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Advice on new TomCat purchase
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ssobol



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 3362
City/Region: SW Michigan
State or Province: MI
C-Dory Year: 2008
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: SoBELLE
Photos: SoBelle
PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 1:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cmetzenberg wrote:
... You'd think 300hp is 300hp, but i guess not. ...


The issue is converting that 300hp into propulsive force.
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thataway



Joined: 02 Nov 2003
Posts: 20779
City/Region: Pensacola
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: thataway
Photos: Thataway
PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 1:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Outboard horsepower varies a lot from the "Stated" by the manufacture HP, if measured at the prop. Some motors are considerably over, and a few are a little under. The props make a huge difference. When "Prop Scan" became available, with very accurate mapping of the profile of the props, and the ability to bring them up to specs, many inboard boats found significant improvement.

For example the Honda 130 vs the Honda 135. There was only a small difference the displacement, but performance was markedly different; the 130 was on the 115 block and the 135 was on the 150 block.

_________________
Bob Austin
Thataway
Thataway (Ex Seaweed) 2007 25 C Dory May 2018 to Oct. 2021
Thisaway 2006 22' CDory November 2011 to May 2018
Caracal 18 140 Suzuki 2007 to present
Thataway TomCat 255 150 Suzukis June 2006 thru August 2011
C Pelican; 1992, 22 Cruiser, 2002 thru 2006
Frequent Sea; 2003 C D 25, 2007 thru 2009
KA6PKB
Home port: Pensacola FL
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Photo Op



Joined: 24 Jan 2019
Posts: 9
City/Region: Juneau
State or Province: AK
C-Dory Year: 2019
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: ViewFinder
Photos: ViewFinder
PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 2:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello C-Brat Advisors,

We are going to see our finished Tomcat next week. We are excited but also a little trepidatious about learning the systems and boat operation, and making sure we don’t miss anything on the inspection and check ride. After the manufacturer addresses items on our punch list, Bev and I plan to take the boat on a 3 day / 20 running hour cruise so the first service can be performed by Master Marine before they put it on the Alaska ferry bound for Juneau.

Two thing I haven’t asked about are skiffs and skiff mounting. The boat will have a high arch that will allow an inflatable to be mounted upside down on the roof. However, most inflatables seem to require saddles or some other type of mounting. I have two questions: 1) What is the best skiff for roof mounting on a Tomcat (it needs to be light enough for me to lift it into place by myself), and 2) What is the best way to mount it?

I sure appreciate all the help you have given me to date. It’s made this process much easier.

Thank you,

Kurt

_________________
Kurt & Bev
Douglas, AK
Tomcat 255 2019
19' Bayliner1993 to 2004
UH19P Hovercraft 1986 to 2008
http://beautifuljuneau.com
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ssobol



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 3362
City/Region: SW Michigan
State or Province: MI
C-Dory Year: 2008
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: SoBELLE
Photos: SoBelle
PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 11:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Photo Op wrote:
... 1) What is the best skiff for roof mounting on a Tomcat (it needs to be light enough for me to lift it into place by myself), and 2) What is the best way to mount it?...


What is "light enough" for you? Maybe you're a body builder...
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hardee



Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 12632
City/Region: Sequim
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2005
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Sleepy-C
Photos: SleepyC
PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 12:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you are looking to do the lift with body and muscle, (your own), you are going to want to find something out side of the the hard floor, RIB, zone, and maybe even the hard transom. I have used an Alaskan Series, fully inflatable, with a hard air floor for nearly 15 years. It has been a great boat and easy to load, BUT it is somewhat of a pig on ice when it comes to rowing. It will get you there, but you will have to work at it and it has a tendency to wander. It weighed 56 pounds and I single hand almost always. I recently found a "Port-a-Bote" but it is 70 pounds and it is a struggle to get it aloft.

