Searching for power cat plans

Discussion in 'Powerboats' started by kenfyoozed, Sep 15, 2020.

  1. kenfyoozed
    Joined: Mar 2005
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    Location: mobile, al

    kenfyoozed Junior Member

    Hello, I have a 25' pontoon, actually tritoon that the family loves. They love the stability and size. Its great for the rivers and bay when its slick. For me I'm ok up to 2' chop but it scares the family and rightfully so. We have also started fishing and have enjoyed it. This was a shock to us all so we got a small 18' CC blazer bay. Its great in the delta rivers but horrible in any chop and its a bit cramped for 4 people trying to fish. So we need a larger boat. I would like to combine the stability and space of a pontoon platform with the seaworthiness of a nearshore/bay boat. We live in Mobile, AL. As of now fish mainly the delta and bay but want to be able to run out to the gulf reefs on good days and be able to get back safely if the weather picks up. At first I thought about some sort of cabin boat to the the wife dry, but she expressed that she hates the pounding of the hull while on plane worse than getting a little wet. Our fishing would be 40% river, 40% bay and 20% gulf .So I am leaning towards a power cat.

    These are my requirements:
    -24' range
    -Dry smooth ride
    -Center Console
    -Front casting deck
    -Able to use a trolling motor for fishing the rivers plus spot lock while on reefs
    -Speed: cruising 25mph +/-, top speed 40+( can live without a high top speed but would be nice)
    -Enough room behind the console for 6' benches on the sides that could be doubled a couches/bunks to catch some sun or a nap

    The plans I have found so far and my thoughts.....
    -Stormcat- older design. Not many pictures of any built, Possibly heavy
    -Wildcat - again older design. Seems there may be an issue with hull slap even at rest.
    -Cat 22- stitch and glue design which I prefer, but shorter than I want. If this could be stretched, it would almost be perfect.

    If you have any thoughts, ideas or directions please let me know. I have searching for about 2 months now and seem to going in circles. I could use the fresh ideas and interchange of opinions.

    And just for a bit of boat ****.... I love the look of the tideline 235
    [​IMG]
     
  2. bajansailor
    Joined: Oct 2007
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    bajansailor Marine Surveyor

    Ken, is your heart set on building a boat yourself?

    If not, then it will be much cheaper / easier / quicker to buy a second hand boat - maybe a tideline 235?
     
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  3. kenfyoozed
    Joined: Mar 2005
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    kenfyoozed Junior Member

    right now I'm set on building.... wanting a lighter boat than production
     
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  4. Mr Efficiency
    Joined: Oct 2010
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    Lighter boats tend to be flighty and not ride so well. Are you thinking of a trailing weight limit ?
     
  5. kenfyoozed
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    kenfyoozed Junior Member

    I do not have a weight limit only a beam limit of 8'6" for trailering.
     
  6. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    There is seemingly not a lot of plywood plans available for power cats, and part of the reason for that might be that cats have a lot more individual panels, like more than twice as many as a monohull, so the demand may be limited. There are a couple of threads on this site where people have requested such plans, but not much was unearthed, but the Storm Cat did keep popping up.
     
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  7. bajansailor
    Joined: Oct 2007
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    bajansailor Marine Surveyor

    I scribbled the notes below, and then noticed that Kenfy has specified a maximum beam of 8'6" - ooops.
    Yes, that will definitely restrict your choice of boats.
    But you might still find some interesting ideas below (?)

    Richard Woods has designed 20' and 24' Skoota power cats - instead of having a cabin you could perhaps fit a centre console instead?
    Sailing Catamarans - Skoota Power Cats Introduction (includes study pack) http://sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/6-powercats/190-skoota-power-cats

    Sailing Catamarans - Skoota 24 trailable centre cockpit weekender http://sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/6-powercats/263-skoota-24

    Or how about a Schionning Prowler VT650?
    Prowler VT650 http://www.schionningdesigns.com.au/prowler-vt650

    Or a wee 20' power cat from Derek Kelsall?
    Catamarans - Kelsall Catamarans - KSS P20Fma http://www.kelsall.com/Designs/KSSP20fma.htm

    These folk in Australia (yes, I know, a long way from Alabama!) build a 5.5 m aluminium catamaran in kit form - it is 7'6" wide :
    5.5m Seacat by Seatamer, Fishing | Turtle Marine https://www.turtlemarine.com.au/shop/product/61962/5-5m-seacat-by-seatamer/

    And while this boat is not available in plan form or even as a kit, she is still a very neat design for reference - a 5.25 m. fibreglass powercat built in England.
    Powercat 525 recreational - The Multihull Centre https://www.multihullcentre.com/powercat-525-recreational/

    Maybe a slightly stretched Eco Cat? Although she is already 2 1/2" over the 8' beam limit.
    Eco 5 Power Cat - Small Boats Magazine https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/eco-cat/

    ECO 55 Power Cat Plans https://www.duckworks.com/product-p/bk-eco55p-id.htm
     
  8. kenfyoozed
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    kenfyoozed Junior Member

    I would like to see more from the storm cat but not a lot of info out there that I can find.

    In my search I found the inverted-v sea sled designs. I don't think they would do great in 1-2' chop or off shore.....
     
  9. kenfyoozed
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    kenfyoozed Junior Member

    i like the vt650 but the price for the plans are crazy expensive....
     
  10. bajansailor
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    bajansailor Marine Surveyor

    http://www.schionningdesigns.com.au/construction-plans

    They mention that the cost of the plans for the VT650 is AUS$ 3,250 - it certainly seems like a lot, but it will probably still be only a relatively small percentage of the total cost of materials (including engines) to build and outfit this boat.

    Re the sea sleds, @DogCavalry is the gentleman to talk to on this Forum about them - he is currently building one to his own design, and is doing a grand job of it.
    Get yourself a mug of tea (or a beer) and have a read through the thread that he started almost a year ago, and which is being updated all the time re his progress - he is now up to page 38, and 559 replies.
    Sea Sled madness. It’s in my brain. https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/sea-sled-madness-it%E2%80%99s-in-my-brain.63079/
    I think that John might politely disagree with you re the rough water capability of a sea sled.
     
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  11. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    There was a thread or two where the Storm Cat was under discussion, and in that was included pictures of one that was built in alloy, for use somewhere in the South Pacific islands. If you put "storm cat plans" in the search box, a few threads pop up, including this one:
    Cat Build (power) https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/cat-build-power.59336/
     
  12. fallguy
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    fallguy Senior Member

    If you build in foam, I strongly recommend you check duflex. They might even have a plan.
     
  13. Alik
    Joined: Jul 2003
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    Alik Senior Member

    We have a lot of cat plans, but mostly of larger size. This one is in aluminum, 9.2m, suitable to carry 12pax or 2 tons of cargo on deck...
     

    Attached Files:

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  14. bajansailor
    Joined: Oct 2007
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    bajansailor Marine Surveyor

    Albert, I was trying to find this boat on your website, but I couldn't - have you got a link to it please?
     

  15. Ad Hoc
    Joined: Oct 2008
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    Ad Hoc Naval Architect

    We designed a simple small aluminium cat several years ago... used outboard drives:

    Front View-TH.jpg Profile View-TH.jpg
     
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