Aquasport Tournament Cat Hulls

[rsh19904]

I know aquasport made some of the cat type hulls, what years were they made and are they worth buying now?  Just wondering about it...I remember seeing one for sale a few wks. ago on e-bay and it was in SC and only went for about $7K and was late 80's or early 990's if memory serves me correctly...Just found a factory manual from 2002 said the 23' version with twin 135 e-rudes topped out at 50 mph and crusied around 40mph       Who on here had one, was it jim or rick??

Thanks in advance  

[RickK]

I've never had one.  The one posted (actually several over the last year) was a 16 or 165 though.  I vaguely remember a 23 ft version though from somewhere.
I've heard both good and bad about CATs - some say they cut right through the waves and some say the same but also that if the waves are tall enough to get close to filling the gap, it'll beat you to death.  
I know I saw a 50ft or so CAT behind us when we were coming in from a 4-6ft day - he didn't look to be moving at all and we were getting beat to near death.  

[rsh19904]

My wife and I kinda like the looks of them and just wanted to know if anyone had been on one? I've personally never been myself but hear they kinda "float" over the water on days with 2' chop?  Also hear they take less HP to run.

[billh1963]

I've never been on an Aquasport cat. I have been on several other makes and models and there is a huge variation in the ride based on design. Some cats are displacement and others are semi-planing/planing.

The only true way to know if you will like the ride is to test the EXACT boat you want to buy. I have heard stores that rides amongst the exact same hull will vary based on engine choices, t-top placement, etc. Some  of the ride characteristic comes down to weight distribution.

[RickK]

After the get-together yesterday we had pulled up and anchored at a small beach so that we could BBQ Brats/Italian sausages and soak in the 80 degree gulf water.  While soaking, a guy pulled up and anchored a beautiful 25ft Calcutta CAT and we got to talking about the performance - he said it is definitley NOT a rough water boat.  He says it'll beat you to death.  He said not too bad in 2-3 footers but that's max.

[rsh19904]

Hmmm...didn't know that and by the commercials for any cat you'd think they were the best bad weather boat around      Guess I'll stick with my deep v   8)

[Tim Bradford]

Just my opinion but…
Can't really compare a Calcutta to an offshore Cat (Glacier Bay; World Cat)  The Calcutta has a very specific intent (It's a fuel efficient semi-displacement hull designed and capable of floating in 12" of water.
It would be like comparing a 222 flatback to a CCP.

St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, Fla.  
Author: TERRY TOMALIN
Date: Jul 1, 2005
Section: SPORTS

 
Copyright Times Publishing Co. Jul 1, 2005
Steve Ellis couldn't help but smile when he picked up a newspaper recently and saw that the price of oil topped $60 a barrel.

"With the price of gas going up, people are looking for a boat that gets good fuel economy," said the builder of Calcutta boats. "People can't afford to spend a couple of hundred bucks every time they go offshore."

Ellis, a local financial planner who grew up fishing Tampa Bay, got into the business by accident.

"A friend and I were looking at boats, and I just couldn't find anything that would really suit my needs for a reasonable price," he said. "So I decided to build my own boat."

Ellis admired the durability and efficiency of sailing catamarans. He wanted to capture the sleek lines of an ocean-going cat in a powerboat.

"There were other catamarans on the market,'" he said. "But they all looked like boxes."

Ellis enlisted the help of Glen Henderson, a local sailboat builder, to design the sponsons and give the boat some visual appeal. But he did not want to sacrifice function for form. Ellis wanted a boat that had enough water line to cut through the slop and that was wide enough to support a tournament crew anchored in a chum slick.

The process began in 1996, and the first Calcutta 263 hit the market in 1998. With a 26-foot centerline and an 8-foot beam, the boat became an instant hit with Tampa Bay area anglers and divers.

"We have sold about 50 boats to date, but the majority of them have been in the local area," Ellis said.

Tournament anglers, such as cousins Jay and Larry Mastry, bought early models.

"They were both adamant about not wanting the expense and trouble of a twin-engine boat," Ellis said. "The Calcutta is the only cat boat that I know of in this size range that can be run with a single engine."

But the Mastrys usually don't venture too far from land. Larry Mastry, an avid tarpon angler, fishes the bay and the beach. Jay Mastry, a noted kingfish angler, has caught his share of winning fish within sight of land.

