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.

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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

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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

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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!