I'm back in the Power Cat owners club

[T2x]

I just bought a 1961 Power Cat 15C.......... so now the "Wing" has a buddy.

John Sherlock....please call me.

T2x

[Sunburnt]

Welcome Back! :thumbsup: :cheers:

[mr_velocity]

Cool, congrats!! :cool:

[59powercat1400]

cool, when do we get pics? Dick.

[ssmith007]

I would take a wild guess and say it will have an inline for power.:thumbsup: Great Job. Smitty

[Sunburnt]

I bet it gets 2!:p

[rnelems]

My memory is not real good,but it seems like a few years ago T2x posted about a pair of white inlines he has had for years. What about it,Rich? Are they still around?;)

[T2x]

I bet it gets 2!:p

You would be correct sir.

T2x

[T2x]

My memory is not real good,but it seems like a few years ago T2x posted about a pair of white inlines he has had for years. What about it,Rich? Are they still around?;)

I never owned those motors, but I had a line on them for years......

Fortunately, they went to my favorite ex Mercury employee.;)

Now I need a pair of inline 1500's......... and I gave away the pair that were on the Wing......to a good home, of course.:D :D

T2x

[T2x]

Welcome Back! :thumbsup: :cheers:

Let's see...it's been exactly 44 years since my last Power Cat....... It's good to be home.....

T2x

[Sunburnt]

I never owned those motors, but I had a line on them for years......

Fortunately, they went to my favorite ex Mercury employee.;)

Now I need a pair of inline 1500's......... and I gave away the pair that were on the Wing......to a good home, of course.:D :D

T2x

A pair of 99's will turn it into a Wing, that'll be one hairy ride..

Jeff

[T2x]

A pair of 99's will turn it into a Wing, that'll be one hairy ride..

Jeff

Once you've done the big tunnels, everything else is pretty tame............:p

Besides, we're pretty good at setting things up to be stable and predictable, and my throttle foot feathers a lot better with each year of age.:D :D

Have no fear, my grandkids will not lose me to my lifelong passion.

T2x

[Powercat]

Rich:
Welcome back to our little end of the boating universe!!
You will have fun, to be sure..
Hmmm... I think I see a great vintage race in the future.....
4 or 5 15c's running with a Swizter Wing as the pace boat...
In my dreams....
Danny Leger

[T2x]

The drugs are starting to work, will call soon.
No you can not have the 800DR engines with the speedmasters and no my 15C was not sold, I am working on it now.
This picture will look good with two 15C Power Cats.....
True V&H,, Vintage(us) and Historic(us)

Don't worry...i don't want the DR's......

not enough power.......

need a couple of Sport J engines..........:p

T2x

[T2x]

Rich:
Welcome back to our little end of the boating universe!!
You will have fun, to be sure..
Hmmm... I think I see a great vintage race in the future.....
4 or 5 15c's running with a Swizter Wing as the pace boat...
In my dreams....
Danny Leger

Danny:

For your records, the boat is a 1961 hull, I believe, (the registration is smudged a little), serial number is 605821, and the dash plate says it is a Bellflower Ca. hull. It is on a 1960 cat trailer (probably original), and the motors are 1962 Merc 400's (ditto), which are for sale immediately (they run supposedly and the boat was used last year)..... It has a windshield (cracked) and a replacement laying in the boat. We just cut a silly roof off of the thing that came from an old Aristo Craft or something like it.....

It is leaving Denver this evening and traveling east........inside a dry van...;)

T2x

[delawarerick]

Are you gonna build up 2 1500 and do you only want J blocks? I have a 1500 powerhead with an xs trim bracket and a 20 inch mid. Rick

[T2x]

Are you gonna build up 2 1500 and do you only want J blocks? I have a 1500 powerhead with an xs trim bracket and a 20 inch mid. Rick

In truth, anything over 1350's will be fine, but they must be matched as to year...and most importantly they must be 15" motors.... I already have two 20" lowers and mids sitting around......

Of course the perfect pairing would be 1500 xs's...with SSM's...( Stackers cheerfully accepted) I am nuts after all.....:D :D ;)

T2x

[kasshark]

I see that you drivers use the 15c is the 16c a good hull? Should one stay away from that hull?