Kayaks are much faster on the water, less stable.
Kaboat is a good option.
If you are going to go with outboard or power for the dingy, then the pointy end, hard transom versions are going to come into play. Note; More weight involved there.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon


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Though in our sleep we are not conscious of our activity or surroundings, we should not, in our wakefulness, be unconscious of our sleep.
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Photo Op



Joined: 24 Jan 2019
Posts: 9
City/Region: Juneau
State or Province: AK
C-Dory Year: 2019
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: ViewFinder
Photos: ViewFinder
PostPosted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:53 pm    Post subject: Followup Report Reply with quote

Well, we have had our Tomcat since June 2019 and I thought I should report how we ended up outfitting it, in the hope that this information might help other new boat buyers - just as you C-Bratters helped us. I have added photos that show some of the options we chose.

Props: We went with Suzuki Watergrip Stainless Steel 15.25”x20” 4 blade props on our Suzuki 175 HP engines. These are a little underpropped for top speed - it runs into the limiter at around 45 MPH (although it doesn’t hit the limiter with a heavy boat). The props give good grip, acceleration, and fuel economy. We cruise around 30 MPH and get around 2.1 MPG. The manufacturer, Northwest Marine, recommended 3 blade props initially but after trying the 4 blade props on our boat, they said they will recommend 4 blades in the future.

580’ of 1/2” 8-plait line, 50’ of galvanized chain, 22 lb Rocna anchor. This is an excellent setup for the deep anchorages common in SE AK. And yes, there is room in the anchor locker, although it is tight.

Spare anchor: 10 lb Fortress with 300’ of line, 20’ galvanized chain.

Extra cleats in bow corners. These have been very useful for dock lines and anchoring (a harness tied to the bow cleats reduces swing).

Extra cleat in front of windlass (used for tying off the anchor line).

Central eye on transom for towing a skiff

Webasto Air Top 2000 diesel furnace with 3 floor outlets and 3 defrost outlets, 6 gallon deck-fill tank. This, along with the Wallas cooktop/heater, keeps the cabin pretty warm in chilly fall weather. However, the defroster doesn’t keep the windows clear - we have a fan to help with that.

Sonic Hub 2.1 Audio system with 4 speakers (plays iPhone audio wirelessly).

Victron BMV-712 Battery Monitor

Auto Pilot

We raised the radar arch to make room for an inflatable.

After a lot of searching, we bought a WestMarine PHP-310 10’ air floor Inflatable. This just squeezes under the raised radar arch, fits perfectly on the roof, and has a 5 person capacity. It weighs 73 lbs so it can be tough to get on the roof in windy conditions but it seemed like the best compromise among the available options.

Torquedo Travel 1103 CS electric outboard for inflatable - its slow but saves a lot of hassle with handling fuel and mounting a gas outboard. Very quiet.

Fire Extinguisher Holder

Bathroom Caddy

Grab bar in front of passenger seat

Grab bar in head

Honda 2200i Generator carried in a plastic box in the cockpit.

Northwest Marine does quality work and V.P. Michael Millison was great to work with on this boat.

Thanks again to all who helped us out with advice back in 2019. We are very happy with the “ViewFinder” and have used it to find and photograph many beautiful places.
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thataway



Joined: 02 Nov 2003
Posts: 20779
City/Region: Pensacola
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: thataway
Photos: Thataway
PostPosted: Mon Apr 19, 2021 12:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great upgrades! You can always add the Gerhauer Davit for hoisting the dinghy ours is very similar to yours, and the Davit works very well. Add 12 to 18" to lower post to get good clearance on the cabin top.

Your photography is magnificent! You have to get some Tom Cat photos in there!

For your ultra wide angles are your stitching, panorama, or super wide angle lens?

Great to see some photos of Juneau in the winter. I recognize some of the boats from time we spent up there.

Thanks!
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journey on



Joined: 03 Mar 2005
Posts: 3593
City/Region: Valley Centre
State or Province: CA
C-Dory Year: 2005
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: journey on
Photos: Journey On
PostPosted: Mon Apr 19, 2021 1:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bob, do you have any posted pictures that show how you used a garhauear lift to get the inflatable on the roof? Especially on the 25's you've had.

