There are a lot of Eliminator Daytonas at my lake, Tenkiller - only my Skater here. I don't understand why the twin engine Daytonas have center pods! Is it to reduce the porpoise? Seems dumb to me. Anybody have reasons?

Yes, the centerpod gets rid of the porpoise. My buddy has a 27 Daytona with twin 300XSs and it has ZERO porpoise at any speed. It's actually a very good boat, though doesn't have the performance of my 28 Skater in the corners or the rough. We boat together a lot, and he can cruise along at any speed he wants on flat water and not deal with the hop I experience from 44-68 in my 28. I've owned a couple of center-pod cats and they're not so bad, but there's a reason there's two Skaters sitting down at my dock now and nothing else!

Doesn't your buddy have the 27 listed for sale ?

Yes, that's the one. He just listed it.

Does that make it a Mod VP?

No, it doesn't. Mod VP stands for Modified Vee Production hull, which came about in the late 1970s/early '80s. A good example of a true Mod VP by definition would be a Stoker 20 such as the one I attached pics of. Todays larger catamarans with centerpods are very different. Mod VP hulls are designed to run on the centerpod, with the outer sponsons there to provide stability, even in the picklefork style Mod VPs such as Mirages and STVs. The larger catamarans with centerpods are designed to use the sponsons as the main running surface at high speed, with the centerpod only being a running surface at slower speeds to get rid of the porpoise. On 25' and up cats with centerpods, the centerpod is typically a few inches higher than the sponsons - on a small Mod VP it's reverse - the centerpod is typically an inch or so lower than the sponsons. I hope this makes sense.

It makes sense. A mod vp rides on the center hull but uses the two tunnels to trap air for lift but the centerpod rides on the sponsons like a typical cat.