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Old 01-11-2015, 08:16 AM   #1
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Power cats

Now that's it's winter in most parts of the country, I spend my time dreaming of what boat I want next. I started looking at Nordic Tugs, American Tugs, Monks, all very nice boats. I also saw a power cat. WOW! They are like a living room on the water. I have been on a sailing cat, a 46 foot. We had 8 people and never ran out of room. Anyone have experience on a power cat? Is the fuel economy good? How about ocean travel? How about docking? It's winter, may as well dream!
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Old 01-11-2015, 09:19 AM   #2
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I owned a PDQ 34 for seven years. Wonderful boat for Coastal cruising. I had twin 75 Yanmars and cruised about 13kts with a burn of 4.5 gph. Lots of info on these powercats online. Here is the short list of pro's and con's in my opinion.
Pros:
16.5' Beam - Lots of Room for the 34' Length
Shallow Draft - We could anchor and go where others dared not go.
Dual Helm Stations - All weather Comfort
Fuel Efficient - Twin Sponsons (Narrow Hulls) slice the water w/little wake
Con's:
Engine Access - Under aft staterooms and tight.
Access - Everything required steps, 5 levels on this boat. (Knees get a workout)
Beam Seas - Snap roll on all cats require you to adjust the angle of seas.
Fugly - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Not a "shipy" look, untraditional.
The admiral and I enjoyed this boat but our next boat will be different. Got my eye on a Grand Banks 42 for the next round. I'm sure others will chime in. Regards, Slowpoke
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Old 01-11-2015, 09:38 AM   #3
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Greetings,
Mr. 613. I have been on a couple of power cats (PC) and the only thing I care to comment on has been mentioned by Mr. Sp...engine access. I refer to the "Stand up ER" thread. I am past the age where I am able to pretzle-ize my tired old body to the extent that seems necessary for servicing an engine in a PC. Granted, due to the ease at which a PC can be driven, the engines are much smaller but so is the containment space.
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Old 01-11-2015, 09:42 AM   #4
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I've had a little experience. I spent several days diving off a steel 70' trawler Cat " Sea Sport". We were on the edge of a typhoon on the Barrier Reef. Big seas, the ride was pretty good but the tunnel was really pounding. We dove in conditions that I don't think you could do off a 70' mono hull. I got pretty sea sick from the motion, I'm normally pretty good. The ride was very stable just different. If you notice most new ferry's and tour boats are cat's. If you can afford the added cost of buying and berthing they offer speed and efficiency unmatched buy monohulls.
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Old 01-11-2015, 09:57 AM   #5
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You mentioned that you were aboard a Power Cat, but which one, what length? These boats represent a wide spectrum of value, accommodation and sea-worthiness. I think the best value on the market are the used PDQ 34's. If you're not big and stiff like me, they have the bulk of what cruisers want. Economy, near 20 knot capability with the newer 4 blade props, storage, separate shower, dual stateroom, good visibility, a center axis lower helm, great quality and reliable power systems. They are great for jaunts to the Bahamas and coastal. The PDQ 41 is just as efficient and even more of the same theme, but handles blue water pretty darned good.

Endeavour 36, 40, 44 and 48 boats are cavernous condos on keels, especially the 40 and 48 Skylounge boats. They are less efficient but even the 36 has three staterooms. Heads are famously huge, always with separate showers, "even the 30 sailcat". You can't beat them for the feeling of a residence upon the water, and service access is pretty well thought out. The older 36 and 44 models appeal to the sailboat type and are low profile pilothouse boats that are not famous for good looks, but are practical, if not a bit noisy. The 36 suffers a bit from a low bridge-deck clearance, making it sneeze more often. Expect 15 or more knots top speed.

The Lagoon 43 and 44 Power-cats are fat and wide (21') and feature this huge master stateroom that is more impressive in photos than in reality. It spans the hulls aft, so a king bed is easy, but is hardly full height. You can walk from one hull to the other, but in an uncomfortable stoop. There's a wet-head (combo shower and head) on each side of the stateroom, but usually owners dedicate one or the other for the shower-only side, and the other side for the head. The guest stateroom is small but livable in the owners version. Charter versions have the master split in half, which in my opinion, is a better use of space. They are pretty sexy looking for a cat, and efficiency is only so-so, but they also have a reputation for "slamming", indicating that the bridge deck is too low for the design. Any cat can slam, but for that kind of money, no thanks. Upper teens in speed.

Fontaine Pajot offers some decent used deals with their 35 and 37' models, but in design and value, I'd much prefer the 37 "Maryland". Good economy at trawler speeds, decent turn of speed in mid to upper teens, and adequate layout with a galley up and a stateroom and head in each hull. For a couple, you can turn one stateroom into storage and live in the other cuz storage is not the shining point of this design. Access to service is tight but what would one expect in a narrow hull. The later 40, 44 and 46 models are built for charter in mind but have owners versions that are very nice. The Charter possibilities for these boats seem to keep the design leaning that way instead of being mindful of live-aboard potential, and they are a lot of $$$.

