My 2100 Kevlacat

[kaypee]

Hi all,


I encourage others to follow suit and throw some honest comments up on their boats and that may help fellow boaties in the future.

When looking for my boat a couple of years ago now, I was lucky enough to find someone locally that owned a 2100 Kevlacat so I went and had a chat to him. It was good to talk to someone that wasn’t trying to sell you something. So it was also refreshing to hear that ‘he’d never sell it’.

I bought the boat I was looking at and love it. So I thought I’d give my honest review on it and it may help someone wondering.

The boat, obviously, is a 2100 Kevlacat powered by twin 100 Yamaha 4 strokes. It has an overall length of 6.2m (bow to end of pod) and a max width of 2.4m (gunnel rubber to rubber). Mine sits on an electric braked aluminium trailer with alko suspension. Ready to go fishing it comes in at around 2300kg depending on load.

It has 2 x 180L fuel tanks, 2 x built in eskies that are under both seats. The helm seat box has an ice box that is around 100L and is split in half with storage in the front section. The passenger seat has a full length ice box of around 200L built in underneath.

Up front are two full length beds that are very comfy (in fishing boat terms). I personally have made an infill that fits in between the two beds and it makes one huge double bed if just me & the mrs go out.
Under the port side bed is a large storage bin that has provision for an electric toilet. Mine however doesn’t have a toilet fitted and this is where I keep all of the cooking gear, stove, spare life jackets etc in. Under the starboard side bed is a smaller storage bin that I have a 50L fresh water bladder in that is plumbed up to the pressure deck wash.

The Yammy’s have a sweet cruise speed of 45kph / 24knts @ 4100rpm using 30Lph combined. It has a fast cruise of 52kph / 28knts for around 42LPH & will do 71kph / 39knts flat out.
I tow the boat easily with a 2wd Ford Ranger and have never felt as though it’s a hunk of a boat behind me


The other is something a lot of people forget about I think and that’s the amount of water & spray that the outboards cop, constantly while underway. I’ve been in some Cats that an outboard is nearly lost underwater there’s that much water up and around it while travelling. Another thing you don’t get in the 2100.
The 2100 is very trim sensitive and will move at the slightest touch of the trim button and if you do have to turn it you can easily swing on the wheel and it actually turns or you can pull it out of a situation.

Not infallible though, because they are lighter, they are flighty and will get pushed around somewhat but you just need to drive accordingly. We regularly fish up to 140km offshore and do 350km+ round trips and not once have I felt unsafe or unsure about the boat.

I’m the first to admit that Cats are not bulletproof, and they are not the be all to end all. But, once you have been in a well driven, well set up Cat, you won’t ever want to go back. I am learning every trip and I am by no means an expert, I just love multihulls and that’s all I will ever have. If I am ever to upgrade the boat it will be for another Cat that is more suited for extended trips with some creature comforts. But I would never sell this boat for another purely fishing boat

My personal bucket list to go for a ride in will be a 625 Voyager Cat, a 2600 Sailfish & a 3000 KC. Normally I pull up a the servo and people come over to look over the boat, but the other day I pulled up at the servo and a 3000 KC sportfisher was beside me and I felt very inadequate!! What weapons!!
Like I said, this is not about churching up Cats at all. Just my thoughts on my boat if ever someone in the market types in 2100 Kevlacat into Ausfish search.

Cheers

My pros and cons list.

Pros
· Easy to tow with low to mid 2T weight
· Smaller HP required (70 – 115hp)
Sleeps two comfortably
Economical for a Cat
· Big range for small boat (450km+)
· Easy Cat to drive
· Walk through transom


Cons
· Can’t walk around the gunnels to the front
· No real comfortable area when standing up on the nose.
· If you have any more than 3 adults fishing the first 300mm of the deck will wash with water
· No access to under the floor (fully sealed from the builder)
· Hard to find 2nd hand & overpriced new


[COLOR=#000000]As with all Cats – Dual servicing

[FisHard]

Brilliant write up KP! You've made the rest of us feel insecure about our rigs now though! I hope others take the time to share their feelings about their boats as you have here. I get so sick of reading about all these perfect boats in reviews.

[Almako]

Hey Kaypee, great read.

A couple of questions; what do you mean by "the first 300mm of the deck will wash with water"?
Also in your opinion how hard is it to retrieve back onto the trailer? Single handed, and with mates.
What do you do if heading "straight on" into the wind? Persevere? Tack (so to speak)?

