Permission to come aboard Sir's?
 

It's nice to meet you all. I hate to jump in your pond with a bunch of questions, but I have the itch for a new "go fast toy" and from reading many many threads here, I know I can get some of my questions answered. I have never had a cat but have had a 31 xl Scarab twin for many years and used to beach race my old 502 jet boat every weekend and still have them both.

My itch has me leaning towards an Eliminator cat single I/B 25'-27' with big power, or a Skater cat 28'-32' twin I/B or O/B. I really really like the Skater 28' O/B's but if anyone has opinions on these 2 different hull types please feel free to offer it up. It seems you can get a lot more Eliminator for your money but it will of course never be a Skater

Firstly, most all of my use will be in lakes here in East Texas and other than an occasional rip at high speeds my boat will be used as a typical recreational boat.

So, how do these cats handle at recreational cruising speeds of say 30-40 mph?Am I going to hate them at these low speeds?

How do the Merc X's, and XS's act for such low speed use with only an occasional WOT rip?

Anyone know of a solid 28 or 32 Skater needing a new home?

What are the biggest differences between the Eliminator cats and a Skater?

Thanks in advance for your help guy's. Your help is appreciated.

.

welcome and Happy New Year!

what about contacting Larry aka Kevlar Cat? (32 skater twin outboard)

Skater vs eliminator the skater will do much better in bigger water and will be a little faster. A 28 skater with outboards is a hard combo to beat because with new 300 xs motors they run over 100 ever day, use very little fuel, and can last 300-500 hours before needing a rebuild. If all out speed is what you want then you need to step it up to a 32 with inboards but get ready to open the check book.

My dad had a 28 skater with merc 2.5 280's and it was faster that and 25 eliminator with a single 750 hp big block just to show that it takes more that double the power out of a single io to keep up with a twin outboard 28.

At 30-40 mph 28 skaters have not really even started to air out yet so there pretty flat. One advantage the eliminator does have is with the center pod they normally dont hop at all where most true tunnel will hop slightly in the mid range speeds.

My guess is that unless your on a very crowded or narrow chunk of water your "recreational cruising speed" will be closer to 80 - 90 with a Skater.
With my little bit of knowledge they aren't much fun at 30-40.

Thanks Noli. Happy New Year to you too.

I've seen some of his build and thats not the rig for me. I'm sure it's a great boat. I think anything over a 28 I would want to go twin I/O. Just me.Speaking of builds, I'm about 30 pages in on your 36' build and man my wallet hurts for ya. Ha! Very impressive project. Ballsy move to go with the 2.5 Quads. Looks incredible.

Good info. Thanks.

See, thats what I'm afraid of. Poor handling at slower speeds. I'm hoping to get a little more feedback on this lower speed issue.

Any info on a used Skater 28 would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Guys. Keep it coming

.

it seems that by using tunnel tab, you can maintain a slower speed and still be on planing speeds.


http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...tml#post316216

[ATTACH=CONFIG]515527[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]515526[/ATTACH]

I can run my boat on plane at 27 mph. Cruises all day long. Slow speeds not an issue. Boat runs flat only thing is that you will get spray blow back out of the front of the tunnel at speeds under 40 if it's sloppy. 28 Skaters are incredible and will run well in some big stuff also.

There are a wide range of 28's out there and pricing is a wide range also due to age of boat etc.
What are looking to spend?

Looking Great DR!

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Thanks! I was was just thinking back though, I'm glad that I found what I wanted in the 36 skater outboard which is very rare, Also fortunate to have found Glass Dave who did an outstanding job on restoring the hull and switching the transom configuration for the quad set up. He is great to work with and I highly recommend him

David, your boat is awesome. Can't help but wonder how it would run with 4 300xs's and a little work!
Need to bring that boat to FL. Would like to build a triple 30-32 one day.

Thanks for the input DR. Good to hear they are decent cruisers also. I dont have to worry about much over 2 footers and thats on rough days.

