Advice on new TomCat purchase

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Photo Op

New member
After considering a number of boat sizes and models, we chose the Tomcat 255 for its speed, efficiency, smooth ride, comfortable accommodations for two, and especially the enthusiasm of its owners. We are grateful to Tony Yorba for giving us a ride on FreddyCat several years ago. We have purchased a new Tomcat from Master Marine which is currently being built at the Northwest Marine factory.

This is an excellent website - it has been very helpful in making decisions about equipping the boat. We would be grateful for further advice regarding the following questions:

1. Anchor: Should we go with a 22 lb or 33 lb Rocna? The sizing table shows 22 but it says to go up one size for a catamaran. However, a 33 seems like a lot of anchor for this boat.
2. Prop: What is the best prop for 175 Suzukis?
3. Can you run the hot water heater when you are not on shore power? (we will have a 2500 watt inverter but no generator)
4. Any other recommendations for newbies?

Thanks!
 
Hi Kurt,

Our 26-footer (heavier than your TomCat) came with a 7.5kg Bruce. Over many summers cruising BC and SE Alaska, it worked well in most situations. We switched to a 10kg (22lb) Rocna, which was a great improvement - quicker and surer setting, especially in kelpy areas. I'd say a 10kg Rocna would be plenty for you.

We had 40 feet of 1/4" HT chain.
 
Kurt & Bev;

I have a 2007 Tomcat and love it we've been in your area many times since the purchase. We stay at Elfin Cove when we're up there. Congratulations on your purchase. I'm sure you will love it.

Regarding your anchor, we have a 22 lb'r and get anchor drag in some situations. I will upgrade to a heavier anchor before we cruise up there again.

The water heater is a 120 volt appliance, I don't know if your inverter will be something that you want to use for heating water while at anchor. We installed a hydronic heater on Reefmadness and routed a line thru the water heater. So if the heater is going we have hot water. We also installed three defrost vents hooked to one of the heat exchanger. Our experience with the Wallace Heater/cooktop was far from satisfactory for the SE area. Defogger is needed for the windows. You live in the most beautiful area in the world and it's hard to enjoy through fogged up windows.

We are flying to Juneau July 14th for a trip to Elfin Cove and will stay at friends house for a couple of weeks. He also has a 2007 Tomcat which we use while up there.

I believe the prop size will be dependent on your use for the boat, weather it will be loaded with stuff or your just using for weekend trips or fishing. Your dealer could probably recommend a prop size based on your planned use. Some others on this board may have a better answer for you if they know the expected use.

I'd be interested in knowing how the 175 Suzuki's work out. Please let us know.

Gene
 
Sea Wolf":34zsc9ak said:
Kurt- I just viewed your beautiful professional level photographic work on your website and wanted to recommend it to all C-Brats:
http://beautifuljuneau.com
Also, congratulations on your new Tomcat! Enjoy!
Joe. :teeth :thup
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I second taking a look at the album when you have time to kill and want it to be useful. :)

I think there is also some back stories of the kayak trip and camping along side of the glaciers too. Now back to your regular program...
 
Some answers:

1. A 22 lb Rocna should be fine.

2. Prop- No thoughts

3. Water heater- You could run your water heater from your inverter but it would quickly kill your batteries. Water heaters will generally last two nights away from shore power if you take quick showers.

Beyond that I would use a portable Honda EU 2000 generator to heat up your water. It will take about 45 minutes to get the water hot starting from luke warm. This will also charge up your batteries which will probably be getting low after two days at anchor.

4. Lights, fridge, microwave (via inverter) are the three big DC consumers while at anchor. You will probably use 50-75 amp hours in 24 hours. You don't want to run your battery down more than 50% for best life. So you will need to recharge every day or so. The Honda or similar is the best way.

A pair of 175 Suzuki's will probably recharge your batteries in an hour or two of running to the next anchorage.

David
 
We have a 22# Bruce type anchor on No Pressure. I've tried many different rodes over the years on various boats. The 8-plaid was nice but slipped through the gypsy too much, so now I use all chain. We use the boat for diving so we anchor at least twice every time we use the boat. 99% of the time, the anchor is sitting on top of the sand while the weight of the chain holds the boat in place.
Anchor.jpg
 
WOW. Super photography. Thanks for sharing that.

As to the anchor. That is the last place on a boat that one wants to skimp. It's a big jump from 22 to 33 pounds, yup. But that 33 Rocna will not drag on your TC255. Is it over kill? Probably, so maybe go with the 22 and go with plenty of chain. The standard equation is to have 1 to 1.56 times your boat length. Maybe double that,,,, or more. On my 22 I have 70 feet of chain with a 13# Rocna, == NO, absolutely NO drag. I did drag the Delta a couple of times.

Tips for picking an anchor. Look around at your local marina, checking the anchors. Talk to the owners, how often they anchor, how well it works, would they do anything different. Then Go big and go with plenty of chain.

Phil. Doesn't look like your anchor is set. That would make me nervous.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

7_SleepyC_at_Port_Harvey_001.thumb.jpg
 
The 22 KG Ronca should be fine for the Tom Cat. We used a Manson Supreme (similar) in AK.

