boat weight?

[airlock]

Hi,
Just a quick question, how do you find out how much a boat weighs, I'm hunting around for the next boat and fancy a cat, i'm limited to a 2.5Ton towing capacity and i have no idea how much each different boat weighs.
Is there any way to find out the weight of a boat package without having to get each individual one on scales?

[zan0_15]

have you tried a google search mate?

[scottar]

Most manufacturers will have a rough idea of the weight of a BMT package. What they don't generally allow for is fuel and water (if the boat has a water tank), any accessories fitted and any personal equipment and safety gear so if you are limited to 2.5 Tonne then the weight of your BMT package could be limited to quite a bit less depending on tank sizes and your own gear requirements if you wish to tow legally. Also bare in mind the requirements for a full break away breaking system should your tow weight exceed 2 tonnes

[outta line]

What size cat and make model are you after it might give us a better understanding if you will stay under 2.5t

[Moonlighter]

If you are looking at second hand boats, the first thing to look at is the compliance plate on the boat trailer.

it will state the ATM and GTM, and tare weight of the trailer. Theesedetails give you the max allowable weight that the trailer can carry.

While you can't rely on this to be accurate, it will give you a decent idea. If the ATM is greater than 2.5 then you would probably want to walk away.

If it's less, then you could continue to consider that boat, but before signing on any dotted line, you would want to insist on a weigh bridge certificate or at least to run it over a weigh bridge in your presence and make a note of the actual weight.

This is because there are no guarantees that the trailer is rated to carry the actual load that is on it, as others have indicated, it's not uncommon for dealers to sell boats with a trailer that is just barely rated for the weight, but once fuel and normal gear is added to the boat, the weight can then easily be well over the allowable ATM for the trailer. And that raises all sorts of problems.

[ranmar850]

Yes, been there , done that. Don't look at the trailer rating and assume that is what the boat will weigh. I bought a Swiftcraft Dominator with twin 60's earlier this year, on a trailer rated at 1200 Kg! Now, dommies aren't the lightest of hulls, but luckily the trailer was in as-new condition and the manufacturers design engineer agreed that an upgrade to tandem (all bolt-on parts, simple conversion) would raise it to 1800Kg after reviewing the original VIN plate details, conversion duly done, new VIN plate issued,. I then ran it over the weighbridge for exactly 1550kg, no fuel ( tote tanks only.) So the original 1200 KG rated single axle trailer would have been carrying around 1450 Kg, empty.

[airlock]

Thanks for the tip on trailer plate, i'll give them a check. I'd only really got as far as googling motor specs as they should be pretty accurate but haven't found much on hull weight, and like you say once you add in the weight of extras and any modification it can be a real guessing game.

I'm currently looking at the 1850 noosa cat, 5.6 shark cat and the 6.1 marlin broadbills. I'm after a nice stable cat with a reasonable cabin and a relatively soft ride, The glass cats look like a good bet buti'm concerned about the weight. And while i would appreciate the extra space and stability of the larger sport cab broadbill the extra size even in an aluminium hull is making me wonder if it'll be a bit to heavy.

[scottar]

There was a breed of cat that was very lightweight - name escapes me at the moment (someone here will know though) but they seemed to have quite a following on the Sunshine Coast and were made up there I believe. We had a 6 odd metre one in the shop one day - I wasn't there when it was dropped off but when the guy picked it up - with his Honda CRV :o, he swore black and blue it was within the vehicles legal tow weight. It was only powered with a pair of 60hp yammy 4 strokes and I have never seen one with big motors so they must at least be ok with the smaller donks. Not sure whether they were made in a cabin model though.

Edit - I think it may have been a Coastal Cat. Very little information available on them - may be some owners on here with a better idea as to whether old mate was FOS with his tow weight.

[Darren J]

Thanks for the tip on trailer plate, i'll give them a check. I'd only really got as far as googling motor specs as they should be pretty accurate but haven't found much on hull weight, and like you say once you add in the weight of extras and any modification it can be a real guessing game.