Leopard 37, 38 and 47 boats were (not sure if they still are) coming over on their own bottoms, and that says something about the confidence in those boats. These are darned efficient hulls and the only production cats to challenge the PDQ's in my opinion. Assuming you're not looking for new, some of the original 37 Charter boats are coming off lease and will likely show up on Yachtworld, but the later 38 is worth waiting for...nice boat. Same basic layout as the Fontaine Pajot 37 Maryland in the owners version, but the Charter version will likely have three staterooms. More convenient height and interior access than the 37. The 47 is a monster of a boat and unless you plan on entertaining, it might not be worth the extra cash to the average cruiser. The huge beam will eliminate a lot of marina possibilities.

Another mention might be the Africat 42. It's efficient, broad and nice quality. Service access is decent and must make a pretty good live-aboard cruiser. Again, an eye toward eventual charter possibilities influenced the boat, but the owners version is really nice, also fairly comfortable with jaunts off-shore (although ocean crossing is not it's forte). It's a rich looking/feeling boat.

One more of interest may be the Manta. Big and luxurious, but the layout is surprisingly conventional, high quality and fairly efficient. Very nice pilothouse, and of course, like all the above, acres of deck space. Typically big bucks on the used market.

My advice to you is if you really want to consider a Power-Cat, head on down to the Islands and rent one for a week or so from any of the Charter companies like Mooring's in Tortola, for example. You'll find the occasional semi-custom cat for sale on Yachtworld that found it's way to the US via Charter service in the Islands. They are interesting to view but might have a lot of hours on them. Like always, it's buyer beware. Have fun looking.
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Old 01-11-2015, 02:53 PM   #6
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613 multihulls like monos come in many varieties with different characteristics and it is difficult to pin down what one particular boat will do by labeling it a power cat. The best you can hope for is some generalities relative to a FD or SD trawler. More beam for a given length-Less weight carrying ability before performance dives-usually high sided(free board) to get interior room- If keep light good speed and fuel burn #s- With widely separated twins excellent tight quarter maneuverability-A different motion in a sea way than a mono some like some don't-lots of deck space relative to a mono-A different aesthetic presentation it takes some getting used to- shoal draft and often bleachable. The ability to find dock space in some areas can be a significant limitation. The shoal draft often compensates by allowing anchoring close to shore in crowded areas. A high quality multi can be expensive due to need for light strong construction. A common problem is overloading with weight a fat cat does not move as well as a svelte cat.
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Old 01-11-2015, 03:03 PM   #7
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Our neighbor sold their 46 Nordhavn and bought a 44' Endeavor PowerCat. They liked the Nordhavn but realized their cruising grounds were FL, the ICW and maybe the Bahamas. They stand by their decision.
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Old 01-11-2015, 03:38 PM   #8
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Our neighbor sold their 46 Nordhavn and bought a 44' Endeavor PowerCat. They liked the Nordhavn but realized their cruising grounds were FL, the ICW and maybe the Bahamas. They stand by their decision.
The 44' Endeavour Trawlercat is very impressive, specially the keel protection for the shaft and prop and the under 3' draft. The almost 19' beam scares me and limits your slip and marina choices.
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Old 01-11-2015, 03:51 PM   #9
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The 44' Endeavour Trawlercat is very impressive, specially the keel protection for the shaft and prop and the under 3' draft. The almost 19' beam scares me and limits your slip and marina choices.
Same here on the beam. When we were in the PNW, slips in the 40' range were hard enough to come by with out the extra beam. We're now at Ortega Landing Marina, JAX and they charge Cats an additional $3.30/month. I'm not sure that's fair since we have a 15'8" beam (with rub rails). It's no wonder some marinas are going to a sq ft rate since some of the FD boats have such a large beam.
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Old 01-12-2015, 11:41 AM   #10
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Endeavour 36, 40, 44 and 48 boats are cavernous condos on keels, especially the 40 and 48 Skylounge boats. They are less efficient but even the 36 has three staterooms. Heads are famously huge, always with separate showers, "even the 30 sailcat". You can't beat them for the feeling of a residence upon the water, and service access is pretty well thought out. The older 36 and 44 models appeal to the sailboat type and are low profile pilothouse boats that are not famous for good looks, but are practical, if not a bit noisy. The 36 suffers a bit from a low bridge-deck clearance, making it sneeze more often. Expect 15 or more knots top speed.
We just called this morning on an Endeavour 36 listed on YW and found it was sold. Seems like buyers are snapping up boats now. There are more than a few Endeavour 44's but they are much more boat than we are looking for. A 16' beam is about as wide as I want to go.
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Old 01-12-2015, 11:54 AM   #11
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My main concern would be the slip availability. However on our travels up the ICW we saw many and most seem to make do.
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Old 01-12-2015, 02:25 PM   #12
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We just called this morning on an Endeavour 36 listed on YW and found it was sold. Seems like buyers are snapping up boats now. There are more than a few Endeavour 44's but they are much more boat than we are looking for. A 16' beam is about as wide as I want to go.
The Endeavour 36, 38 and 40 are all 16' or under. Timejet is right though.....seems as if the Cats always make due and their blogs reflect a "no problem" type attitude. If you want to stay at 16 or under beam, don't forget to check out the PDQ 34 also. It's truly the sports-car of Catamarans. Yes, the service areas are tight, as with most cats, but the assets are many. Cats are all weight sensitive, so begin with an efficient boat. There was a guy just here in Indiantown with an Endeavour 40 Sky Lounge that was equipped with twin Yanmar twin-turbo V8's at 380 HP each. With tankage full, she was too heavy and plowed badly (how un-cat like). At 8 knots, the owner reported a huge wake that kept the radios busy telling them about it. This is not at all "Cat" behavior, and the consequence is mucho fuel consumption.
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Old 01-12-2015, 03:51 PM   #13
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A lot of Cats have been mentioned above and their strong points covered well. I wanted to mention one other I didn't see mentioned. Horizon Yachts has two power cats, a PC 52 and a PC 60. I've not been aboard either but a friend has and loved them. I know out of the size range the OP is probably looking but just wanted to mention it as it's a traditional power motoryacht builder offering one.
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Old 01-13-2015, 02:52 PM   #14
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Same here on the beam. When we were in the PNW, slips in the 40' range were hard enough to come by with out the extra beam. We're now at Ortega Landing Marina, JAX and they charge Cats an additional $3.30/month. I'm not sure that's fair since we have a 15'8" beam (with rub rails). It's no wonder some marinas are going to a sq ft rate since some of the FD boats have such a large beam.
Many European Marinas use the square measurement.

