by Lenny Rudow

Are cat boats really designed to flex like an airplane wing? Sure - in fact, to one degree or another, most modern high-quality boats are. I'm sure you remember the fable about the oak tree and the willow. As the wind blew stronger and stronger, the willow bent over farther and farther. But the oak tree stood firm, and refused to bend. Soon the oak's roots were ripped out of the ground, and it came crashing down. The willow, meanwhile, survived the wind without sustaining any permanent damage. When it calmed down, the willow simply sprang back upright again. Believe it or not, boats are exactly the same way-whether they're built of fiberglass, steel, wood, or any combination of these materials.

A well built cat will flex just the right amount. Note how these high-stress areas on this Glacier Bay haven't cracked at all, despite years of hard use.

by Lenny Rudow

Cat Advantage 9: Cats are easy to learn to drive


Get into an outboard-powered monohull of your choice, trim the engine(s) all the way down, and run fast into a following or a head sea. You’ll find that in most cases the bow digs in and shoves the boat off-kilter as it strikes the waves, because full trim is too much trim. The engine is forcing the bow down, even as it enters the water and buoyancy naturally forces it up. There's only one thing it can do - go off to one side or the other. An inexperienced boater may simply think the boat's design is flawed, but improper trim is the problem, and improper trim is usually the reason why a power cat might slew off in an odd direction, too.


Run a powercat with the incorrect trim, and it'll act just as weirdly as a monohull would. Unfortunately, few inexperienced boaters think to adjust the trim regularly and as a result, are left with the impression that the cat they're riding, and maybe all cats, act strangely because of a design problem. Not so.


The key thing to remember here is that some cats are very trim-sensitive (others aren't to the same degree) and a competent operator will constantly adjust the trim to match conditions. In most cases it's a good idea to start off with the trim set at neutral, and make minor tweaks up or down until the most comfortable position is reached.


Often, weight distribution plays a role in this problem as well. When everyone aboard is on one side of the boat, causing a notable list, the hull on that side of the boat will dig in more than the other. Naturally, this causes the boat to angle off in the direction of the excessively submerged hull when it strikes waves. Alleviating this problem is easy: trim the opposite hull's engine down, and the over-weighted hull's engine up. This will return the boat to a level riding position, and end the angles.

Even with all four anglers hooked up and fighting fish from the same side of the boat,  static stability on this Glacier Bay 22 is far better then the norm.

Remember that many cats are weight-sensitive forward of the helm, and that this symptom can be exacerbated if you add a lot of weight to the bow. The bottom line is that you want the two hulls riding evenly through the water. Forcing them to do otherwise can create undesirable riding characteristics, for sure--just as it would do with a monohull, or any other type of boat on the water. But if you take the time and effort to run the boat properly, cats don't exhibit these problems any more or less then monos. In fact, in many cases a properly-operated cat will remain more level and straight when running then many monohulls, particularly wide-beam deep-V's with lots of deadrise, which often tend to shoot off in one direction or another when climbing the back of a wave in following seas. Which is "worse" when you take these issues into account? That's a call every individual has to make on his or her own. Just remember that all boats have their plusses and minuses, and those minuses will be made worse if the boat's not being run properly. That can lead to rumors like this one--rumors that aren’t accurate, in the least.

Yup, she's still sitting level with us all on one side

Cat Advantage #10: Cats are very stable in rough seas

How do ridiculous rumors get started? We all remember that lesson in school, where everyone made a circle and whispered a sentence into the ear of the person next to them. By the time it made it all the way around the room, that sentence bore little resemblance to the original one. Well, the same thing happens in real life. An example: As a die-hard cat fan (and owner) I was disturbed to hear that someone had flipped an 18' Nautico powercat in the Ocean City inlet. So I did some investigation, and eventually confirmed that it was true. Yes, it happened--in the middle of the night, while the boat was being operated by a drunk captain, and an opposing current and 25-knot winds had created six to eight foot waves. Now, you can't find an 18' boat on the face of the planet which wouldn't have been at risk of flipping in this situation. Yet somehow, news of this event was taken by many (mono hull dealers, anyway), as evidence that cats flip in rough seas.

