owned several v hulls) and just want to get some advice/pointers from those who have more seat time. i realize that my boat is not a fast boat...(85 mph or so) but i just want to know what im doing as much as possible and be able to recognize a dangerous situation when i see it and avoid unknowingly running wide open into a bad situation out of pure ignorance.

we took off the 28 small hub racing prop and went out today and tested a 28 lab finish hydromotive 4 blade. holeshot was WAY better and the performance seemed improved accross the board.....although i cannot say for sure because when we got to about 80 on GPS the boat seemed to get really loose. the wind was gusting and the water was choppy.....really smooth ride and even though the boat was moving around on the water alot it still felt in control......i.e. - it would wander around but stayed going straight if that makes any sense. at this point i felt that i was driving beyond my eperience level with the wind blowing the way it was and decided that this was not the day for a top end run.

i have only ridden/driven one other cat....2600 AO that runs 100+...and it seems to start to get the same feeling at about 80 or so as well.

i live on lake cumberland in KY and plan on runnin this lake wide open! lol i researched htis boat prior to buyin it....and everyone says its a great lake boat for poker runs and such so i figured it would fit my bill perfectly.

few questions:

1 - is it normal for a cat of this size to get really loose feeling at the speed being discussed here??

2 - what speed should the boat start to feel "unglued" to the water?

3 - is it safe to continue to accelerate when the boat is moving around????

4 - is there more danger when travelling at speed of 80-90 mph when the wind is gusting?

5 - what are some signs of danger in a boat like this.....like when should i back out of the throttle?



sorry if these questions seem elementary and even ignorant but im just tryin to be as safe as i can and goin into the "cat game" with as much info/experience as i can.

so far i gotta say i love it! the ride in a cat is second to none and the ease of loading and unloading is great. oh yeah....and the MPH per horspower isnt bad either! lol

thanks to all who took the time to read this novel....lol

Max

you were trimmed WAY to high.. these cats run like they are on rails.. I went threw the learning curve myself with this boat. that boat needs to be driven an all 4 corners.. you most likely were driving it like your V hull..

what was the top speed you got ? i am curious .. thanks..

ALSO when your trimmed to high a sponson will dig when you turn and it gets funky!

is there any water trapped in the boat ?
was the weight distributed evenly?
fuel tanks eqaully level?

Just ideas to help.. I was so lost when I first ran the sxt myself. I was getting a little hop around 82mph when I had the BlackHawk on it. but nothing to feel unsecure of.

also , I went from 78 to 85.8 just by putting the hawk on.

hey thanks for the help!

yeah i was playin with the trim a lil bit...i have since read that they dont need to be trimmed as much as a v hull...but i was just watchin the GPS and playin around a bit. the ride really seemed to improve when the trim was up. and the acceleration seemed to pick up as well.

- so should i just trim up to neutral trim (level) and let the air pack under the boat as i accelerate?

- and was i in any danger runnin the boat trimmed up like that? it was really riding good: up on top of the waves.....smooth....straight...it was just walkin around on the air a bit....witch is not at all what im used to with a v hull.

the top speed we logged today was 79 at lil more than 3/4 thottle ...but it was on the gps on my i-phone so i dont know how accurate it really was. the speed would freeze up and then flash...then it would change every 5 seconds or so......so idk for sure. just did 1 run ..... but i backed out of it way before we peaked. it was makin me nervous with the wind blowin and the chop was blowin up pretty good. this outing was basically just to see if the 28p hydromotive would get me out of the hole better than than the 28p small hub. witch it did.

and the tanks were even, weight was even, no water.

and the boat has yet to hop even a single time at any speed. its like bein on glass. smooth as can be.

seems the faster you go the more trim it wants.. but thats in incriments. I usually wind up touching the trailer switch a tad when I am full speed with the xr drive.. with the blackhawk I use very little trim whatsoever..

so with 500 hp. you figure your doing 85 with a bravo 1 ? is it a standard hight drive ?

I figure I am around 425 hp ( conservative) and I am @ 78 with a standard xr ( 26 4 blade).. old owner said top speed was 81, but I use my gps on my droid and its always dead on.

and with the hawk w 28 props it was 85.8 mph

are you on Facebook ? if so inbox me your name friend me you can see my pics .

i think top speed will be around 85 once al the bugs are out and i get some good weather/seat time and the right prop.

the engine has no problem at all turning the 28p hydromotive.....witch most will say that is actually more true pitch than the bravo 28p.

im not too terribly concerned with airing it out at this point (although i thought initially i would be) simply because i realized im not ready. both due to the boat not being propped and having all the bugs worked out and becaus emy skill set isnt quite right as of now.

and yeah...everybody tends to add a few mph...and a few horsepower to everthing. lol

EVEN ME!!! lol

as far as my power goes....my builder who is very experienced and knowledgable says it should make 500 hp easily. its been head and intake ported, port matched, full isky roller. 9.5 compression, shaved 088 heads (i thought they were 990s but they are 088s) bigger valves, nice electronic fuel system, long tube headers, HEI ignition, ........ive studied up on some similar engine builds and they make 500 without much trouble.

but then again it could be WAY off. i shoulda payed the extra 500 bucks to put it on the dyno.......oh well.....thats what i get for bein in a hurry. i wont make the same mistake with my blown 509. it will go to the dyno before installation.

Excellent forum, good management,Hope you have good luck every day, every day fun