I love the idea of a cat, due to the extra space out the back, long fuel range, and some of the set up's I've seen with galley facilities.
These features would make it very comfortable for overnighters up around 1770.

My concerns for owning one are however, lack of knowledge and confusion re "walking" I think it's called, and in general how to be competent driving a cat in different conditions, and single handed launch and retrieval. Though not 'old' now (39) buying a significant boat like 2100, 2400, 3000 would likely be one to take into retirement, perhaps.

Currently have a Cruise Craft 625 Explorer and find it really easy singled handed. Most trips however include 3 of us and on the odd occasion the wife' comes along and I call it single handed.

Good topic got me thinking I need to head into the tinnie and tackle show to check some of them out, again!

[kaypee]

Hey Kaypee, great read.

A couple of questions; what do you mean by "the first 300mm of the deck will wash with water"? meaning that because of the extra large self draining deck scupper when you have 4 people on board the scupper is virtually underwater (in swell of course) and water washes in and out of the deck constantly. In flat calm water it doesn't happen nor with less than 4 people. The boat is rated to 115hp but I honestly wouldn't go them due to the weight on the back ( although the new 115 Yammy are the ducks .... apparently :) ) Personally if I was building a new one I think it would be tough to go past 90 zuks because of their light weight.
Also in your opinion how hard is it to retrieve back onto the trailer? Single handed, and with mates. If you have never launched or retreived a Cat then you are in for a treat... like poetry in motion. Just point and shoot. I have launched & retrieved mine by myself heaps of times let alone with help.
What do you do if heading "straight on" into the wind? Persevere? Tack (so to speak)? Depends, I have perservered (Cats are just to flighty in a head sea, try & go fast and your up there with Jetstar, go slow and your slapping like a punt! Always vere off slightly two get one hull slicing before the other.. Normally I will just pick a fishing spot that suits the weather (as most do)

I love the idea of a cat, due to the extra space out the back, long fuel range, and some of the set up's I've seen with galley facilities.
These features would make it very comfortable for overnighters up around 1770. Mate , me & Jill have stayed on it for 4 days out in the bunker group. Quite comfortably. I have mounted a tall 185L Evacool esky in the middle of the deck which is an awesome workbench, esky, leanpost, seat etc. On this I have built a fold up table that when folded up sits perdectly between the two extra dickie seats that sit onto of the built in iceboxes. Makes a perfect spot to sit and eat dinner. At the moment I use a portable gas stove and just dig it out and put it on the centre evacool esky when we want to cook. I am actually looking at the idea of putting a hatch into the side of the cab bulkhead that the portable stove is mounted to and when folded away its out of site, open the hatch and it sits horizontally out like a table... The fresh water shower is gold too.

My concerns for owning one are however, lack of knowledge and confusion re "walking" I think it's called, and in general how to be competent driving a cat in different conditions, and single handed launch and retrieval. Though not 'old' now (39) buying a significant boat like 2100, 2400, 3000 would likely be one to take into retirement, perhaps. I think too many people get caught up in that bloody term... 'walking'... what a beat up crock in my opinion. Time at the wheel & forget most you know about driving a mono is a good start. Like I said I'm constanly learning and having said that, every Cat is different too. So something that works in a 2100 might not work in a 2400 or a different breed. Its a matter of starting off slower and knowing the boats limitations. I reckon that where most people get in trouble, yes Cats like to be driven hard and I was always told, just when your thinking you should back the throttles off a tad, is exactly when you really need to bump them up more & its true! Yeah sure there are freak accidents, but I really think that alot of the drama people have is buying and thinking they are indestructible...All I can say is try and tee up a trip or two first or if you take the plunge, don't right them off straight away.

Currently have a Cruise Craft 625 Explorer and find it really easy singled handed. Most trips however include 3 of us and on the odd occasion the wife' comes along and I call it single handed. Trust me, you'll think the Cruise Craft was a mission after launching a Cat single handed... any size....

Good topic got me thinking I need to head into the tinnie and tackle show to check some of them out, again!

Cheers mate

[fishing111]

Kaypee did you read bananas post in "another cat bites the dust". That would play on my mind i'm afraid, however in saying that Trailcraft just have a sealed deck as would many others i assume, apart from that they look like a nice rig. Haven't been on a cat however just happened to watch a bit of PW on Ifish, and they were fishing on a Leisure Cat i think and I don't know if it was the camera angle or not but there seemed to be a lot of side to side motion for the conditions. How does the 2100 cope in in that regard, and what sort of seas can you maintain 24kn in? Good thread.