I've logged about 3,000 hours in powercats ranging in size from 18' to 26', and have encountered plenty of nasty seas and several summer squalls with intense wind. But I have yet to worry about flipping over in one. In fact, if anything the enhanced stability of a cat makes it less likely to flip than a monohull, not more likely. And as a general rule of thumb, the fact that a powercat is significantly more stable than a monohull of the same approximate size and weight isn't in dispute--not even by monohull salesmen and builders.

Of course, we haven't even discussed the fact that all cats are different anyway, just as all monohulls are different. Would someone assert that all monohulls are bumpy, because they rode through a tight chop in one that had a flat bottom? Of course not. All cats are unique too, and to lump a displacement cat like Glacier Bay's 26 Canyon Runner in with a semi-displacement cat like a World Cat is patently ridiculous. Nor have we addressed the fact that most powerboats which flip do so after being swamped--not while they're running through the seas.

Maybe you've heard this rumor yourself, and maybe it even came from a relatively reliable source. So don't take my word for it. Google "powercat boat flip," and see what you come up with. You'll see some people who repeat the rumor without citing any source or event as evidence, but you won't find any Coast Guard figures, studies, or even reliable articles or design papers that back it up. And that's because the flipping cat rumor is just that--a rumor. And if you own a cat, as long as you don't go running through an incredibly rough inlet at night while drunk, in all likelihood the only thing that'll be flipping is the fish in your cooler.

Will it ever flip? Not likely - the enhanced stability of a cat is one reason why I bought a Cat

by Lenny Rudow


Cat Advantage 12: Strong resale value


If you're shopping for a new boat, one thing you might hear is that old cats have a low resale value. Someone might tell you the market for cat trade-ins is poor, and you'll have trouble moving a used cat. But if you've a savvy shopper, it might occur to you to check out the book value on used cats as opposed to used monohulls. You might check the NADA listings, and discover that a 2005 26' Glacier Bay Canyon Runner or a World Cat 250 has an average resale value that sits right in-between a 25' Grady-White and a 26' Sailfish. That sounds mighty strange for a boat that doesn't have a good resale value, doesn't it?


Here's the real scoop on re-selling a cat: it's no different than selling any other used boat. It may take a while to sell and you will have to find the right buyer, but believe me, he'll be out there. Want an example? When I sold my 2002 19' cat, in 2008--during the recession and one of the worst boat markets in memory, mind you--it took about five months. I ended up accepting a little over half of the boat's original "new" selling price. Considering that the boat was in good cosmetic shape but had about 600 hours on the engine, this is a perfectly acceptable, normal, common, average re-sale. And considering the state of the economy when it was sold, it's rather amazing that it didn't take even longer to sell. There were other people interested in the boat when it sold, and after the transaction was complete I had several other people get in touch with me. About half of them were extremely familiar with the specific model. And this leads us to an interesting little quirk about cats that sometimes makes them even easier to re-sell than your average monohull: people that experience them become dedicated fans.


The phenomenon is similar to that seen with a handful of classic monohulls, like the Bertram 31 or the Grady-White 208 Adventure. These boats were a tremendous success in their time, were copied by numerous builders, and have a following that has near cult-like dedication. The same is true, in a broader sense, of cats. When an experienced cat owner goes looking for a new mid-sized center console, he's likely to whittle down the field to two or three models--say, that Glacier Bay Canyon Runner or World Cat 250—and focus on them with an intensity. A monohull owner, on the other hand, is likely to go looking at a zillion different model 24' to 27' center consoles, until he finds one that fits. Here's another example I can give you first-hand: when I wanted to up-size from the 19' I knew I wanted a 22' Glacier Bay, period. I looked at a half a dozen hulls before finding the one that I thought was priced right and in the proper condition, and pulled the trigger in short order.


The bottom line? None of us buy boats as "investments," we buy them because we want to use them. But at the same time, we don't want to make a ruinous decision. Lucky for us, this isn't likely to be a problem, for a cat owner.

Some cats have cult-like followings, and selling them is no harder then selling popular monohulls.

by Lenny Rudow

Cat Advantage 2: Modern cats have shearlines like a traditional boat
Should form follow function, or vice-versa? How you answer this question probably determines whether or not you'd ever consider owning a powercat. Do they look different then monohulls? Of course they do, with very few exceptions. And if this is more important to you then a smooth ride, high efficiency, enhanced stability, and all the other benefits that go along with running a cat, all one can say is "I hope you enjoy your monohull, which will look great even if it beats you to a pulp."


