18ft sharkcat

[94patrol]

Hi guys Iv been offered a 18ft sharkcat with 100hp fourstrokes on it for a good price but have never Been in one and wanting to no a few things I'm worried about coming back thru bars in one I live in tweed and mainly cross tweed bar and have heard horror stories about them on out going tides and a following sea does anyone and any idears?i fish solo sometimes and worried about it being to heavy by myself to launch and I will be towing it with a 2013 triton and hope is enough to tow it it does have a 3t towing witch is more than what they weigh

[BigE]

Shark cats (esp the 18 footer) are a beautiful thing, when use for purpose and well set up they are awe-inspiring. but they are not perfect and not for everyone.
Difficult to handle solo , need to be set up to float at cruise , need 2 motors and have additional maintenance and running cost of the 2nd engine, and they are wet if there set up right not spray but mist sucked in from behind from the air and water cushion they ride on so everything will be "moist" they slap on the troll and at rest and do not have the best cab set up.

That said i have fond memories of setting out for the reef on a 60nm run and pulling up 40mile out to wait for the formulars and haines hunters to catch up while we had a sanga and a beer.

in there element they are very hard to beat ....... they can also be very hard to live with.

Welcome to boats

BigE

[catshark]

hey mate id give it a miss, firstly im a cat fan all the way , but a few red flags are here. 18ft with 100 hp is a dog. tweed bar is hairy from what ive heard. and your a novice that will handle a dog of a cat in a hairy bar....honestly just get yourself a good 17-18 ft glass mono. the handling and expense will be better for you.

[Whiley_Whiting]

Not sure about why an 18ft with twin 100hp will be a dog... the 18ft is a perfect boat with anything from 90hp to 115hp twins.... with the 4 strokes the pods are needed to get the bum up out of the water.

tweed bar is a dog... but on a good day either a cat or a mono will be sufficient.. once through the bat the cat will be better at rest and also on the chop.. twin outboards are more expensive to service but once offshore the reliability of having twins pays for itself...

everyone can pass judgement but you only need to be offshore in a boat with 1 outboard and it wont start once before you change to the twin concept...

cat v mono - a great debate... my theory is try the cat, if you dont like it there will be many people lining up to buy it!!!

[Noelm]

Not too sure why anyone would think an 18' cat with 100s would be a dog, just be careful, there has been lots of different models made, put up a couple of pictures so we can identify the model, they were not exactly well made and suffer from rot like lots of "legendary" boats from that era.

[94patrol]

Everybody has talked me out of it I'm going to have a look st v19 tomorrow if I don't buy that I will reconsider the cat

[Noelm]

What was the reasons you were talked out of it? cats are not for everyone, and most of the "experts" have never been in one,

[Noelm]

Just to add something, coming through any bar will not be a problem in an 18' Sharkcat, rest assured of that.

[gazza2006au]

There is a set of cat moulds on facebook 6.5 meters for $300 in a frame, pay someone to lay up the mould it would be piss easy using a chooper gun and laying down the cloth using the chooper gun to wet out the cloth is incredibly quick should'nt cost more than 10k 15k another 8k to fit it out with thermolite and your set

[Homer_Jay]

Having owned a V19c and now a cat, I would never go back to a mono.
Don't rule out the Sharkcat, but do tread carefully as they can be a dog with the wrong motors as the older cats were never made to handle the weight of a big 4 stroke.

Get some photos and post up here, there will be some guys that can give you some good advice.

As a learner, a cat is not something to be afraid of however it is best to hasten slowly. Don’t just rush out and think you will be invincible. A bit of common sense and it will be the best boat you ever own.

Keep in mind twin engines do cost more to maintain.

[catshark]

Just to add something, coming through any bar will not be a problem in an 18' Sharkcat, rest assured of that.

99 percent yes but dip a sponson into a hole and youll know all about it, had my cat on a 45 degrees plus tilt once, phew lucky she came back over right way.

[catshark]

Not too sure why anyone would think an 18' cat with 100s would be a dog, just be careful, there has been lots of different models made, put up a couple of pictures so we can identify the model, they were not exactly well made and suffer from rot like lots of "legendary" boats from that era.

probably should clarify that the four strokes would be heavy and affect the holeshot is what i mean

[catshark]

by all means revisit the shark cat, didnt mean to talk you out of it. Neg style... to be honest if i could have afforded to run my two four strokes, id still have my cat. they do install a very safe feeling aboard.

[gazza2006au]

I donno shit from shit when it comes to boats i only ever buy what fits my budget so i donno how these old girls ride but a quick look on gumtree in sydney (i donno your location) found a 6.2m haines hunter for under $12,000 to me that old shagged girl isnt worth 12k but to a lot of the haines fans it may very well be a cheap buy

If u snag this one do a full restore or conversion there might just be a market for it being a 6.2m boat it would have good offshore capabilities one would hope being a HH

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/barg...ter/1228747797

[gazza2006au]

Patrol if your still keen on a cat i rarely come across them this one just came up, twin 90 etecs boat is 18.5ft bloke is asking 45k listed on facebook