Boating Magazine November article on the Tom Cat

[oldgrowth]

[thataway]

I have to disagree with the author--that twin 115 outboards would be adeuate. For the boat to handle properly, the 150's are a definate advantage in accelleration in heavy seas. One cannot take the handling of a light test boat and project how that boat will handle when loaded for actual use--a common error in magazine articles.

We find a comfortable speed to be 23 to 25 knots--and that the boat rides very nicely at 30 to 32 knots--in fact in heavy seas, does better at the higher speed.

I assume that the author meant that the Twin V 26 was $85,000 and the Tom Cat is $100,057--but I think that one would get a mighy bare bones Tom Cat 255 for that price--more realistically, the cost rigged with electronics and trailer is over $120,000--0n up.

I don't think that there is any comparison between the usability of the Twin Vee and the Tom Cat--the Twin Vee, basically has a box with a bunk on one side of it, screwed onto the deck-- We looked at several of the twin Vees-and they all had water on the matress/deck flooring etc.
But I am prejudiced!

[Brock]

I've been trying to find the time to register my opinion on this topic. When someone (other than my wife) suggests that my "equipment" might be less than adequate, I guess I feel the need to stand up and defend myself

I have 2001 Suzuki 115s on our 2006 TomCat (#16). I previously repowered a 1982 Tiara Pursuit with these engines and because our C-Dory dealer was also a Suzuki dealer, they were happy to put them on the TomCat for us. For various reasons, the Pursuit got very little use, so they only had about 50-60 hours on them. I paid "just" $7,500 each for these engines in Portland, ME in 2001. I believe they now go for about $10k-$11K each new, so I guess I got a pretty good deal. When I heard that the factory was recommending 230hp for the TomCat, it seemed a no brainer to slap on the 115s.

So far we have no regrets. We have not loaded the boat with a bunch of extras like t.v., microwave, stereo, radar, a.c. etc. Also, we take short trips (no time for cruising yet) and I never carry more than half the fuel and water capacity. I have only been through rough water once so far, and contrary to Bob's preference, I found going fast to be a bit uncomfortable. Maybe a heavier boat handles the rough water better at higher speeds? Bob may have a point about the extra horse power having an advantage in rough seas, my experience is likely a lot more limited than his.

I wouldn't hessitate to recommend the 115s for someone thinking of purchasing a new TomCat, especially if they won't be loading it down with extra people, gear, and accessories on a regular basis. I can't comment on the gas mileage because I don't have a fuel flow meter. Interestingly though, the top speed is about 37 mph, about the exact same as the Pursuit hull which weighed about 2000 lbs less. This must say something for the cat hull vs. the mono hull in design efficiency.

Anyway, like my wife says (God bless her), it's not the size of your equipment, it's how you use it!

I would be curious to here if any of the other TomCat owners who monitor this site have 115s and how they like them.

Tight lines,

Brock

[oldgrowth]

[thataway]

Brock
Thanks for the information. My neighbor has a TC 24 with 115's (Yahamas), so I have driven a much lighter boat with the 115's. The base Tom Cat 255 is considerably heavier. It will be interesting to see what type of fuel consumption you find with the TC 255 and the 115's and if it is much better at lets say 25 knots.

Last Sunday night we had 25 knots with 15 miles of fetch--we started up the bay at 6/8 knots--it banged the heck out of us. I asked Marie if she was up "going for it"--"Yep", so we immediately got up on a plane at about 25 knots and the boat smoothed out--there was some noise--and my bad back flared up a, couple of days later--but the boat rode much better. My comments about handling in rough seas were where I was in some 5 to 6 foot swells with 2 to 3 foot chop--and I found that the boat with more hp was much more controlable as it came up onto the larger swells.