Before we get too carried away with how silly this entire argument is in the first place, let's remember that monohulls aren't all "lookers" either. There's a heck of a difference between the visual appeal of a traditional Maine lobster boat, a modern center console, and a southern skimmer, for example. But you won’t hear a northern guy whine that his boat isn’t sleek-looking enough, nor will the offshore angler turn down a CC because of the swishy Euro-transom, nor will the die-hard shallow water redfish angler complain that his skimmer looks boxy. So, why all the beefing about the different looks of a cat? Because it’s an easy argument to make. It's no different than politicians slinging ad hominem mud. When a boat salesman has a potential customer in the showroom, criticizing the competing boat's looks takes no effort or logic, and scores easy points.


Again, it all comes down to what is important to you, as a boater. If looks are the number one concern, then you may well be turned off by many cats (though I would note that personally, I think Glacier Bay's 27 and World Cat’s new 32 are a couple of the hottest looking boats on the water). If performance or seakeeping are the most important factors, you’ll have no problem getting past the "different" look of a cat. Instead of a squared bow, you’ll see additional forward deck space and stowage areas. Instead of a boxy cabin, you'll see boosted interior volume. Instead of an unusual hullform, you’ll see a smooth ride and easy trailer loading. As with many things in life, what looks good is more a matter of how you see things, then it is of what you see.

Do you see "squared" or do you see "roomy"? This cat is only 22' LOA.

by Lenny Rudow

Cat Advantage 7: Experienced boaters prefer cats

In offshore powerboat racing, where catamarans go faster than V-hulls with equal amounts of power, EXPERIENCED BOATERS PREFER CATS. Or, in the ferry industry, where virtually all new high speed ferries are catamarans, EXPERIENCED BOATERS PREFER CATS.

I hate to sound like I'm tooting my own horn but I've been on boats since I was two years old; I've owned boats since I was a teenager; I tested boats for Boating Magazine for well over a decade and in doing so sea trialed literally thousands of fishing boats between 12' and 80'. So I think I can comfortably place myself in the category of "experienced" boaters. And yes, I personally prefer cats in many circumstances. Maybe even most.

The author has put over 200 hours of running time on 14 different models of powercats, including all of those pictured here. Does that count as "experienced?" We'll let you decide!

The bottom line is that I have a bad back, thanks to all those years of bouncing around on boats. Most of them were monohulls, and I've felt the bam-slap-crack of a fiberglass smacking a wave at high speed countless times. In 1996 I had my first full season with a cat, an 18' Nautico "project" boat which we used as a test-bed for new products and systems being reviewed by the magazine. Amazed at how little that boat hurt my back, I ran another cat project boat through the seasons of 1997 and 1998, all the while still spending plenty of time on monohulls both for Boating and on my own personal boat. In '99, it was back to a monohull. And in 2000 I bought a new boat of my own—my first cat. When we were boat shopping, at one point I told my wife I didn't think I'd even own a monohull again. I was wrong: I have two today for waterfowling, which monohulls are better for, thanks to a multitude of reasons like load bearing capabilities, construction materials, and design. But when it comes to boats between 18' and 35' used for fishing in open waters, when it comes to running through rough seas, when it comes to drift fishing, when it comes to trolling the canyons, when it come to dockside handling, when it comes to getting a single multi-purpose boat in this size range, this is one experienced boater who prefers catamarans to monohulls-period.

by Lenny Rudow

Cat Advantage #8: Modern cats have the same quality as a high-end mono hull

Look, let’s use some common sense: you can find high quality builders, low quality builders, and everything in between whether you’re talking about cat boats, monohull boats, or for that matter, cars or powertools.

