Sharkcat Newbie

Hi guys,

Ive been reading the forums on this site for a while now and thought I might as well join in. I like the vast amount of knowledge and tips provided by members and also the variety of (often conflicting!:o) opinions!

I am the owner of a 1986 Sharkcat 5.6 Sportsman originally commissioned by CSIRO Tasmania and built to survey. She has 2008 115hp etecs on her bum and has had extensive mods over the years.

I note there are a few experienced Sharkcat owners on the site and I look forward to chatting and maybe getting some advice.

Good Boating ;D

Welcome to the forums

Hi Finknn, ive had my sharkcat for three years now ,( first ever cat) mind you, and i bought one just on the reputation , never had been in one, never ever test drove one, and didnt even test drive the one i bought. but after watching that video footage of the old sharkcats in action from the old days i was hooked, seeing that cat taking a breaking wave side on was out of this world. being a southerner we dont see many cats down this way only the marine rescue uses them and the abalone divers.......was i nervous trying to learn to drive the thing . HELL YES i was crapping myself. but steady steady you get used to the different handling etc. but i can seriously tell you now that none of my previous monos would have handled some of the weather ive got caught in since and at the end of the day you have to feel safe to enjoy it and my sharkcat makes me feel safe. cheers

Hey catshark, your story sounds very familiar. This is my first cat and also bought on reputation, never been in one and bought it without test drive and shipped from QLD. Very familiar with the footage you speak of and was also blown away. Maybe not the smartest thing to buy something like a boat without a test drive, but I did a lot of research and spoke to people who were very familiar with this model. In short, do I regret my decision.....HELL NO! Of the 3 other boats I've had the Sharkcat has the best ride/handling and suited most to my needs - fishing offshore, beyond the shelf and comfortable safe cruising with the wife and young kids. I haven't had that many hours at the helm yet and still feel I'm learning to drive it properly, I know what you mean by crapping myself learning to drive it. It does handle differently to my past mono's but I am getting the hang of it and love it more and more every time. I sold my last mono (21ft ProLine Walk Around) for a few reasons but one of the main ones was not enjoying the uncomfortable banging ride in even a moderate swell. The cat when driven right is a pleasure to ride in, even has gas suspension seats but not sure it really needs them. I find like any boat, it can bang at times when driven too hard into a head sea but nothing like my last boat - it was actually shaking things loose and even snapped the reel off a road in the rocket launchers. Ive tried adjusting trim but I think with a head sea and close together swells the only thing to do is drive to the conditions and slow down. Any thoughts on this? How do you drive your cat into a head sea and do you find the ride when swells are steep and close?

Hey FINKNN, i bought my boat of a very experience cat skipper, and he gave me some great tips but i generally just eased into the learning of it and have grown with confidence , i dont consider myself a gun skipper yet, but a drive to conditions sought of thinking as i know im still learning techniques, as for your question in head sea, what i do is..... hit the oncoming swell/waves at a slight angle and depending on direction will trim the motors so the sponsoons will land even or flat after,Example im heading due east , swell coming at me from S/east, i know my starboard hull will enter the swell first ,check position of trim settings and will either Trim port motor down to lower starboard hull so it slices the water first and not lift the hull up, or trim starboard up to raise the port hull so when i come out the back off the wave, im landing level, hope this makes sense, and i got this right??? been six months since ive been on the water. sometimes i change line of attack and will tack more beam until i know that deeperwaters will be smoother, but with short swells you just gotta slow down and bear it, keep in mind i can only speak of sea conditons of southern nsw as i hear qld seas are a lot different with steeper waves and so on but this works for me and ive never copped a green one over the windscreen yet. ive had two scares , one going thru the entrance and finding there was three mtre greenies instead of 1.5mtr, came right off the very top of the 3mtr and dropped down into the trough, completely on the floor nearly knocked out but boat still plowing ahead strong as... well change of underwear for that one and the other was trying to be fancy and adjust trims at good speed back thru the entrance, mixing up the trims and digging in the port hull into a good ol green hole causing the boat to lean right over, change of undies for that one too ha ha , but i will say as scared as i was, i was completely trusty that the sharkcat would get me thru and it did, and i will say that its very forgiving in its handling. cheers

Welcome to the other side, the grass is greener here!

Hey catshark, thanks for the advice, makes sense to adjust the levels of the sponsons in relation to the swell and like most things experience is a great teacher. I do use this method as you have described but might try angling into the swell a bit more too. You are dead right about getting used to these cats, turning and having the boat lean out is a different feeling but I usually feel very safe in my cat and wouldn't change back now. Like you said easing into it and gaining confidence is key. I know my fishing buddies appreciate the ride and handling and there's not much sweeter than getting the trim, speed and revs just right and riding that magic carpet to your favorite mark.

Thanks Mupster, I'm lov'n that greener grass. I kind of get the feeling there's a tiiiiiiiiny bit of "us and them", "cat and mono" thing going on in some of the threads?.......in a friendly way of course;)