[Bremic]

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like it doesn't give much away to the 2400. Is the 2100 an updated version of the 6.2?

[kaypee]

Kaypee did you read bananas post in "another cat bites the dust". That would play on my mind i'm afraid, however in saying that Trailcraft just have a sealed deck as would many others i assume, apart from that they look like a nice rig. Haven't been on a cat however just happened to watch a bit of PW on Ifish, and they were fishing on a Leisure Cat i think and I don't know if it was the camera angle or not but there seemed to be a lot of side to side motion for the conditions. How does the 2100 cope in in that regard, and what sort of seas can you maintain 24kn in? Good thread.

Hi Fishing111,
I did read that.. I guess its one of those things. It has never sat well with me that the boat has no bungs (no Kevlacats do) let alone floor inspection plates. I am actually this week about to put an inspection plate in one of the sponsons as I am fitting a M260 1kw transducer to it. So I guess I will soon find out! It hasn't changed performance or floating level so I can only assume all is well down there! That was the other reason I chose the Shoot Thru transducer, so I get a sticky beak in there too.
As far as side to side motion... Cats do tend to drift sideways in a sea, I think mainly because its really a big flat side surface for the wind to catch. So when drifting parallel to the swell you get the whole one hulls rolling over moments before the next. I use a sea anchor almost always so it tends to pull the boat more straight. Funny though, I was watching a bit of Go-Pro footage of us one day and you nearly get sea sick watching the video its rocking so much, but I rememeber that day really well and can't at all rememeber where it was noticeable...

24knts in a sea... Highly dependant on direction of travel. Like I mentioned, Beam on sea, I have sat, in my chair, having a.. water ;) while coming home doing 30knts in a 25knt Northerly with around 1.5m sea. Have come home in a following 15-20knt SEer doing the 24knts. And as mentioned have had to come back to 20knts once while punching dead into a 15-20knt Northerly of short sharp 1-1.5m chop that wasn't supposed to be there. That was uncomfortable and we landed hard several times, with the Mrs (not happy)
I really think you have to experience it to appreiciate it. Sometimes you get launched and your up there waiting for the back breaking bang but it kind of just makes a swooosh sound and keeps trucking. I find you get tossed around sometimes, but there's no jar if that makes sense.
Cheers

[kaypee]

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like it doesn't give much away to the 2400. Is the 2100 an updated version of the 6.2?

Bremic I don't think so. I've spent a fair bit of time in a 2400 and don't know that you get to much more benefit for the extra tonne of weight, fuel & size on trailer, tow vehicle etc. Thats not to take away from them though.. Just might help someone else that is tossing up between the two. The lad at Kevlacat told me that the reason there are so many more 2400s out there and the 2100s are rare as rocking horse sh!t is due to the new cost. Less than 10k difference. He was saying that the 2100 is one of the hardest models to make as it's the only model with a fully moulded hull and pods. So the pods on the 2100 are glass not alloy like the rest. He said that the only people that bought the 2100 over the 2400 were those without a cruiser etc already. Seems silly that the two boats would be so close in price.

As far as I know the 2100 is an updated version of the 5.2, extended and dolled up.
When I was looking, I ruled out a 2400 because I don't have a large 4x4. So it was a 1900 or 2100 for me. I looked at a couple of both. I looked at the two 1900s first and although they were nice boats. Paying 70 odd grand for a boat that didn't even have a place to lay down didn't seem right to me. But I was willing to think about it. Until I seen the first 2100. Honestly very similar in size except for the beds in the 2100 and the walkthru transom. But as i said you can't walk around the sides. The 1900 you can walk around the sides but no sleeping area. For me the walk around side gunnels isn't a huge thing as mine has a drum anchor winch and really, the hatch and access through the cab is easily big enough.

[ifishcq1]

Mick, your rig is as good as you will get given cost, allround comfort and fishability
I have fished from a few now and these guys are of the same mind set that distance is no handicap if you have the right boat and driver
to me your drift is another pro, cats always get a constant drift and even if it is side on it is the same all the time
the longboat can drift different patterns even when you take care with the setup, so I use a sea anchor to keep the same path
I find that heading out into that shitty chop they leave me a little bit behind but side on in a big sea and following seas I beat them
you also hit the nail when you said they aren't the be all and end all, however cats tick a lot more boxes than any other trailable boat for offshore fishing (bloody crap for chasing barras ;D)

cheers

[kaypee]

Cheers Scotty..
Looking forward to catching up with you at JTs soon

[battleon]

How about a few pic's of the Cat Kaypee?

