Reply With QuoteAnother +1 for a cat. I won’t own anything else since I made the switch.
i had a cruisecraft 500 lovely boat at rest and was wide enough for 4 adults to bay fish with a cabin etc for kids
but it was a horrible ride in anything but flat conditions to get alll that cock pit space and stability it had little dead rise reverse chines and the shoulders of the boat were well forwards
still my favorite boat as everything is a compromise and the positives outwayed the negatives
i just had to drive a bit slower to get out there
Another +1 for a cat. I won’t own anything else since I made the switch.
Democracy: Simply a system that allows the 51% to steal from the other 49%.
Cats tend to roll more when drifting in choppy water as will any boat that is very stable in smooth water.
It's the nature of the beast, what gives it stability in smooth water also creates unwanted lift in the chop.
The trick is to position the boat so that the chop hits the transom squarely rather than hitting the back corner or side.
Try turning your motor to get it to drift at right angles to the chop direction.
But that will make you drift faster, won't it? Any hull will rock less when pointing downwind, most cuddies want to turn and drift straight downwind like that, cab acts as a big windscoop and they drift just too fast to fish from, as well as the issue of all lines going out in a smaller area ( over the transom vs over the side) so you get more tangles. Correct it by a properly bridled sea anchor, and you'll slow down, and will be drifting side on to the the sea again.
Every hull is a compromise. They all rave about the Formula 233 and it's direct derivates--the original boat was made to go fast into a head sea. Most changes since have been to try to build some stability in at rest, beam-on, IMO. You've all seen that "the captain" video on youtube, where they look at the Cootacraft? Just look at The Villain.Yeah, they look awesome heading into a slop, and they are really built for divers and just the general go- fast- in -a -boat- but- not -fishing crowd. The builder open admits that he sacrifices 10-15% stability to keep a deep vee for a soft ride. Looking at that boat rocking around in a flat calm just off the ramp, I suggest it'd be worse than that. As fishermen, and I am assuming we are all on the same page here, we sit in our boats all day, whether trolling, anchored, or drifting. We need stability at rest. Divers have different needs. They like to get there as quick as possible, don't care if they get wet doing it as they are normally suited up before leaving the ramp. get to where they are going, do the dive, or two, come home fast. No sitting around in the boat. Believe me, I was a diver for a long time.
Stability also comes in different forms. Ever heard the terms " tender" and "stiff" WRT stability? Tender means they roll easily, but right themselves in a soft manner, ie, not sharply. Stiff means they might not roll intially, but when they do, it is sharp, and correction is also sharp. Miserable action in a chop, believe me. You need a balance. Deep vees err towards the tender side, constant roll. So they try to fix it with reverse chines. Cats have the same problem as a pontoon, no natural self-righting moment, which is why they figure disproportionally in rollover accidents. Flame away.They get to a certain point, and they just can't come back, from a hull digging in or whaever, where a good monohull will always come back, UNLESS they downflood (water over the gunwhales), or have cargo/passengers all fall to one side. Then it is all over anyway.
So, to sum it up, yer pays yer money and yer takes yer chances. Sea trial in the sort of sea you operate in is the only sure way to tell if a boat is what you want it to be.
If your looking for seriosly good stability and a ride at least copable to others in a boat less than 6m then IMO a pontoon boat will be the way to go. The length you are talking will limit to some degree what funky stuff can done with the hull to get the best of both worlds in most styles of boat. In a pontoon you will still get your 18 odd degrees deadrise and a good ride for size and also the rock solid stability of a pontoon. Stabi or profile is where i would be headed if you talking <6m.
if you can stomach the SHEER F***ING UGLINESS OF THE THINGS.God they are ugly. If ever a boat needed Ugly Stick decals all over it,they are it, because they have been belted to death with one. Feedback I've heard, even from owners, is that you don't look at the smaller ones, 18'6 or less, as they just ride so bloody hard. Bigger ones are OK.
Stabicraft were originally designed to be belted about on poor ramps, dragged up beaches to be dryloaded, generally knocked around. Just make no sense if you operate from good ramps.
arent the kiwis the kings of pontoon boats, they got a few models now and somehow have convinced the Australian government to buy them for our maritime..services ....they must be stable but ugly as ,not as sexy as the cootacraft villan though....
No tinny will ever be as sexy as that thing--horn on the water, but, as the builder says, built for spearos. Kiwi's invented the RIB-shaped tinny, and when used in the manner intended, they do a good job.
its going to cost more than you think to get to the next level . Definitely a bigger boat will be a bit more stable, allthings being equal. More freeboard, your looking at boats like signature, quintrex/stacer or even a bowrider ( trhis really opens up the field) . The alloy boats are going to be fat and stable but not ride so well. Most of the fiberglass boats are knockoffs of 50yr old layouts anyway. Your streaker being a good example.
I would be happy to own a quintrex 530-570 runabout or topender. the ride is most acceptable in this size. So you do have options. A pontoon? well, its not exactly FAMILY FRIENDLY.
Last edited by Andy56; 19-01-2019 at 09:52 AM. Reason: mistakes
You could always go a deep vee hull and spend a few dollars on a MC2 gyro or Seakeeper gyro
Moose
Get A Barcrusher !
Guys i actually like the look of the stabicraft the tube design gives it a really unique and robust sort of bulky machine look like a boat on steroids look
Below waterline weight makes a huge difference, which is well known by anyone who has been in a ballast setup boat. What seems to be forgotten is what happens when you put weight up high esp hard tops/towers. Been in many less V'd boats which rock and roll worse than you classic deep vee (24 odd degree) which are setup with weight down low and light weight up high.
Ok , here is a challenge for you, name the boats . what you say is true, but untill you name the boats, we are no wiser.Originally Posted by Vromme
Simple.
Grady White (think model is seafarer 226 or similar) hard top vs Coota Craft Badboy both 6.5m odd with 2.5m ish beam.
Weight is similar. GW variable deadrise (think they are about 20 at transom) vs BB 25 degree deadrise
Been in both many days, each has its own pros and cons in diff conditions but the BB seems more stable at rest esp with cross wind. Cross sea/chop comparable probably GW has edge. Standard anchor in front chop/sea Id prob pick the BB (not much in it though).
Driving in any sea conditions - no brainer which one.
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