Wait a sec—I know what you're thinking: "Hey Rudow, that's easy to say, but why don't you put your money where your mouth is?" Well, I already did. When I wanted to go from a single engine boat to twins last fall, I set out to find a Glacier Bay 22 that was 10 years old or more, with trashed engines. I knew darn well that I could strip a boat like this down to the hull, repower and rewire it, and have a boat that was solid and reliable. If I thought cats were built poorly, do you think I would have intentionally looked for a decade-old hull that I planned to run offshore with my own kids? I found the right boat in October of 08, followed my plan, and put 278 hours on it from last May through last week. So far, I've had zero problems with the boat's structure and major parts.Dead outboard #1 comes off of a 12 year old cat - which is otherwise in excellent shape

Dead outboard #1 comes off of a 12 year old cat - which is otherwise in excellent shape. Would I really seek out and repower a cat this old, if I didn't have confidence in its construction? The answer is obvious.

You want more evidence? When I ran "Project Boats" for Boating Magazine, I spent entire seasons testing boats of all makes and models. I would make a list of all the major items that broke during the year, and that list ranged from one thing to 26. On monohulls, an average of eight items per boat broke. On cats, the average was five. Yes, we had one cat that was a stinker with over 15 problems including a near-sinking due to faulty plumbing, but two of the monohulls also had major-league issues. And the company that built that bad kitty has since gone out of business—exactly what’s supposed to happen in a capitalist economy. If you build an inferior product, the marketplace will eliminate you. Done deal.

Would I really seek out and repower a cat this old, if I didn't have confidence in its construction? The answer is obvious

If you need still more evidence of workmanship in a cat (more then your own eyes show you when looking at the fit and finish and comparing it to other boats), then check out World Cat’s new 320CC. (You can read my full review of this boat at www.HookedOnFishingBoats.com). The entire hull of this boat is resin-infused. Resin infusion is a cutting-edge technique that sucks the fiberglass resin through the glass cloth under vacuum, which minimizes the weight of the final item while maximizing its strength. Many boat builders use resin infusion to create parts like hatch covers. But very, very few build their entire hull this way. Next, look at the T-top supports. They’re integrated into the console structure, windshield, and hard top. Again, this is something a mere handful of builders have been able to accomplish. You simply don’t find construction techniques like these on second-rate boats. In fact, you don’t find them on many first-rate boats. So please, look a little closer before believing this myth. Do your homework, and you won’t merely question its accuracy—you’ll laugh at it.

by Lenny Rudow

Cat Advantage 11: Cats love a head sea

Extraordinarily good head-sea performance is the exact reason many people, myself included, choose a cat in the first place.

Just look at a cat's bow, and your eyes will show you the first reason why this myth is as ridiculous as they come. Plenty of monohull brochures talk about a boat's "knife like" entry, but few monos have an entry that's anywhere nearly as sharp as the average cat's. As common sense tells you, a thinner entry means the boat can cut open waves instead of slamming against them. Meanwhile, the tunnel between the two hulls helps cushion the blows of a head sea by compressing air. Remember your basic hydraulics; water can't be compressed, but air can be. As a cat moves forward it crams air in-between the boat's hulls, the tunnel, and the water, creating an air-water slurry that acts as a cushion. The whooshing noises you often hear when running a cat are that compressed air escaping. And this is also why some cats "sneeze," or shoot a fine puff of mist out, as the air gets pushed forward. Yes, sneezing is one of the potential down-sides to owning a cat (most newer designs have eliminated or greatly reduced the problem, but some still do it to one degree or another.) For those of us who have bad backs due to decades of pounding through the seas in relatively small monohulls, however, a puff of mist is a small price to pay for greatly reduce pounding.

The tunnel compresses air, creating an air/water slurry that cushions the blows.

So how could this myth have ever come into being? Maybe overzealous monohull salesmen, or maybe some people charged full-tilt into an eight foot head sea and expected the boat to remain perfectly level. It could also be that people have mistaken tunnel slap for a "bad" ride. So let's clear the air on tunnel slap: this pounding sensation occurs when a wave strikes the underside of the tunnel, and it feels a lot like a monohull slamming into a wave. In short, the sensation stinks. There are a few cat models out there with endemic tunnel slap problems, but most of the time this is the result of an overload situation. You have to remember that cats are more weight-sensitive then monos, and if one's loaded down in the bow, tunnel slap can be the result. For this reason it's a far more common problem on cabin boats then on center consoles, particularly when a center console design has been modified to carry a cabin, thus changing its basic weight distribution. The problem can sometimes be mitigated by trimming the engines to bring up the bow, but the best way to avoid tunnel slap is to distribute the bulk of your weight load aft, and if you're looking at cats with cabins, choose one that was designed from the ground-up to carry one.