You want 4 blade props. You want some stern lift. As I recollect my Tom Cat had 22" with the 150's. Set the engines up "opposite" than standard inboards--counter rotating on starboard.
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I would personally think if you oversize your anchor with chain only, and carry it on your bow and in the forward rope locker, you may alter the safe handling with bow down trim in any open water that you plan to transit in.
 
hardee":tb571bys said:
Phil. Doesn't look like your anchor is set. That would make me nervous.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

7_SleepyC_at_Port_Harvey_001.thumb.jpg
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I was right next to it the entire time. We were shooting photos of Giant Sea Bass and they come right to us. Besides, if there was wind, swells or current, we wouldn't get in the water.
 
Trying to run the water heater on an inverter can be deadly to the inverter! A Honda 2200 watt generator works perfectly. You'll need to add a switch to make sure it's not trying to charge batteries at the same time though. Hot water for showers in about 15-20 min.

We used a 35# Delta Fast-Set with 100' of chain. Never failed to set, never dragged.

Congrats on the new boat. you'll love it!
 
Wow, What a wealth of information! Thank you all.

It sounds like most of you feel the 10kg Rocna, with a substantial length of chain, will do the job. I will go with that.

On the prop, I will go with 4 blade stainless steel as recommended. In searching this site, I found a discussion initiated by Beflyguy in 2010 "Tomcat Sea Trial Punch List" where he was considering going with 16" x 23" pitch props for his 175 Suzukis. He was advised to stick with the 16"x21.5" pitch prop which others said had been proven to work. Does anyone know which prop he chose? The factory recommends 15"x21 props which, given the 2010 discussion, might be underpropping. Our intended use will be 2 person long distance cruising with provisions for up to a week. Also some whale watching and fishing short trips with up to 6 or 8 people.

Thank you, Gene Morris, for the suggestion of a hydronic heater that would also heat the water tank and provide defrost. That sounds like a great solution. Did you install the hydronic heater in addition to the Wallas stove? Where did you locate it? Which brand of hydronic heater?

For those that suggested a generator, where do you put it?

Thanks for the compliments on the website. Southeast Alaska is a great place to take pictures!
 
We put the generator (Honda 2000) on a home-made Starboard platform in the splash well, but only when it's running. The exhaust faces out the back and I made a 6' power cord for gen use only. On a TC, you could just set it down between the engines, maybe?

When not in use, we store it in the boat, in the foot well of co-pilot's seat; she's is only 5'2", so it's a foot rest, in essence. As Roger stated, about 20 minutes and you have enough hot water for two showers, plus. Worth every penny.
 
Red Knot":2bgp8qbd said:
I would personally think if you oversize your anchor with chain only, and carry it on your bow and in the forward rope locker, you may alter the safe handling with bow down trim in any open water that you plan to transit in.
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I don't know about a TomCat, but on the 22 an anchor locker full of chain would be more helpful than not. C-Dorys tend to be tail heavy and often require trim tabs for proper running. In my case, I sometimes run out of tab to get the bow down if the boat is loaded. Even if you do get the bow down with the tabs, you are going to affect your top speed and fuel economy.

One day out I noticed my top speed was way down and was wondering why the change. Then I noticed that the tabs were pretty much full down. Knocked my top speed down by almost 10 mph.
 
Red Knot":mj9j0m5j said:
I would personally think if you oversize your anchor with chain only, and carry it on your bow and in the forward rope locker, you may alter the safe handling with bow down trim in any open water that you plan to transit in.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. This is where your catenary in the anchor rode comes from. this keeps the anchor being pulled horizontally back rather than up and out. I have 50' of chain on my tomcat.

Costco sometimes has cheap deals on yamaha generators that will power your water heater. I've never heard of anyone running that off batteries
 
PhotoOp,

Look at my album I have some photos of the Hydronic heater set up.

The heater is under the sink in the galley, expansion tank is in the head (provides warmth in head and a great place to hang wet gear to dry) I have two heat exchangers, 1 is in forward berth and has 6 outlets (3 for defrost and three for cabin heat on the starboard side). The second heat exchanger in behind the refer, with 4 outlets distributed on the port side. The heated water runs thru pvc pipes from heater around forward berth (to keep bedding dryer) down to second exchanger then to expansion tank to be rerouted to heater. It has worked very well for our needs. The first time we cruised to SE was in 2008. We were miserable with the wetness and the Wallace couldn't help.

We also removed the Wallace and installed new counter top for more room to prepare and cook food with a single burner butane stove that we store under the sink. It works great for us but, the Wallace was good for cooking, it was just very expensive to service. ($700 +) for tune-up. And Margaret wanted more space for food prep.

I have pics of the counter and heater install in the Reefmadness photo albums.

Good luck on your purchase they are great boats and heavy in the stern. So putting more weight in the bow/anchor locker actually helps with handling.

Gene
 
localboy":31gzt64a said:
We put the generator (Honda 2000) on a home-made Starboard platform in the splash well, but only when it's running. The exhaust faces out the back and I made a 6' power cord for gen use only. On a TC, you could just set it down between the engines, maybe?

When not in use, we store it in the boat, in the foot well of co-pilot's seat; she's is only 5'2", so it's a foot rest, in essence. As Roger stated, about 20 minutes and you have enough hot water for two showers, plus. Worth every penny.
Click to expand...

I tried storing my Honda 2000 inside but always a gas/exhaust smell that I didn't like.
 
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