[Powercat]

Rich:
If the serial # is from the original nameplate in the boat then
most likely it's a 1960 (60 5821) I have entered the info into the
registry database and next time I update the one on the web it
will show yours in the list. Can't wait to see what you come up
with for motors..
Danny Leger
Austin, Texas

[Powercat]

The 16c can actually be faster than the 15c as it can handle larger motors. It was designed to be a scaled down version
of the 18c with the same rough water characteristics, but in a smaller
more affordable boat. I guess I would say the 15c is a lake/river boat
and the 16c is a bay or open water boat. My dad used a 16c for his
national record holding drag boat, so they can be a good choice.
Danny Leger


I see that you drivers use the 15c is the 16c a good hull? Should one stay away from that hull?

[Sunburnt]

It's probably the ultimate PowerCat.. Nice and Big with good looks. With a pair of 99's it should run over most of the everyday lake traffic and not skip a beat..

I know of atleast 1 that is in the planning stages..:)

Jeff

[AirRide]

The 16C is the E-ticket. Period correct of course.:thumbsup:

[T2x]

In my racing career, I didn't come across any 16C's. Perhaps they were turned into "Bubble Cats"...with fully enclosed plywood race decks ( see pix below)....I did see a number of those. I even raced against a few 3 and 4 point Powercats, and some American Marcs, Stylecrafts and Magnolia's...... but no 16C's to the best of my memory.

T2x

[Sunburnt]

The 16c can actually be faster than the 15c as it can handle larger motors. It was designed to be a scaled down version
of the 18c with the same rough water characteristics, but in a smaller
more affordable boat. I guess I would say the 15c is a lake/river boat
and the 16c is a bay or open water boat. My dad used a 16c for his
national record holding drag boat, so they can be a good choice.
Danny Leger

Here's the man himself going for the record ! :thumbsup:


http://powercatboat.com/50b.jpg

[Powercat]

Here is a 16c running in the rough stuff in Florida...
.....
All of the fiberglass twin hull models were raced in many different types
of racing.... 14c, 15c, 16c, 15x, 18c, 20c.. Most of the wood deck
"Bubble Cats" that came from the factory were made on the 18c hull.
There were a lot of individual racers who made there own from the
other models.. The 15x was based on a 16c hull and had a fiberglass
bubble deck. It was made for a specific classs of racing for single
engine racers in the old NOA.

[Sunburnt]

Danny:

For your records, the boat is a 1961 hull, I believe, (the registration is smudged a little), serial number is 605821, and the dash plate says it is a Bellflower Ca. hull. It is on a 1960 cat trailer (probably original), and the motors are 1962 Merc 400's (ditto), which are for sale immediately (they run supposedly and the boat was used last year)..... It has a windshield (cracked) and a replacement laying in the boat. We just cut a silly roof off of the thing that came from an old Aristo Craft or something like it.....

It is leaving Denver this evening and traveling east........inside a dry van...;)

T2x

Any updates to her arrival? Any pic's??

Jeff

[T2x]

Any updates to her arrival? Any pic's??

Jeff

Safe and sound

[Sunburnt]

Cool! Yup, looks like a 1960 to me. The later ones started to get funky looking decks.

Jeff

[Mark75H]

What motor you putting on it for trolling? :cool: Let's go fishin'!:D

[T2x]

What motor you putting on it for trolling? :cool: Let's go fishin'!:D

No fishing but you can have the dry rotted board...I will gladly Fed Ex it to you....collect:p

T2x

[Mark75H]

I will gladly Fed Ex it to you....collect:p

By Fed Ex from Jersey, I'd have about a 50/50 chance of actually receiving it ... it would route thru California or Seattle for some reason if I did get it.

[T2x]

Deck's off and the bill of materials has been ordered....now the fun begins.

[oldskier]

Gotta love a guy who knows how to pace himself...2 years later?

[Powercat]

Rich, great to see it begun... Let me know if you need
anything from me. :)
[ Bernie, take it easy on Rich, he has had "bigger" cats to skin ]

Danny Léger

[oldskier]

Rich, great to see it begun... Let me know if you need
anything from me. :)
[ Bernie, take it easy on Rich, he has had "bigger" cats to skin ]

Danny Léger

Danny, I know. I'd STILL love to see a vid of the Wing flying with V-6 power....

[seeroy]

Danny, I know. I'd STILL love to see a vid of the Wing flying with V-6 power....

Come see it in person. 7-10 Oct 2010 at OFF2010

[lilabner]

Rich..
Make it a bubble cat, like Mersereau would..Live on the edge...don't forget sandbags for the deck though..:icon_bs:

[mragu]

Deck's off and the bill of materials has been ordered....now the fun begins.

whats it doing in east rockaway?

