5.2m kevlacat owners

[termi]

G'day guys latter in the year im looking at upgrading my 70hp johnson 2strokes on my 5.2kc for something newer. I would like to here from any 5.2 kc owners who are running motors in the 70-90hp range in either 2stroke, Di 2stroke, or 4 stroke. I'm sort of leaning towards the 75-90hp etec or the new suzuki 90hp. I'd like to find out some accurate speed and fuel economy figures at 4500rpm and wot and what props you are running.

[finding_time]

Termi

I'm only really good at the yami f60 figures but if you pm Kittycat he's installed a pair of suki f90's to his!


Ian

[termi]

Thanks Ian will do.

[Lovey80]

Would be interested to hear how Kitty cats boat handles the extra weight of those 90's, or did i miss that thread?

Cheers

Chris

[Dean1]

G'day mate, good to see your going to repower her it will be worth the outlay. The f 60's are great motors a bit more power would be good but the weight is the killer. I personally think the suzuki 90's are a tad too heavy so its a case of you get more power and weight issues or stay light with the 60's and have a boat that still does 28kts. I would love to go in kitty cat to see how she sits rides etc now. I get 1.3klms/1 litre and wayne (kitty cat) is getting about the same he last told me. Weigh it up chat to wayne and go from there. Good luck with it. Cheers, Deano.

[termi]

Dean, how does she go when you got 3 or 4 people on board?
I often go out with 3-4 people plus their gear and want more than the 26kts i get with a heavey load. With a light load i get 31kts. Mind you she will always hold that 24-26kts sweet spot in rough weather.

[boatboy50]

Termi,

I had one with Honda 50's which I repowered with Merc 4 strokes. It was a great package and pulled 31 knots full fuel 2 up.

By the sounds of it, you would be suited perfectly to the new Suzuki 90's.

Have a look at this thread for some stats.

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=124821&page=2&highlight=kevlacat+fuel+figures

There is plenty of other info on this topic available by searching here.

There is also some posts somewhere of a guy in WA with twin 75 ETECS on board.

Regards

Darren

[Dean1]

Dean, how does she go when you got 3 or 4 people on board?
I often go out with 3-4 people plus their gear and want more than the 26kts i get with a heavey load. With a light load i get 31kts. Mind you she will always hold that 24-26kts sweet spot in rough weather. Hey mate you definately wont get any more than 26kts loaded with the f 60's. Sounds like you need the 90's. If I were to go to 90's id repod her tho, I weighed it all up and it just blew the budget out to far. Do some research and weigh it up mate. I fished out of a 2400 on the weekend gee there fast that will be my next boat. Cheers.

[freddofrog]

If repowering with 90s you may get into trouble with insurance for exceeding the max power. The ealier ones were 75hp max

I have 90s on my 1994 5.2KC (2005 yammie 2/st). WOT is 34kn. Best fuel I get is 1km/L combined if taking it nice and gentle but normally I get 0.8km/L when cruising all day at 24kn. Sounds ex$ but will be cheap as compared to the 42' bertram I am looking at :D

[finding_time]

If repowering with 90s you may get into trouble with insurance for exceeding the max power. The ealier ones were 75hp max

:D

No issue here , if you write to kevlacat they will send you a new plate for the 90's!!!;)

[termi]

The plate on my 96 model has max power at 2x90.
Are the bigger pods ali or glass and in what way are they bigger(eg wider,taller, deeper)
Dean any idea on what the larger pods cost?

[Lovey80]

Is there a write up anywhere on Kittycats conversion? Was his the 5.2KC or the Newer 1900? I cant seem to find it. If it was the older version i'd love to see the floatation photo's?

Cheers

Chris

[Dean1]

Ye mate mine is plated 2x 90's as well i think it came in in about 1996. The pods are made up out of plate ally and they are made the same shape as the hull, depth, width, the lot. They cost around $1500 a pair. Kitty cats is the older hull 1994 i think and is still using the standard pods no mod done there.