I'm currently looking at the 1850 noosa cat, 5.6 shark cat and the 6.1 marlin broadbills. I'm after a nice stable cat with a reasonable cabin and a relatively soft ride, The glass cats look like a good bet buti'm concerned about the weight. And while i would appreciate the extra space and stability of the larger sport cab broadbill the extra size even in an aluminium hull is making me wonder if it'll be a bit to heavy.

I looked into weights of a lot of different cats for some time. Was trying to limit towing to 3t. Talked to a lot of owners. Don't quote these figures exactly, but I believe.....

5m shark cat (70 2 strokes) is about 2t on steel trailer (I know someone that has owned one for about 20 years)
I would say the 5.6 would be getting close to 2.5, depending on spec/engines etc, but I am speculating on that one.
Coastal Cats as quoted are light. The 7m versions (2.3 beam) are in the low 2t bracket, and on light allows trailers can be as low as about 2t I believe (I have a mate with one he claims is 2t dry and knew someone else with one that suggested the same, they were all running override brakes, although I don't agree that was right). The smaller Coastal Cats thus would prob be fine, but most of them in any size are rare to find for sale, the smaller ones even more so. Great riding boat but....
5.2 KC are under 2.5t.
1850 NC as tested in F&B in2001 was claimed by Noosa cat to be 2.12t on trailer, with Yam 90 2stk. Would be close to 2.5 full/loaded.
Markham 5600 with 90 4 strokes, full tanks, just over 2.5t, steel trailer as per a magazine boat test.

I think in alloy you will get away up to about 6.5m and keep around your 2.5t.
5.8 Sailfish (really about a 5.5 m boat I think with 60 4 strokes is well under 2t, claimed 1600kg, but I am unsure on fuel load.
2400 sailfish (I think these were about a 6.5 m boat) with 115 4 strokes claimed as 2.4t in a boat test.

Old 6.2 KC... A good 3t plus on steel trailers. Likewise 2400KC and 2300NC start around 3t and go up depending on gear fitted. Some benefit a few hundred kilos from al. trailers, but some have limited gains depending on how heavily the alloy trailer is built. I know of a 450kg alloy trailers under a 7m cat, as well as 1t alloy trailer under the same size cat.

The newer 6m cats now being built will all get you away under 2.5t (Voyager Cat 625, Seatrek 5990, Commander Cat).

Nearly everyone I have spoken to that have actually weighed there cats, have nearly all found they were on the heavier side of what they understood and often on the heavy side of manufacturer claims and plated trailer ratings, so keep that in mind....

I am sure there may be some owners of these boats that can elaborate more specifically for you.

[Short Fuse]

I can add a couple of cat weights in to this thread.

My old boat - A 1989 Sharkcat 500 Sportsman model upgraded to larger pods, with 2007 model 70hp Suzuki outboards on a gal steel trailer with 180 litres of fuel and most fishing gear on board weighed 1.94t. So with ice and last minute fishing gear on board it would have come in just over the 2t mark.

My current boat - A 2014 Seatrek 5900 Supersport with 115hp Suzukis on aluminium trailer, with soft top canopy rather than glass hardtop weighed 2.20t over the Caboolture weighbridge. By the time I fuel up (360 litres) fill the 60 litre water tank, add anchors, rope, chain and all fishing gear, I reckon its between 2.8 - 2.9t when heading off on a fishing trip.

cheers

Jeff

[airlock]

Thanks for the boat weights guys, these things are heavier then i had expected. I have seen the costal cats around but they seem really rare and don't fit my budget, Good to know the smaller shark and Noosa cats will just about work so long as i avoid hard tops and don't look at any larger engines. perhaps the alloy cat will be the smart choice when all said and done, either that or its time to find a land cruiser.

[Darren J]

either that or its time to find a land cruiser.

The 3.5t rated dual cab utes (or the better ones) will tow to 3t without any problems. Getting to 3.5t is also quite achievable with these, you just need a little more awareness of payload capacities which becomes more restrictive etc as everything is on the limit.