"They didn't need the redundancy that twins supply," Ellis said. "But there were still plenty of people out there that wanted two engines for safety reasons."

When fuel prices started to go through the roof, Ellis stopped receiving requests for boats rigged with two big engines.

"You have two big engines, you burn twice as much gas," Ellis said.

One customer who wanted fuel economy and the added safety of a second engine offshore asked if a pair of 90-horsepower motors would be powerful enough to get the 26-footer up on plane.

"We rigged the boat, and it runs just as fast as the one we have rigged with a 200," Ellis said.

Ellis said he has never needed to advertise. The Calcutta sells itself. "We bought our first ad in the Boat Trader last month," he said. "Up until now all of our business has been word of mouth."

When people ask Ellis about his boat, he likes to refer them to somebody who owns one.

Guy Oelze is a good example. The avid spearfisherman used to run a 47-foot Jersey yacht with 425-horsepower engines.

"I was around when they were designing the hull," Oelze said of the Calcutta. "I was impressed with the amount of thought that went into it. The boat is very fuel efficient. I have a Yamaha 225 four- stroke on mine, and I hardly burn any gas."

Jay Mastry agreed.

"I put more gas in my truck than I do in my boat," said Mastry, who fishes several days a week. "When people ask about the boat, I tell them that I don't a have a fuel bill any more."

The key to the Calcutta's fuel efficiency is its ability to ride on top of the waves. The boat is built light - 2800 pounds - and it can run with a smaller power plant. A smaller engine means the boat requires smaller fuel tanks, which means a further reduction in weight.

"The only way to describe it is a semi-displacement, semi- planing hull," Ellis said.

Mastry likens it to an air-hockey game. "I just rides like an air- hockey puck on a cushion of air," he said. "I guess there is just less drag on the hull."

Oelze also likes the Calcutta's open transom, designed with divers and anglers in mind.

"The stern literally sits about 4 inches above the water," Oelze said. "It is really easy for me to get back in the boat after a dive."

Mastry said the open transom also helps when he is tournament fishing.

"I've got easy access to water," he said. "It is really functional."

Ellis said he plans to make no major alterations to the Calcutta's hull. He believes the 26-foot catamaran is the perfect boat for Tampa Bay.

"It seems to work," he said. "Why change it?"

CALCUTTA 263

LENGTH: 26 feet, 3 inches

BEAM: 8 feet, 6 inches

DRAFT: 12 inches

WEIGHT: 2,800 pounds

FUEL CAPACITY: 126 gallons

NOTES: High-lift hull, maximum 400 horsepower

BASE PRICE: $44,900 (engines not included)

PERFORMANCE DATA:

WITH TWIN 90-HP MOTORS: Top speed 40 mph. Cruise at 30 mph at 9 gallons per hour. The top speed running on one motor is 25 mph.

WITH SINGLE 200 HP MOTOR: Top Speed 43 mph, Cruise at 30 mph at 10 gallons per hour. Cruise at 20 mph at 5 gallons per hour.

For more information on Calcutta boats, call Steve Ellis at (727) 458-4409.
 

[Tim Bradford]

Sorry almost forgot.. I have not been on an Aquasport 23 Cat underway   but I have seen 2 or 3 up close.  Here is a link for one that was local here in St. Pete (for those wanting to see one and if you are looking to get a feel for the market)
(I can't get the pics to link)

http://www.yachtshare.com/cgi-bin/displ ... l?bid=3767

[RickK]

That article described the boat I was next to, to the "T".  It had one engine (centered with a little "hull" under it in the water) and the sides of the hull stop, I'd guess, about 2ft from the transom on each side of the boat and drops right to the deck level leaving a gap between the hull side end and the transom leaving the whole back end in the open.  He did say there was a panel that you could flip up to "enclose" the aft from the bracket. It was not a particularly pretty boat though IMHO (...eye of the beholder). I asked him about following seas and he said it did fine. The guy's dog just walked off the side of the boat into the water.

Here is a link to their site and then click on the 26'3" link.

[rsh19904]

yeah, there's an aquasport cat for sale up in NJ and they wanted about 30K but it had a single 200/250? opti., trailer, etc..