[kitty_cat]

mate my 90 hp suzukis have got a few hrs now 50 or 60 so i will give you some figures
weight 155kg
40knts +
1.2 klms per ltr 0.8 ltrs of fuel per klm
running std 3 blade alloy props 19 pitch ( only ok can see 45knts with right props i will be tring s/s 3 and 4 blades now she is brocken in)
revs 6300

i beileve if you are going to do it right the pods should be the larger ones but definatly worth the trouble the suzukis are awsome (happy to run you in it pay for bait and fuel and ill even throw in a fishing trip;D )

hope this helps

[termi]

wayne are the pods on my boat the same as yours ? I'm assuming these are the standard pods.
I've noticed the duck board on some kc's is alot higher than mine. Is there any reason for that?
Thanks for all the info guys.

[finding_time]

Termi

Mate you have the same pods as mine and i believe they are the small ones! As far as the duck boards go , yours like mine is the Tournament edition ( Up spec model and far superior in all facets;) ;D ;D ;D 8-) ) Ours has the walk through transom/marlin door so our duck board is lower, the Prosports ( Poor cousins8-) ) dont have the door and a higher duckboard!

I personally think that Kittycat is still low in the bum , but it is far better than it was when it had the old honda 75's on it as they were 20kg's heavier again! Still 40 knots plus is something to think about! Maybe in 5 or 6 years!:D


Ian

[boatboy50]

Wayne,

They are awesome figures. I bet it is now a totally different boat, and probably now truly a great trailerboat in all ways.

Regards

Darren

[Maccas]

Hey Ian,

My KC 5.2 is a Pro Sport but has the removable transom door;D , as well, so maybe it was an option on Pro Sports but standard on the Tournament.

By the way I think Kitty Kat still looks a little low in the water at the rear, wonder if it affects the stance of the boat when it's underway?

Cheers,

Maccas

[Lovey80]

All you bloke have me dead set on buying a 5.2KC. When I get it (hopefully sooner rather than later) a M&G should be a great Idea? Then all you cat owners can show me how it's really done. Except you Dean, you'll probably only attend if it's blowing 25kts :D Thanks for all the info lads it's always a great read. Hopefully I'll be the owner of 2 cats in the comming weeks!

Cheers

Chris

[Sandman]

You guys are breeding !!! There may have to be dedicated chat room for the k,c lads ( i am only jealous i dont have one :) )

[termi]

If suzuki has got the weight of the 90hp 4st down to 155kg you'd think that evinrude and other brands would be able to shave a few kilos off their Di 2 strokes. I recon if they shaved the weight down to 135kg we would see a few more kc repowers with some interesting performance figures.;)

[finding_time]

I agree termi ! The 90 etec at 130 kg would be awesome on the kc but at 148 kg ( 25 inch leg ) i would cop the extra 7 kg aside and stick with the suki 4 ! Btw i'm a fan of the 90 e-tecs i reckon there the best of the e-tec range!

As about 85 % of my hours are trolling the 60's really are perfect for me!

ian

[termi]

I was told by someone that if you fill the pods with foam it should increase the boyancy in the rear. I don't see how that would work as the pods are air tight anyway. What are your thoughts on this and has anyone tried this on there 5.2 kc.

[mirage]

Yes, it would increase the boyancy if you had a hole in the pod!!

[Lovey80]

Mirage is right if the pods are airtight there is nothing filling it will do. Other that makin them larger (part that will displace the water).

Cheers

Chris

[Lovey80]

Srry double post

[kitty_cat]

mate iam not sure i think the pods look like the larger ones ,
send me some measurements i will let you know

wayne

[Kevin Ferguson]

Termi
an article on this was in the Xmas edition off QLd Fishing & Boating Monthly.
Repower from Yam 90 2 st to Yam 60 st. Older style pods as he mentioned quote from Kevlacat for pod upgrade 3K as stated by Dean1 , so I think 60's were max due to weight considerations. I now don't have the mag , but from memory cruise was only down by 1Kph @ sweet spot on motors ( 3950 on 2 st , 4500 on 4 st ) but fuel savings were incredible @ around 60%. Boat was being used out of Tville (??) as a pocket sportfisher for billfish. Cheers Kevin

[fly_1]

Mate I would stick with the 60's. They have been well proven by many guys, are light, reliable, and you will notice very little difference in performance!!!! The fuel savings will certainly be noticed though.....
Trent

[termi]

Wayne, are you sure the pods on your boat are the larger pods? They look like the ones on my boat going by the photo's you posted. I think dean mentioned that the larger pods are made to the shape of the hull. I hope mine are the larger pods.
I'll try to attach some measurements of my pods.