But 19' is only 3' more than the KK, and I have not men in that many places where the three feet would have made a big diff.
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Old 01-13-2015, 03:48 PM   #15
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Richard: Sorry, the $3.30/month is per foot. My bad. For me that would be another $140/month.
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Old 01-13-2015, 07:33 PM   #16
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Like others and eyschulman said particularly well, there are pros and cons to every design, and it's difficult to generalize. I think whether or not a cat would make you happy will depend in large part on your intended use, and the waters you will use it on (as with any boat).


They do offer an eye-popping amount of interior space for the length. My own biggest personal concern with any cat design is slamming - when the waves get big enough that the bottom of the bridge deck starts pounding in the water. That can very quickly make a stable ride get extremely unpleasant. The air draft between the bridge deck and the water varies by design, but for most "mid size" cats' it seems to be around 3-4 ft.


I've known so many people who have said, "we just won't go out in bad weather". Very few people intentionally choose to go out in bad weather. It's not what you choose to go out in, but what you're unintentionally caught out in. For us, at least a few times every season, we find ourselves out in waves that are over 4-5 ft high (and occasionally worse), which would preclude a cat for us.


Real world boating can be very different from touring a boat at a boat show in perfect conditions. If you have a high degree of confidence that you won't find yourself in rough seas in the waters you boat in, cats can be a lot of boat for the money.


Aesthetics are another, purely personal, matter. There is absolutely no right or wrong with personal preferences. I personally prefer a traditional design, but others like things very different.
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Old 01-15-2015, 05:48 AM   #17
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Power cats

Here are some link to a couple of nice powercats I wish I could afford. Both are designed to be ocean going passagemakers with long range.

http://pathfinderpowercats.com
http://pathfinderpowercats.com/wp-co...d-1F9A6322.jpg

http://domino20.com
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7KR-pAjd8z...rotector31.jpg

These people have travelled halfway around the world in their Malcolm Tennant designed Domino 20 from Paraguay to the U.S. And are now in New Caladonia http://dominocatamaran.blogspot.com.au

The Pathfinder has fantastic engine access!
http://pathfinderpowercats.com/wp-co...9/1F9A4114.jpg



And here is a good youtube clip of another Malcolm Tennant cat
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Old 01-15-2015, 06:48 PM   #18
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power cats

WOW! I didn't expect such a great response. Thanks. I'm still in the dream stage. I want to stay under 16 ft. beam. That limits the choices. I need to do some serious searching this season. I appreciate all the advice and research.
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Old 01-19-2015, 09:26 AM   #19
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The Maine Cat to me is hands down best of breed.
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Old 01-19-2015, 09:26 AM   #20
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