We had a Rinker 270 Fiesta V--which weighed about the same as the Tom Cat 255--and had a 350 cu in 300 hp Bravo III duo prop. Our average fuel consumption at 25 knots gave 1.6 miles a gallon. The Tom Cat 255 with 300 hp twin Suzuki gives 2.3 -2.4 miles a gallon at 25 knots--so in our case the cat is more effecient with similar weight boats over the monohull (fuel flow meter). I am not sure that top speed is a measure of effeciency--since different boats need to be proped differently to achieve WOT. I don't know, but if you were hitting the rev limiter of the Suzuki, at 6000 RPM; a slightly larger pitch might give a higher top end--but that probably is not an issue for you.

My past experience in boats leads me to put the higher hp on, as most of us end up putting more weight on the boat. There is no question that our boat is loaded--and we enjoy the air conditioning and generator, as well as the microwave and TV, as well as food for several weeks etc. If we didn't want these, we would have purchased the Glacier Bay. But this is just our choice. I've lived in Richmond VA for two years+--and suspect that AC will be desirable if you do much summer overnighting. (It is almost manidtory in the Gulf Coast) Ed's superstore (if you do your own rigging) has the Suzuki 115's for $7,299 and the 150's for $9,299--or $2,000 more per motor current prices. This is less than 4% of the total cost of the boat. (Assuming that you have to buy motors, trailer, etc)

Glad that the boat is performing well with the 115's. Keep us posted on the fuel burn.

[Brock]

Bob,

Glad you found that the Suzuki's can still be bought for what I paid (even less, apparently). The price I quoted was what the C-Dory dealer told me they now charge for those engines. They seemed shocked when I told them what I paid for the 115s and said they couldn't touch that price. I guess if you're capable of rigging engines yourself, one can save a bundle.

Brock

[thataway]

The markup in the marine industry is huge. When I owned the boat building company I got OEM prices--60% off list, plus 10% more off for cash up front! (I don't know what current markups are--that was a number of years ago) Engines are not that much markup--but they are considerable. I was importing my own diesels at 50% of the US distributers selling price. Ed's Superstore is a "no bones" dealership not too far from where you live (Ashland, VA) and probably have the cheapest prices in the country on outboards. I didn't shop around because of my health problems when I purchased the Tom Cat--but many thousands could be saved by buying the boat bare and rigging it yourself.

Even on electronics one can save many thousands by working thru direct sellers on the internet--but one has to do their own installation.

[mikeporterinmd]

There was considerable variance in prices for battery chargers, panels
and shore power inlets, to be sure. The larger chains couldn't touch
the prices of the internet sellers.

Mike

[Pat Anderson]

Ed's Superstore price list on Suzuki outboards:

SUZUKI 4-STROKE OUTBOARDS
MOTOR PRICE MOTOR PRICE
9.9 HP 4-STROKE ELECTRIC START 20" SUZUKI $1,899 115 HP 4-STROKE EFI SUZUKI $7,299
25 HP 4-STROKE SUZUKI $2,499 140 HP 4-STROKE EFI SUZUKI $7,999
30 HP 4-STROKE TILLER 20" SUZUKI $2,999 150 HP 4-STROKE EFI SUZUKI $9,299
40 HP 4-STROKE EFI SUZUKI $4,499 175 HP 4-STROKE EFI SUZUKI $10,299
50 HP 4-STROKE EFI SUZUKI $4,999 200 HP 4-STROKE EFI SUZUKI $11,999
60 HP 4-STROKE EFI SUZUKI $5,299 225 HP 4-STROKE EFI SUZUKI $12,999
70 HP 4-STROKE EFI SUZUKI $5,999 250 HP 4-STROKE EFI SUZUKI $14,999
90 HP 4-STROKE EFI SUZUKI $6,499

And Yamaha:

