Looking to Pay someone to take me out on a Tomcat

[Larkin]

Hi,
I "think" I want to buy a Tomcat. Really wanted to pay someone to take me out on one to get a feel of how she handles chop & how a catamaran "dives & turns". I'm in the middle of nowhere (Middle of Texas), so no one that I know of is close. I'm more than willing to pay for gas & time & extra for this help. Willing fly or drive to wherever someone is. I would really appreciate it, & make it worth your time dollars & effort to take me out.
Regards,
Larkin Hood
325-451-0005

[DayBreak]

[thataway]

There is a C Brat map-with each type of boat and its approximate location. This seems to be broken. There is also a member and our C Dory list. These can be sorted by city/state, to find one near you. It is worth a gamble, to check any towns (Like Dallas or Houston, Brownsville) to see if any Tom Cats there. Many CBrats would give you a ride--no pay. Actually if a boater accepts a fee for taking a ride, this runs afoul of Coast Guard regulations, and in rare cases could be prosecuted. There used to be a couple of Tom Cats in the Clear Lake area of Texas. Not sure now.

Another approach is to go to boats for sale sights, and find a Tom Cat for sale. Contact the owner, tell them what you want to know. When was considering a new Tom Cat 255, a C Brat in Calif gave me a ride, and our dealer in Florida also gave me a ride. I had also taken demo rides on many other catamarans before focusing on the C Dory. The reason was the C Dory had the most usable layout for cruising, There are a few others on the market now which also have a good layout. Plus I am friends who is building cats in Mexico, and was bringing the boats into the US. So far he has not built a pilot house model. Since I like the hulls, if I were able I would help him design the layout, and I suspect he would build it.

[-Waypoint-]

Dr. Bob brought up a good point with money transactions for boat rides. If you find a license captain that owns a boat that your interested in, then you can pay for the ride. Coastguard even states that payment includes any form of fuel, food, beverages, and money. It would be rude to refuse right?

[gulfcoast john]

Hi Larkin,

We have let many couples over the past 12 years check out Cat O’ Mine in it’s dry slip (mostly Loop Planners), and had 175 folks board our boat at the Jan 2022 AGLCA Rendezvous Looper Boat Crawl here in Ft Myers (including the now Gold CD26 Full Circle crew), and we wrote the only article on the AGLCA site about Looping in a trailer boat (Dec 2021 Loop Link, p 14-21 if you are a member). One couple bought a TC255 that we know of, another couple has one on order for this summer. We would be much closer to visit by car than going to the PNW if that works out for you.

We would also strongly advise attending the Hontoon Hoot to see ALL the other CD models that might fit your needs better than being solo in a TC255 esp when locking. We can’t think of any way to make it work with the common ‘dangling rope’ locks unless the lockmaster allows you to keep control with engines running, esp in locks that require a port side tie with a starboard side helm. Those ropes are cut short so they don’t get tangled in props. We wish the best to you, but we are worried about how it would work out.

PM if you want to explore our boat. We are at the Pink Shell resort marina until the Hontoon Hoot Mar 1-4. Again we advise climbing aboard all the CD models at Hontoon before deciding on which one is Right For You.

John

[Larkin]

Thank you John, Mark, Bob, & Gary for your input / advice. I greatly appreciate it.

Best Regards,
Larkin