I'm using a lift (homemade) on the small outboard. I'm having difficulty picturing how one can lift the inflatable high enough to swing it on the top.

We're all getting a little older.

Boris
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thataway



Joined: 02 Nov 2003
Posts: 20779
City/Region: Pensacola
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: thataway
Photos: Thataway
PostPosted: Mon Apr 19, 2021 3:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Boris,
This is a link to my sub album on using the Garhauer davit on 22's 25 and tom cat 255. There are some photos of each of the boats.

Basically I made a HDPE block to follow the deck contour. Drilled and then over drilled and filled with epoxy the bolt holes for the foot piece mounted on side deck. I put the upper mount thru the outer lip of the cabin top overhand. The lower pole is 12" over size, 18" might be better. The arm will not reach the center or the cabin, but that is fine. Once the boat is on the root it is easy to slide over into position.

For the lifting points my boat already had some patch "D" rings--I used those. Ideally I would have put them a little more aft and a little lower. I made a spreade3r bar out of 1" AL sq tubing, cut a dowel (I think it was 5/8", and epoxied it in the center. Put an eye bolt in the center and then eye bolts on the ends, plus carabiners.

I am using the Torpedo, which is light--and breaks down into no part more than 12#.

I also positioned a second place for the davit in the aft Starboard cockpit so I could move the kicker from the transom mount to the dinghy if necessary. We also use this for hoisting things like the freezer aboard. In this case the stand off arm is rail mounted and pivots down to be out of the way when we are not using the davit. If that is confusing after reviewing the photos, I can take more photos in the next few days.
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Photo Op



Joined: 24 Jan 2019
Posts: 9
City/Region: Juneau
State or Province: AK
C-Dory Year: 2019
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: ViewFinder
Photos: ViewFinder
PostPosted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 5:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Bob,

Usually my wide photos are stitches, typically HDR stitches.

You're right, I need to update the website with photos from our boat trips - I need to get going on that.

Thanks again for all your help - you are very generous with your time.

Kurt
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gulfcoast john



Joined: 14 Dec 2012
Posts: 989
City/Region: PENSACOLA
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2010
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: Cat O' Mine
Photos: CAT O' MINE
PostPosted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 9:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great pics!

How did you fill the water tank or empty your waste tank when your boat was on the wrong side of your finger pier to do that?

I have a rather long wingspan, and yet it is impossible for me to hold on to a roof rail and reach the deck plate with a Davis tool to unscrew those plates. How do you do it?

I installed two handrails on each side, through the roof overhang, so there is no inside intrusions. And another handrail directly over the aft door.



What works best for you?

Best,
John

_________________
John and Eileen Highsmith
2010 Tom Cat 255, Cat O' Mine
Yamaha F150, LXF150
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Pacificcoast101



Joined: 29 Sep 2007
Posts: 717
City/Region: Torrance
State or Province: CA
C-Dory Year: 2008
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: No Pressure
Photos: No Pressure
PostPosted: Sat Apr 24, 2021 3:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I reach through the window. Much easier.
_________________
Phil Garner
2008 Tomcat 255
No Pressure



Southern California Marine Life
https://www.flickr.com/photos/southern_california_marine_life/albums

My Photos
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/?pseudoid=%7bAC42A235-FD0A-464A-B559-1CC5843C95FB%7d&name=Phil+Garner&st=11&mode=0&comp=1
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Photo Op



Joined: 24 Jan 2019
Posts: 9
City/Region: Juneau
State or Province: AK
C-Dory Year: 2019
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: ViewFinder
Photos: ViewFinder
PostPosted: Sat Apr 24, 2021 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

John - the factory moved the water fill back to where it is accessible from the cockpit. However, I just turn the boat around when I want to get at the diesel fill for the furnace or the waste pumpout. I like your idea of small grab bars.
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