YAMAHA 2-STROKE OUTBOARDS
MOTOR PRICE MOTOR PRICE
8 HP YAMAHA $1,399 V-MAX 150 HP 20" YAMAHA $7,499
9.9 HP YAMAHA $1,699 150 HP YAMAHA 25" $7,499
15 HP YAMAHA $1,899 V-MAX 200 HP EFI 20" YAMAHA $9,999
25 HP ELECTRIC LONG REMOTE YAMAHA $2,299 200 HP EFI 25" YAMAHA SALTWATER OX66 $9,499
50 HP YAMAHA $3,499 V-MAX 225 HP EFI 20" YAMAHA $10,499
60 HP YAMAHA $4,499 V-MAX 250 HP EFI 20" YAMAHA $10,999
90 HP YAMAHA $5,499 300 HP HPDI 25" YAMAHA $13,999
115 HP YAMAHA $6,499

YAMAHA 4-STROKE OUTBOARDS
MOTOR PRICE MOTOR PRICE
2.5 HP 4-STROKE YAMAHA $699

25 HP 4-STROKE YAMAHA 20"
$2,799
4 HP 4-STROKE YAMAHA

4 HP LONG 4-STROKE YAMAHA
$899 25 HP ELECTRIC START 4-STROKE YAMAHA $2,999
6 HP 4-STROKE YAMAHA

6 HP LONG 4-STROKE YAMAHA
$1,399 25 HP HIGH THRUST REMOTE 20" TNT 4-STROKE YAMAHA $3,499
8 HP 4-STROKE YAMAHA

8 HP LONG 4-STROKE YAMAHA
$1,499

40 HP TILLER LONG 4-STROKE YAMAHA
$3,799
8 HP HIGH THRUST ELECTRIC 20" 4-STROKE YAMAHA $1,799 40 HP 4-STROKE YAMAHA $4,299
8 HP HIGH THRUST ELECTRIC 20" TILT 4-STROKE YAMAHA $1,999 50 HP 4-STROKE EFI YAMAHA $4,799
8 HP HIGH THRUST REMOTE 20" TILT 4-STROKE YAMAHA $1,999 50 HP HIGH THRUST 4-STROKE EFI YAMAHA $4,999
8 HP HIGH THRUST ELECTRIC 25" 4-STROKE YAMAHA $1,799 60 HP 4-STROKE EFI YAMAHA $5,299
8 HP HIGH THRUST ELECTRIC 25" TILT 4-STROKE YAMAHA $2,099 60 HP HIGH THRUST 4-STROKE EFI YAMAHA $5,499
8 HP HIGH THRUST REMOTE 25" 4-STROKE YAMAHA $2,099 75 HP 4-STROKE EFI YAMAHA $5,999
9.9 HP LONG 4-STROKE YAMAHA $1,799 90 HP 4-STROKE EFI YAMAHA $6,499
9.9 HP REMOTE 20" 4-STROKE YAMAHA $1,999 90 HP 4-STROKE EFI 25" YAMAHA $6,499
9.9 HP HIGH THRUST ELECTRIC 20" 4-STROKE YAMAHA $2,099 115 HP 4-STROKE EFI YAMAHA 20" $7,299
9.9 HP HIGH THRUST REMOTE 20" 4-STROKE YAMAHA $2,199 115 HP 4-STROKE EFI YAMAHA 25" $7,299
9.9 HP HIGH THRUST ELECTRIC 25" 4-STROKE YAMAHA $2,099 150 HP 4-STROKE EFI YAMAHA $9,499
15 HP 4-STROKE YAMAHA

15 HP LONG 4-STROKE YAMAHA
$1,899 200 HP 4-STROKE EFI YAMAHA $12,499
15 HP ELECTRIC START 4-STROKE YAMAHA

15 HP ELECTRIC START 20" 4-STROKE YAMAHA
$2,099 225 HP 4-STROKE EFI YAMAHA $13,499
15 HP ELECTRIC START 20" TILT 4-STROKE YAMAHA $2,299 250 HP 4-STROKE EFI YAMAHA $13,499
15 HP REMOTE 20" TILT 4-STROKE YAMAHA $2,299