If this Powercat was available, would you buy it ???

[Natchamp]

Design attributes are:
_____a)Trailerable size
_____b)Fishing @ 70%
_____c)Cruising and style @ 30%
_____d)Walk-around deck for fishing
_____e)Small cabin for MSD and room for sleeping overnight

There doesn’t appear to be any builders out there providing this specific boat. The boat will be based on a sound “base” hull design provided by one of the preeminent powercat designers. All 5083 and/or 5086 marine quality aluminum will be used for construction. The following pictures represent the current conceptual boat.







My question is this: Would there be any interest for a boat like this? I’m not particularly interested in becoming “another” boat manufacturer but after reading numerous related threads I am wondering if there would be any demand for such a boat. It seems that my particular design attributes match well with what others are/would be looking for. I am well aware this is not a good time to be selling boats! However, I’m still going to ask the question. So, here are the specific questions:

_____1)Would you be interested in buying a boat like this?

_____2)What would you prefer?
__________a.Aluminum hull only (all aluminum work completed and you finish with rigging and motors)
__________b.Aluminum hull and basic rigging completed (no motors)
__________c.Turn-key boat with motors
_____3)What would be an attractive but realistic price-point?
__________a.Please specify what stage of construction outlined above you are referring to.

Thanks for any input!

Mark

[JETTYWOLF]

Nope.....too dang massive for me. In cats if I ever even gave one a thought it would have to be lower profile, for less windage, super EZ trailerable no 1 ton Dually diesel needed, and not need a whole crew just to fish a 1/2 day.

[kmorin]

Natchamp,
Although I build for myself so I'm not a real boat buyer, I've always had trouble getting cat hulls to look sleek enough to be attractive because of the deck between hulls. Those inner topsides are a question that always seems to need more work.

Trying to get accommodations on a cat is tough unless the hull is large; the reason is that the two hulls' ht off the water- to be a cat- creates a deck line above which you have to build your cabin. There is just no way to make a 6' cabin that begins 2- or 3' off the water loos 'sleek'. They're all too tall for my sense of 'good looks'.

This design property isn't strictly limited to cat hulls, but is very pronounced in cat hulls, and leaves them extremely tall as a result; so their looks, as a type, are very 'massive' as the JettyWolf points out.

#1. No; I wouldn't spend money to drive a boat that looked out of proportion.
#2 You'll need to hire some decent market research guys to solve this one! return posts won't give any decent sample to build a business plan upon.
#2a. very few people could get this done, market % is <1% of all buyers have the skills, knowledge or tools to do this.
#2b. Most packages need to finance in one single point with a bank or credit union, so no engines many times= no loan.
#2c. 95%+ of all boats sold are ready to use, if you're paying you're money you want to turn the key and drive.
#3. Same per foot as all welded plate alloy boats, maybe a 5-10% premium if your hull gives something notably different?
#3a. In different areas of the country welded aluminum boats are 'junk' and only the "frozen snot" (term by one of the Herreshoff's regarding polyester resin and glass clothe boats) white jelly beans will sell. IN other areas, where insurance is more dependent on hull material and type, only welded aluminum boats have the low rates to attract long term boat owners. Finally, some areas the safety of a metal boat is considered the only logical choice, but even there turnkey boats are the norm compared to do-it-yourself kits.

My 2cents:
Drop the overnite cabin -its a day boat.
Lower the gunwales as the deck will shed anything that comes over the bow.
Draw the sheer to look a bit more marine and less 'agricultural'.
Either drop the hand rail to the sheer or put it up where it will be one.
Cats are notoriously 'not trailerable'- either give this up or loose the gain of a cat's massive B.to L. ratio.
Walkaround deck might work when you eliminate the trunk and cabin, just a stoop-down head.

I believe a nearly endless design cycle exists at the cat hull (ama) to deck or cross bridge beam. How high are the hulls' inner topsides before the cross deck? What conditions will that hull take, at what speed before that surface is wetted and takes impact? I'd go around this a few more times, try to get that deck or hull surface as low as you can, then put a deck above it that will do the job (beam depth to hull strength required) then keep everything as low as you can so the looks don't stray too far from the market.

example of design change over time
Look at the acceptance of the NW's leaned forward windscreen. This feature is homely by most traditional standards and took along time (30 some years) to be accepted, but now is widely used and the top left image on the ABB shows a fine looking hull with a leaned forward glass. This look took a long while to get accepted; I think your lines here are "too far up too soon". As Jettywolf points out, again, the Down Under builder have much taller designs compared to what seems to be built in the US.

Cheers,
Kevin Morin

[CTMD]

I agree with most of what Kevin has posted. It will be very hard to get both the visual elements and ergonomics of a cat of this size to work with walk around side decks, particularly with any real depth to them. So you need to decide whether you are building a day boat or an overnighter.

With regards to Kevin's comments on height and doing some simple maths on a 7.5m (24.5') mono you'd normally have your cockpit sole (floor) at about 6 inches above the loaded waterline. On a similar sized cat (like the photo below) the tunnel height will be about 11 inches above the loaded water line. Allowing 4 inches for cross structure you end up with a cabin that is at least 9 inches higher off the waterline than an equ. mono. This isn't a deal breaker if you can access the hulls to provide accommodation, however, your walk around side decks make that impossible /difficult so any interior you fit has to be above the tunnel.

[Natchamp]

Kevin and Chris,

Wow, I truly appreciate you taking the time to post such great and thorough perspectives. This is all good info as I am just trying to evaluate the feasibility of such a thing at this point. I have no grand illusions (or desire) to become a major boat manufacture. However, I am absolutely confident that between myself and my partner (and in particular his aluminum skills) can build a small alloy cat that is definitely better styled than what's currently available (or at least that I have seen).

Drawing something in CAD is one thing but its very hard to get good size/space perspectives. So I would suspect the final above deck layout would be determined when the basic hulls and sole are in place.

I think the most prudent approach would be to build one first and see how everything turns out. This whole idea came about because we want to build one for our own personal use (me and my freind). And during my research it became apparent that our particular blend of fishing .vs cruising style is not available, so the thought of "I wonder if there would be any interest in such a boat" popped into the grey matter. Worst case scenario is we build our custom alloy cat and only have one for our personal use, boy that would suck huh ;)

Chris, what is that cat going to look like when finsihed, do you have any pics?

[CTMD]

Hopefully something like this.