Fly 1 i don't think the 60's will give me the top end speed i'm looking for with the weight i carry.

[mirage]

Looks like the original small pods to me.
Scotty.

[Dean1]

Yeah they are the original small ones. The new 1900 kc has bigger pods which carry 90 4's easily. I would definatly not put suzzie 90's on with the small original pods especially after seeing the pic of waynes (kitty kat) 5.2 with em on. Mine sits nice with the f 60's and i know any more weight would ruin the boat, rather it a bit slower than not performing properly. If you can afford the bigger pods and 90's well different story. Or go the 60's till something lighter comes out like what ive done. Cheers.

[termi]

Hopefully something lighter does come out or else bigger pods may be the only option for me. Thanks for all your help guys.

[finding_time]

Where abouts are you based Termi?

[termi]

based in adelaide

[finding_time]

based in adelaide

To bad:-/ if you were based in south east QLD i would have taken you for a run in mine with the 60's.

ian

[termi]

Thanks for the offer ian and i'm sure most of you guys running 60's are happy with them, iam still not convinced that they will suit my needs.
I've been in one with 90hp 2st yammies that were set up perfect and still had a top end of 72km/h with 3 adults and 2 children on board. It criused at 55km/h on 3500 rpm in good conditions. These are the sort of figures i want but if i repower i don't want to go back to std 2strokes. I personally think 90hp motors are the perfect motor for the 5.2 kc as long as you can get a motor with a weight that won't affect the performance of the boat.
For you guys doing alot of trolling the 60's might be ideal but I mainly bottom fish for snapper. When ever the weather is good we shoot out for a fish after work 30-35km's out get into some fish and try and get back home at reasonable time.

[Lovey80]

What do the larger pods cost anyway? Does it make it unreasonable to fit the 90's if you can afford them?

Cheers

Chris

[julian1]

what about the Etec 90's ? 138kg ?

[termi]

(What about the Etec 90's ? 138kg ?)

Might have the same problem. Only 7kg lighter than the 90 suzuki.

[finding_time]

what about the Etec 90's ? 138kg ?

Hey Julian, thats for the normal legged on for the 25 inch it's 148 kg so as Termi has stated it's only 7 kgs lighter. That's why the 60,s work there only 119kg and 30 kg aside back there is a big differance.

Termi

Mate i know what you mean about traveling big distances our average trip wide is 35NM and a big trip is 50NM

[rodneyk]

Hey Julian, thats for the normal legged on for the 25 inch it's 148 kg so as Termi has stated it's only 7 kgs lighter. That's why the 60,s work there only 119kg and 30 kg aside back there is a big differance.

Termi

Mate i know what you mean about traveling big distances our average trip wide is 35NM and a big trip is 50NM

termi
just some facts arkmarine brisbane build pods for kc 1900 ----2400 aka 5.2 -6.5

new generation pods designed larger provide more bouyancy but are also a little heavierand will also cover existing holes but will not bolt up exactly too same holes they will carry 140 hp so they are overkill for 5.2 but are used on all new boats these boats are best with powerfull light motors power for holeshot light
weight for at rest in sea conditions the bottom of pod also has a deflection plate
which also assists rising onto plane marginally 70 --90 hp would seem perfect
pity there wasnt a 4 stroke around 120 kg thats why lots use 60 yam and put with less speed and holeshot but excellant economy send me a pm if you need to

[julian1]

do they do 4 blade props for the new Zuke 90's yet ? i changed my 150 Zukes to 4 bladers and it made a huge difference to ride lifts the rear end when under way and so much softer ride

[Lovey80]

Rodney, are you able to post what a set of the new pods cost to buy + fitting?

Cheers

Chris

[Noelm]

when it is all said and done, how much bigger can you make the pods on a 5.2?? they are almost as wide and the hull now and they cannot go deeper otherwise the Motor will also need to be set deeper

[termi]

rodney do you have any photos of the larger pods and approx dimensions. Want to see how they compare to the std pods.