[Bremic]

Thanks Kaypee, a friend of mine bought a 2400, must be close to 10 years ago now. Anyway, he was interested in the 2100 but the salesman pushed him towards the 2400. They were much more interested in selling the 1900 and 2400, like you say not so much difference in price, but advantages with running and towing costs.

[kaypee]

Thanks Kaypee, a friend of mine bought a 2400, must be close to 10 years ago now. Anyway, he was interested in the 2100 but the salesman pushed him towards the 2400. They were much more interested in selling the 1900 and 2400, like you say not so much difference in price, but advantages with running and towing costs.

Yeah, they were like that with me too, but as I was only looking 2nd hand and they only had 19s & 24s of course they would push them. For some reason the salesman was very negative about the fact you couldn't walk around the gunnels... wasn't really and has never been an issue.
I guess if people are buying new, and they have 140k to spend on a toy then a tow vehicle & fuel bills aren't going to concern you are they.. I certainly didn't.

I'll throw some pics up when I get home..

[Almako]

How heavy is a 2400 BMT?

[kaypee]

How heavy is a 2400 BMT?

Mate between 3 & 3.5T depending on load.

[Finnatical]

Everything Kaypee says is spot on and translates to a large degree up to the 2400. I have owned a 2400 & now a 3000 four the last four years. I loved my 2400 for the reasons listed above but like everything there is no silver bullet and it did have its quirks but these were in my opinion far outweighed by the benefits of a cat. I went from a 4.5m quintrex into the 2400 and never had a drama learning to drive as i took a common sense approach and took my time getting used to it in different conditions. If i can do and love it anyone can.

coming from monos it took a bit of getting used to how they handle and turn but that was more of just changing years of 'knowing' what a boat was going to do and readjusting your brain. My wife who has little experience in a mono doesnt understand what i am talking about as it is just normal to her.

I spent many hundreds of hours fishing a cruisecraft 625 which was a brilliant and capable boat, but the 2400 ate it to pieces for size ride and fuel economy (its was a single 150hp two stroke).

The 3000 is a different animal again and i love it dearly. I cannot find anything in that range that is better and costs the same to run. Being wider and longer you dont drive it nearly as much, if at all really, compared to the 2400, and it is just a matter of set the trim for the sea conditions and go.

lastly the general thought of going faster in a cat is true to a certain extent, in chop, but in the really big stuff slowing down to 18kts or so the thing is unbeatable for ride comfort. Head seas suck, but i have never found a boat of that size that likes a head sea anyway.

[kaypee]

...........

[Darren J]

H Kaypee,
Is the rear canopy attached to an ice box or a fiberglass workstation? It is exactly what i want to set up on my boat (centrally supported canopy frame rather than on the corners).

I had considered attached to a removable box (if you wanted the whole lot taken out) or maybe a small work station/cutting board, storage lockers etc.

Cheers.

[kaypee]

H Kaypee,
Is the rear canopy attached to an ice box or a fiberglass workstation? It is exactly what i want to set up on my boat (centrally supported canopy frame rather than on the corners).

I had considered attached to a removable box (if you wanted the whole lot taken out) or maybe a small work station/cutting board, storage lockers etc.

Cheers.

Hi Mate,
Yeah the 2 posts are attached to the centre esky. It's a 185L Evacool Tall esky. I got it specifically coz of its height and it serves perfectly as a esky, workstation, cutting board, lean post. It was loose but I decided to sikaflex it in and then started attaching things to it rather than the hull. Now it's got drink holders, rod holders, a cutting board on top, a basket inside that holds the bait out of the ice and a table that swings up from the front to sit between the icebox seats to make a dining table for extended stays. Best thing I did really. The canopy posts come down and attach to the esky at 4 points. But not to the boat at all.
I use the esky just for spare ice and bait only. It has kept ice in the full sun for 4 days. Works well. I attached the front of the canopy with a sailtrack along the targa top under the rocker launchers.
6 screws and one elec plug and it's off if you want..

cheers

[battleon]

Great looking boat, after looking at your photos I went back and read your first post. I can see why your happy with it. Well done great effort :)

[airlock]

brilliant review, really would like one to replace my 166 bruise craft but it aint gunna happen. glad you found one you love.