25 Cruiser vs Tomcat in chop

[Sallychap72]

We recently sold our 25 Cruiser because of the rough ride we sometimes had in the choppy waters of sf bay and San Pablo bay. We're looking at V hulls with a Diesel engine but I miss the look and simplicity of the C Dory, and I'm wondering if a Tomcat would give us the smoother ride we're looking for. I've read previous posts and get the impression the ride would be smoother but would it be comparable to a V-hull? If anyone has had any experience they could share with me I would be appreciative. Thanks - Sally

[rogerbum]

[Pacificcoast101]

I had a 22' V hull and have driven larger ones. My Tomcat beats them all in chop under three feet. I slow for larger chop but in less than three feet I usually cruise around 18-22 mph.

[thataway]

Having owned a 25 C Dory and driven several others; I owned a Tom Cat which has a far superior ride than the 25's. (But you do have to know the tricks to get the bow down, and push thru the chop on the 25--reason for both Permatrim and Trim tabs.

I have run next to a 26 foot Regulator (26* deadrise) in 2 ' chop--and the Tom Cat was doing as well or better. We have a bay with about 12 miles of fetch, and I would run up it into 35 knots of breeze--the higher the speed of the Tom cat, the better air cushion we got--so I would run at 30 + knots in those conditions.

However there is a limit--and some cats will do better into 3 foot chop plus. I agree that 2 to 2.5 feet with short period, is about the limit.

I also had a 27 foot express cruiser with 300 hp--about the same functional room as the Tom Cat 255 with 300 HP--the Tom Cat got almost twice the fuel mileage the express cruiser did, with a far better ride and performance (time to plane, maneuvering etc)

[Sallychap72]

Thanks so much for the replies. I read them to my husband and a Tomcat may be in my future. Now all I have to do is find a good used one. I just priced out a new one. Major sticker shock. But it looks like a great boat.

[BillE]

My wife REALLY like the Tomcat layout and space, but she also does not like to go fast. If the TC is built to be a go-fast boat I think that perhaps she would not like it on the water? Does anyone slow cruise a Tomcat?

[rogerbum]

[thataway]

To me the question is why your wife does not like to go fast? If it is the pounding, spray and rolling which goes with some monohulls, she may be pleasantly surprised with the Tom Cat ride.

The Tom Cat will run slowly--and Brent and Dixie, have done a lot of slow running in AK with no issues.

When I ran with trawlers, I preferred to go fast, and then anchor or fish etc to let the trawlers catch up. There can be some tunnel slap when going slowly. I preferred the ride at higher speed. Part of that is due to the low tunnel clearance with the Tom Cat, so you are "dragging" the aft part of the wing deck in the water at slow speeds. My Caracal Cat, with more clearance at the wing deck rides better at displacement speeds.

[BTDT]

What do you consider a "go-fast" boat? Around my lake it's 80 to 200+mph and there are a lot of them out here. On some early morning weekends we will see 300 bass-boats pass by our house at 70+ mph in under 20 minutes

On our Tomcat we prefer 17 to 22 mph for cruising. We have found that we experience much the same viewing at 17-22 mph as we do at 7mph, except for the fact we are tripling our viewing area in the same time period, and the ride is better. Unlike our previous open boats, we can also listen to music and have an 'inside-voice' conversation while on-plane. Our favorite 'motus operandi' is to cruise around at 20 mph on open water and 'same-old' stretches of water, and then slow to 5 or 6 mph to check out interesting coves, animal life, boats, boat-yards etc..

Another thing I like about the Tomcat is that when optimally trimmed around 20 mph, my maximum range is close to 300 miles, and at 5-6 mph my max range doubles to almost 600 miles. I'm always a little concerned about taking on bad fuel, so being able to pick and choose where I buy my fuel, makes for better sleep.

[BillE]

Dr. Bob asked a great question "why your wife does not like to go fast?" and then named the reason "it is the pounding, spray and rolling?".

Then BTDT put a fine point on it with "we can also listen to music and have an 'inside-voice' conversation while on-plane". Bingo.

Most of our experiences have been on open ski boats blasting along where you had to shout to be heard and unless you were the one skiing then it got boring fairly quickly. We have only owned a sailboat which was always slow.

Our only C-Dory experience was when Tom and Joyce graciously took us for a ride on C-Otter, a C-25. We both just loved exploring the creeks and back waters. My wife was not as happy when making good time. I'm a guy, and genetically programmed to enjoy speed and noise. But this purchase must please everyone! Now I do realize that any boat can go slow, but some are more designed for that than others. Thanks to all for the great advice. I believe a demo cruise will tell the tale, but that must wait until time to lay down the cash. Right now we are still exploring options.

[Catman]

"I'm a guy, and genetically programmed to enjoy speed and noise."
BillE, I like that. Motor love is simply a part of our congenital disposition.

[Pat Anderson]

If you want to go fast, get a Tomcat, nothing is better at that. Remember how C-Dory positioned the CD25? They called it the "Trailerable Trawler." That is how we are cruising the Great Loop, 6 - 8 statute miles per hour, and we are loving it! Get whatever suits your desires and needs!

[Discovery]

We have a 2006 TomCat. We also have cruised hundreds of miles at "trawler speeds" 6 to 8 mph. We traveled 1600 miles in South East Alaska in 2015 following Jay and Jolee "Hunkydory" in their CD 22'. We also got 5 to 6 miles per gallon at this speed, but had the capability to run at 30 mph in 3' chop when the weather turned nasty.

Go for the TomCat!