New Procat Catamaran

Peter & Judy · Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2020 5:06 pm Post subject: New Procat Catamaran

A new catamaran design has come out in Canada, called the ProCat. Designed for the fishing industry, but with other uses in mind. It looks like it would make a nice cruiser if converted. Maybe a little to big for me to pull with my truck though.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/pro-cat-catamaran-fishing-boat-1.5440297

DavidM · Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2020 5:17 pm Post subject:

Unless you have an F350 dually I don't think you have enough truck to pull that boat. I will bet it weighs at least 15,000 lbs sitting on a trailer.

I once had a 35' x 15' Island Packet catamaran that didn't look as tough as that beast. Mine weighed 18,000 lbs with gear and fuel although the builder said a lot less.

That new cat is a far cry from a Tomcat. More like a lion is to a house cat.

David

rogerbum · Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2020 6:23 pm Post subject:

Well, with a 16' beam - there's nobody who is going to be towing that.

thataway · Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2020 7:00 pm Post subject:

That looks like a heavy boat-- But the weight is not the restricting issues. You are not going to pull that on any road in the US or Canada, unless you have 2 pilot cars, and most likely a police escort. 16 foot beam!

There are a number of semi custom big cats being built today all thru the world. I am following about a dozen in the 35' to 45' range on The Hull Truth threads. That does not include the one offs by individuals or the many production power cats.

The usual beam ration is 3:1. (Length to beam) This boat is 2: 1. It looks commercial and displacement speeds to me...?? Be interesting to see what the cost of this is, and if they can make it light enough.

The dry weight of the Sea Sport Pacific 3200 Catamaran (32' x 13') (same company who makes C Dory) is 16,000 lbs without trailer etc. I suspect the Pro Cat is closer to 20K. It is also unusual with the wave piercing bows...Wave piercing cats are not at all new, but the volume of these are unusual...The 38 knot top speed means a lot of HP, especially with a load! The Pacific 32 recommends two 350 hp motors and gets about ,8 miles per gallon...

It will be most interesting to see what real world numbers are, and how it fares along with other cats in the similar size/volume. I still think that the Tom Cat 30 (Black Feather Marine, ChilKat 30) is one of the best cats around. Too bad someone didn't pick up the molds and make more of them!

Only one Black Feather boats truck cabin cruiser was built.

This boat is much smaller than the Pro Cat (only 30' x 10'6"). I would alter the cruiser accommodations with an athwart ships bunk as the current Tom Cat. put the head and shower down on one side, with a bunk under the dinette/helm seat on the other side. This is also a "walk around" boat. Maybe make it "walk around" only on one side, to make the pilot house wider. The tunnel clearance is more than the current Tom Cat.

Here is the performance numbers on the original fishing model--not the cruiser model, but with 1200 lbs of people and 650# of fuel aboard.