Your 28 is just about what I'm looking for in a turnkey rig. The couple of 28's I have found need the tanks reworked(corn is for food), or new interior, or paint, if not all three. I'm not seeing a lot of them available right now. Maybe things will pick up in the spring. If you are interested in selling yours PM me and we can talk budget. I might be a buyer if you are a seller. I wont waste your time either way.

Where are you seeing some 28's, 30's or 32's?

There is a member on here with a 30 for sale. His screen name is Lightspeed.
Also will see if I have the number still for another 30 for sale not listed.

[QUOTE=Double Rigged;4050836]There is a member on here with a 30 for sale. His screen name is Lightspeed.
Also will see if I have the number still for another 30 for sale not listed.[/

Without starting any he said she said please read this thread on scream and fly about the last person that recently bought a boat from lightspeed then make whatever choice you would like. The thread speaks for itself, I encourage you to read it completely.

Page 5 gets really interesting. The motors were claimed to be low hour motors yet they were found to have 1700 hours!!!!! There's other issues with the boat as well. Really interesting doesn't look like he's an honest seller. I would hate for anyone else to go through the same experience.

http://www.screamandfly.com/showthre...s-delamination

I read that thread also and would definitely check the boat out throughly if you are interested. Just mentioning that he has one for sale. That is all I know about that boat. I believe it was at Ryan Beckleys fun run yesterday.
I would be very careful buying any older Skater and spend some time going through the boat. It can get expensive if there is hull damage or if the boat needs tanks.

How do you Skater guy's feel about Spectres? I've always wanted a Skater but the Spectres are interesting...

There not bad, but definitely not skater quality or performance. They are built solid and really are copies of skaters but still don't perform quite as well. On the other hand in general they are less expensive.

[QUOTE=272bajadriver;4050866] Many of us have no thanks to this site or S&F. Please be informed and do your reasearch and hire a surveyor. S&F has some great members that look out for each other, but the site is run by a clown Greg who owns a boat but doesn't use it. I got burned twice on S&F to the tune of 15k and when I tried to report it to the owner/administrator "Greg" it fell on def ears. I had the crooks name listed in my signature as others did with issues with diffrent crooks in their signature on S&F. I had 35 glossy photos detailing the carnage to post, but after being put in time out at 40 something years of age, decided S&F is not the site for me. Needless to say they put me on perminent time out. Phuck S&F and the owner who, like this site also protects certian vendors and deletes threads that could help us all from being burned. I have had aquantances that started sites also and wanted to run them like Sweden "neutral" or no negative comments about CROOKS. Phuck them also! Remember about this site and any with high $$$ hobbys, the crooks follow the money and the ball washers blow em. Theres' more crooks in the performance boating would than Carter has liver pills. The only site that " I " am on that is run honestly is Boatfreaks period. Good luck on your hunt!

Bob

I agree S&F is run and owned by a Moron !!!!!!!!!!! This site has been sold to a large company that has their heads parked in they're ass!!! I will NEVER EVER pay to advertise here again !!! Did for years , never again how I was treated by corporate !!!
I think I bring a lot to the table , I restored 99% of my Skater MYSELF , including all the fab and glass work , rigging and all body prep and surface work and stopped posting pics as I REFUSE to pay to help this site @ unfortunately some of members that want to see how this is done . ( yes I know I can go to photo sharing site )
Bottom line without a few of the Members here that actually do most or all their restoration work this site will fall apart !! I have moved on to other sites that is FREE and needs members that walk the walk .




As far as Spectre , had a few friends with them and they are outstanding !! In fact I was looking for a 30 O/B hull when I settled for my 32 Skater ! I still want one !!!

KevlarKat32, Send me some pic's and details to my email if you are still wanting to sell your rig. [email protected]. I found a thread were you were wanting to go a different direction but I haven't seen your finished project.

TIA

Thank you for asking but I have zero interest in selling , not 100% done . In too deep ( hours ) to walk away .