One other situation that should be addressed: many cats experience tunnel slap when motoring into a head sea at low RPM. Since the bow doesn't have any lift at speeds under eight MPH or so, the tunnel sits lower then the designed running attitude and may get whacked by a wave now and again. In my experience this is a pretty common phenomenon, but it's easily solved by either speeding up a bit or merely angling the bow a hair off the seas. A 10 to 15 degree course change is usually all it takes to eliminate the problem.

Let me briefly take you back to opening weekend of the 2010 striper season on the Chesapeake Bay. We had a 20 knot wind out of the north, and a 12 mile cruise dead into it to get home. But I knew my Glacier Bay really shines at its brightest when running into a head sea. And on the way home, cruising at our usual 25-mph in comfort, we passed several boats between 24' and 32' which were mushing through the slop at about 15 MPH. So here's my challenge to you: take out any modern reputable powercat and run it on plane into a head sea. Then get on any monohull you like of about the same size, and run it into the same head sea. I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that afterwards you'll agree that the cat rides smoother then the mono. I'll take French Crullers and glazed, please.

As air and water pass through the narrowing tunnel, they combine to create an aerated mixture that becomes compressed and increases in velocity. The ever-increasing compression and acceleration literally sucks the aerated mixture (and spray) aft. The increased velocity and pressure rushing beneath the hull creates an aerated water-cushioned suspension that works like a shock-absorption system, softening the ride, increasing stability and improving fuel efficiency. This is especially true in rough water.

by Lenny Rudow

Cat advantage 13: Cats are easier to trailer

One of the most stressful things about boating is trailering your boat. Fact: You're in more danger when trailering your boat then you are when running it on the water. Fact: Some folks believe trailering a powercat is tougher then trailering a monohull. Fact: They haven't ever owned a cat and trailered it regularly, or they'd know that this belief is pure fiction.

How can I state this without using the usual caveats, like "sometimes" or "often"? Because in my boating career I've owned five different monohull and five different cat trailerboats, and have had seasonal use of another six monohull and four cat trailerboats. That's not to mention participating in a dozen or so boat-test rallies where we launched literally dozens of boats in a day. And through time I've noticed that cats are generally easier, not harder, to load onto a trailer. Now, here comes one of those caveats: this is only true when the trailer is properly designed and rigged to carry the specific cat that's on it. I've encountered flat-bunk trailers and improperly-rigged cat trailers that were a nightmare, usually because someone played the mix-and-match game when they bought a used boat from one source and a trailer from a different one. Unfortunately, this happens quite often and is probably responsible for a lot of the misinformation out there.

Why do cat rigs load easier? Properly rigged cat trailers have twin bunks for the twin hulls, and when the bows hit them the boat is forced to line up properly along two points, instead of one. When a mono's hull greets the trailer the bow acts as a single pivot point, and is easily thrown out of alignment by the wind, current, or operator error. Not so, with multiple points of contact. Many cat trailers also have inner bunks which grab the hulls inside of the tunnel, and help to center the boat even more effectively.

Another often overlooked factor is the height of your out drives over the pavement. While outboard engines on V-hulls are centered over the lowest possible point of the hull, which sits at the lowest point on the trailer, cats carry their outboards off to the sides and they're usually well elevated. You forgot to tilt those engines up before yanking the trailer up the ramp? On some boats that can be a skeg-ripping, prop-killing event, but on cat rigs it's usually a non-issue.

There is a down-side to trailering cat rigs, though. Foot for foot they tend to be heavier then monos, so your load goes up even though LOA doesn't. Of course, we could also talk about how much more square-footage per LOA cats have versus monohulls, but that's a topic for another day.

Tilted all the way down (which puts the least amount of stress on your boat when trailering) the cat’s lower units are above the trailer frame. Not so for the monohull, even though it’s tilted up slightly.

