catamaran vs. Deep V

[Armand Salese]

Am considering purchasing a WorldCAt Center Console for off-shore fishing. Are catamarans better than DeepV's for that purpose? What are the plus/minus between the two designs?

[Scott]

In a light to moderate sea I would say a well designed catamaran will ride very stable, be more fuel efficient, and be a great fishing platform. But I don't have enough experience aboard cruising/fishing (deeper hulled) cats to say how they perform compared to a v in heavy seas.

I know Sport Fishing Magazine did a review a World Cat (http://www.worldclasscatamarans.com) in the spring...

[Scott]

Here it is (http://www.sportfishingmag.com/articles/new/1,1909,14309,00.html?tollCat=&domainname=SF&category=HotSpots)

World Class Catamarans 226 Center Console

The marine industry considers me a major promoter of catamarans, and as such, I get to drive virtually all of them. I’ve discovered that, as with any type of product, you can find good and bad, expensive and inexpensive.

In the case of World Class Catamarans, you can rest assured that its boats have no superiors in terms of quality, attention to detail and performance, especially when it comes to fishing. (Just wait until you see its new 26-foot Tournament Edition Cat.) The newest World Cat model, the 226 Center Console, has more room than most any other 22-footer I’ve ever driven and handles snotty weather every bit as well as its larger siblings.

PERFORMANCE
Twin Yamaha 115-hp four-strokes hummed as they powered us out Palm Beach Inlet on a beautiful, Florida winter day. The shoreline blocked 15-mph southwest winds, keeping the seas to a civilized 2 to 3 feet offshore.

World Cats have planing hulls, but without a vee at the transom. The basic running surface of the 226 mirrors the larger 26 but with some slight changes. The company carried the beam a little farther forward, which gives more buoyancy and also moves the center of gravity forward. The result? A dry, smooth, comfortable ride on all points of sea.

Down-sea in our moderate conditions, the 226 tracked straight as an arrow with hands-off ease. Running straight into the seas (something cats don’t cotton to) we managed 31 mph, still smooth as silk, with the bow trimmed down.

To save wear and tear on Eastern Yacht Sales’ demo model, we went back inside to the Intracoastal Waterway for our speed runs, where the 226 proffered an upcurrent/downcurrent average of 40 mph top speed at 6,000 rpm while burning an average 21.5 gph. Pretty impressive fuel economy compared to carbureted engines. A more modest 3,900 rpm produced 30 mph but used a mere 11 gph total. I also managed to eke out 16 mph on one engine — quite enough to get you back to the dock should you ever have to shut one engine down.

I discovered that if you overtrim the engines and hit a big wake, the boat launches rather than cutting through the wave. However, it provides a landing that you’d expect from a deep vee, even though the World Cat’s planing hulls have a relatively flat radius curve to the bottoms.

FISHING
As you’d expect, the 226 Center Console offers open fishing area from bow to stern. Four custom-made, in-gunwale rod holders include much beefier pins in the bottom than the industry standard. A very large, in-transom fish box complements the livewell and 75-gallon, in-deck fish box aft. You’ll appreciate the stern seat on the way out to the fishing grounds, but then it can be removed for more unobstructed fishing area.

Though the 226 drifts beam-to the seas no matter what angle you start at, the roll moment — like most cats — is quicker than a monohull because it doesn’t roll as far. Drift fishing might take a little getting used to, so you’ll probably want to lean against the rail to brace yourself at first.

DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION
World Class Catamarans augments totally wood-free construction throughout with composite in the topsides and transom. Bi- and tri-axial fiberglass afford multidirectional strength.

What’s really unexpected (and welcome) is the lack of creaks and squeaks on a 22-footer. Hatches can be slammed hard with no ill effect. All hatches sport piano hinges and heavy-duty weather stripping. Even the stainless nuts holding on hinges have been glassed in to prevent any chance of oxidation. In fact, from Day One, when owner Forrest Munden bought the company, no World Cat has yet to experience a single hinge failure.

About the only change I would like to see (and World Cat is working on it) would be a ladder that could be deployed by a swimmer in the water rather than the ever-popular Armstrong “Christmas-tree” type. Ladders mounted on the transom can’t be reached by a swimmer.

Overall, I heartily commend World Cat. Sure, I’ve always been partial to its boats; they seemed about as good as anyone could make them. This 226 proved me wrong. It’s better than any other World Cat before it.

Sport Fishing (http://www.sportfishingmag.com/articles/new/1,1909,14309,00.html?tollCat=&domainname=SF&category=HotSpots)
March/2001

If you are considering a Catamaran for offshore fishing you should take a look at the FinCat boats built by Parker Marine

www.rodnreel.com/parkermarine/