Sailfish catamarans

[michael k]

Hi. Interested to hear from anyone with personal experience on Sailfish catamarans Platinum series 2600 and 2800 sizes. any experience with the difference at sea between the 2.5m width and the 2.8m width? also actual BMT weights (not just advertised).

[Back In Black]

Michael,
I've got the 28 ft version in the 2.5m width but have had no experience in the 2.8m width. I got the 2.5m for trailering purposes. I have never put mine over the scales, more for fear of finding out I"m in excess of 3.5t
Tony

[michael k]

thanks for that quick reply Tony. they seem to promote a lighter bmt weight for yours, but reality does not surprise me. have you had experience with other similar size boats to compare ride with?
everyone says often the faster you drive the cats the better they feel in chop. what happens if caught unexpectedly in really big seas / storms etc that force you back into discplacement speed rather than on the plane - how does the Sailfish handle that situation?

[Noelm]

I have owned an Aluminium cat before (not a sailfish) and I doubt I would ever buy another one, Cats will perform OK at slow displacement speeds, but they do suffer a bit from water hitting the tunnel (slamming) I don't think it is a big deal, but some do (usually mono owners)

[Finnatical]

I haven't been on a Sailfish in the water, just on land at boatshows. Wasn't impressed with the welds, particularly inside where they were 'out of sight', but i did like the layout as it looks like a bit of thought has gone into it. As I haven't ridden in one I am not qualified to comment on the ride compared to other boats.

I think however that you will find the bigger beamed boat will be easier to drive and will walk less when underway. It was a huge difference for me going from the 2.5m wide KC2400 to the 2.8m wide KC3000, but there was a fair bit more length in it as well. I found that you don't have to drive the bigger boat nearly as much, it is pretty much just a set and forget and really only change the trim if the direction of the sea changes.

So far as running at lower speeds in big seas, there is a big thing out there that cats run better faster. This statement is true in bay chop, but when the going gets really rough offshore, slowing down to 18kts, or less if really big, makes for a great ride. I have found that as long as you are just pushing onto the plane, around 8 kts or faster in my boat, there is near no tunnel slap and the boat just hunkers down and is very stable as there is alot of the hulls in the water and they can push through most seas very comfortably with no hacksawing at the throttles. 16-18kts in big seas is very comfortable in my boat and feels very safe, with generally no launching over waves and just cutting through the chop on top of the swells. Yes you probably could go faster but then you spend alot of time in the air and passenger comfort would be a distant memory. The fuel usage is a different story, but any boat not planing cleanly will also drink under those conditions. I will however take a bigger fuel bill over a beating any time. I genuinely don't believe enough is said of how well a good cat rides at lower speeds in the rough, as this was a pleasant surprise when i got my first KC2400 and has continued in bigger scale in the KC3000.

Just my 2 cents.
Cheers,

[Back In Black]

Michael,
I got out of a 6.2m Baysport that banged in the chop to an 8.4m cat, so I thought I"d died & gone to heaven, the difference was so great! I do my best not to be caught out in ugly conditions, but saying that, we fish the Hards, about 70km out, so we have hit some pretty average conditions coming home. Put it this way, I was very glad not to be in the mono.
Had no problems at all, coming home at 35knots all the way, to backing off & "driving" the boat home between 15- 20 knots. Never felt uneasy. I keep hearing about the problem with a following sea & cats but have had no problems, but saying that, I"m a fairly inexperienced boaty, & maybe if I had passengers, they would have felt uncomfortable.

Noelm- I have a lot less slamming with the cat than the mono, but again, I drive to the conditions

Finnatical- I am very happy with the finish on mine. Quite a few people have given mine the once over & all have been very impressed with the finish. My mechanic raves about the quality, finish & thought that has gone into it. I guarantee a 2.8m beam would be better than a 2.5, but the extra 6 foot would help a lot as well. But again, I'm inexperienced & easily pleased, & as long as I am on the water, I'm happy!!

Tony

[trueblue]

I can't get past the brick like looks of them

[Back In Black]

Trueblue,
They are butt ugly, & thats coming from an owner. Juna & I were in Sydney a few weeks ago & were around The Rocks. It was one of those magical beautiful days & every boat in Sydney was on the harbour. Juna is pointing out the boats she liked, big beautiful boats, when around the corner came 2 Sailfish, both 28 footers. Juna said "aren't they ugly boats". I then broke the news to her takes what she owned! Ugly yes, but do the job on the water.
Tony

[Greg P]

Finnatical - That's about the most honest feedback I have heard on a cats ride. Well said and you have a great looking rig there.

[julian1]

very true a cat will fly over bay chop like its not even there and yes the faster you go the more lift you get, but once the chop becomes too big then you have to slow down and drive in between the waves. One great thing about cats is that tehyre not really a planing hull so there is no planing hump, so you can have a rough wetaher speed of around 17 knots with the throttles set to forget and they just work their way through the swells and waves (i'm talking pretty rough water here). at displacement speeds like trolling at 7 knots yes you will get a bit tunnel slap and water misting out the front of the tunnel if trolling dead headon.

[michael k]

thanks fellows - what good information for someone like me with a lot of boating but no cat experience. if anyone knows of someone who can still compare the different widths and bmt weights specifically for sailfish cats 2600 and 2800 lengths - from their experience, i would like to hear from them. Also I am new to using this site- how do I use tags or adding tags?