By Dean Travis Clark of Sport Fishing Magazine

Cat Advantage 1: Cats track well in a following sea

Just like in a mono-hull if you trim the bow down this causes more resistance on the bow and can cause it to be more difficult to steer in a following sea. But if you trim the bow up, the boat will go up and over the following sea and it will drive beautifully. The following video shows the advantage.

by Dean Travis Clark of Sport Fishing Magazine

Cat Advantage #2: Modern powercats have traditional boat lines

When these boats were first introduced in the United States years ago they were unsightly. But through the years and from demands of American aesthetics these boats have come a long way, especially in comparison to the mono-hulls. They have a graceful shear line, round bow, and traditional lines.

by Dean Travis Clark of Sport Fishing Magazine

Cat Advantage 3: Cats are easy to drive and much more maneuverable than a monohull

These boats are no more awkward to drive than a mono-hull boat. All you need to know is how to operate the boat and it's instrument panel, which is required of all new boat owners. These boats can even be easier with greater pivoting points, etc.

by Dean Travis Clark of Sport Fishing Magazine

Cat Advantage 5: Cats drift well in a beam sea

Physics will totally show this advantage. Beaming in a Cat vs. a mono-hull with the stability on the outside. They are extremely stable and have been compared to a NFL lineman in a 3 point stance.  They just don't roll that much.

by Dean Travis Clark of Sport Fishing Magazine

Cat Advantage 12: Preserve your investment with a strong resale value

These are high quality boats that will retain a higher resale value. The PowerCat Group offers a 10yr warranty that is transferable up to 5yrs. If these boats were not high quality would they offer a 10yr warranty; try comparing this to any other manufacturer.

by Dean Travis Clark of Sport Fishing Magazine

Cat Advantage 7: Experienced boaters prefer cats

The really experienced boater prefers the benefits of a catamaran. Some of the advantages are better fuel economy (when trailered or on the water), more stable, easier to drive and trailer. Cat owners are also able to take their boat out more times per year because they are built to handle the following seas and the head seas and the mono-hulls are not.

by Dean Travis Clark of Sport Fishing Magazine

Cat Advantage 8: Modern cats have the same quality as a high-end mono hull

The PowerCat Group is certified, award wining and a growing company with a unique management style that has found a niche in the boating industry. Boat manufactures without high quality standards don’t succeed in this market or this economy. They currently build four different styles of catamarans which is a testament to their success in the industry.

By Dean Travis Clark of Sport Fishing Magazine

Cat Advantage #4: Modern cats can lean inboard when turning

The dynamics of these cat boat are truly amazing. Generally at low speeds in a Catamaran the boat is going to lean outboard, but at low speeds you are NOT likely to throw anyone out. At high rates of speeds a cat will lean inboard like a mono-hull.

By Dean Travis Clark of Sport Fishing Magazine

Cat Advantage #9: Cats are easy to learn to drive

With any boat, if the trimming is not correct on one hull or on a mono-hull boat it can dip without any apparent reason. But with the catamaran, one hull will dip lower than the other which in turn means you will not have balance until you adjust the trim, mono-hulls don't have this advantage.

By Dean Travis Clark of Sport Fishing Magazine

Cat Advantage #10: Cats are very stable in rough seas

At slow speeds with a head sea due to fluid dynamics if tunnel (space between the hulls) is blocked by a wave, then hit by another wave this myth could be true. However, the World Cat has a hydropod between the two hulls that breaks up the pressure that usually resolves this issue.

By Dean Travis Clark of Sport Fishing Magazine

Cat Advantage #14: Cat boats are designed to flex like an airplane wing

With all the strict global requirements of the boating industry do you think that they could produce something that would ultimately not perform and break in half and still be in business? We know of no-one in the industry that has ever heard of this happening before.

By Dean Travis Clark of Sport Fishing Magazine

Cat Advantage #13: Cats are easier to trailer

These boats do require a differently designed trailer with two guides, but this is not a disadvantage. Because of the tunnel between the two hulls this makes it more aerodynamic with less resistance, which means better fuel economy when towing.

By Dean Travis Clark of Sport Fishing Magazine

Cat Advantage #6: Cats are BEAUTIFUL in rough seas

The purpose of a catamaran is to handle the heavy seas; which is what they were designed to do. They were developed in South Africa to handle the heavy seas. Cats can be used when the bigger 50'-60' boaters go out on the heavy seas and can run as fast if not faster. The mono-hulls cannot compete with this in the bigger seas.