[T2x]

Gotta love a guy who knows how to pace himself...2 years later?

smart *ss....... it took 5 years for the wing to get off the ground....but it got there.

[oldskier]

smart *ss....... it took 5 years for the wing to get off the ground....but it got there.


Haha, I know you have been skinning the big cat, I'm just glad you didn't forget the little one.:D

I kinda like the bubble cat idea....it would definitely get the attention at the ramp. Are you building for speed or pleasure? (with twin J motors and speedmasters...) :eek:

And you are going to document in pics huh?

Bernie

[T2x]

Rich, great to see it begun... Let me know if you need
anything from me. :)
[ Bernie, take it easy on Rich, he has had "bigger" cats to skin ]

Danny Léger

Thanks Danny...... In spite of the faded gel coat, the structure of the cat is amazingly fresh. Most of the wood (original) is still viable and the transom has no rot......... We are going to core the entire hull with balsa....... add longitudinal stringers and transom supports, raise the transom and clean up the deck structure a little. The hull was originally bonded to the deck (i didn't think anybody did that back in the early 60's) and will be again.

Your dad did a very nice job...........

[T2x]

Haha, I know you have been skinning the big cat, I'm just glad you didn't forget the little one.:D

I kinda like the bubble cat idea....it would definitely get the attention at the ramp. Are you building for speed or pleasure? (with twin J motors and speedmasters...) :eek:

And you are going to document in pics huh?

Bernie

Isn't speed a pleasure?

I love the bubble cat idea too....but there is something to be said for a side by side setup for boating get togethers. I have a little time to decide.......

I am also thinking of adapting sportmasters to the 1500's (which will sport 1000 decals)....SSM's are not very civilized if I ever want to take the boat out for a day's romp in Great South Bay....or on the Hudson.....or Lake George...... At OFF there will be a lot of willing hands so I might use SSM's at certain events.

Pics will be hit and miss....but there will be a string.

[T2x]

whats it doing in east rockaway?

The backstroke?

:D

[T2x]

Rich..
Make it a bubble cat, like Mersereau would..Live on the edge...don't forget sandbags for the deck though..:icon_bs:


With today's 3 and 4 blade props and 1500's, I doubt it will need sand bags.

[Speedfab]

Isn't speed a pleasure?
SSM's are not very civilized if I ever want to take the boat out for a day's romp in Great South Bay...

Pffffft.

http://pauhanasurfsupply.com/images/P/SurfPaddle.jpg

[lilabner]

The sandbags would be used to keep it from sinking while not moving in a forward direction...water over the transom you know..of course a babe in a g-string would do in a pinch..

[velox]

:iagree:Rich is pretty thin. He may need sand bags just to get it on a plane with big engines.:smiletest:

[Sunburnt]

QUOTE=velox;1998762]:iagree:Rich is pretty thin. He may need sand bags just to get it on a plane with big engines.:smiletest:[/QUOTE]

Sand Bags? Wish I had thought of that!
http://members.cox.net/sunburnt/SSM/getting%20on%20plane.jpg

[FUJIMO]

Way too much motor weight for those little boats.

[oldskier]

Way too much motor weight for those little boats.

Yeah...and they go way too fast with 'em too!:reddevil:

[Powercat]

Way too much motor ?
Way Too fast ?
Did I get on the knitting and plaster painting website by mistake?

[Mark75H]

Way too much motor weight for those little boats.

On a different planet from the rest of us

[oldskier]

On a different planet from the rest of us


I AM on a different planet, but only becuz I can't find enough of these ancient exotics to run two of 'em on the same rig. (Also because I can't afford 'em either...anybody need to get rid of a matched pair of shortshafts...cheap? Twisters would be nice but a pair of 150 XS's would do nicely....of course a well heeled 1350 SS would match up well with the one on the 15T right now too...;))

[FUJIMO]

I AM on a different planet, but only becuz I can't find enough of these ancient exotics to run two of 'em on the same rig. (Also because I can't afford 'em either...anybody need to get rid of a matched pair of shortshafts...cheap? Twisters would be nice but a pair of 150 XS's would do nicely....of course a well heeled 1350 SS would match up well with the one on the 15T right now too...;))

Well, at least you admit you are on a different planet, lol.

[oldskier]

Well, at least you admit you are on a different planet, lol.


I am a little curious why you think twin I6's are too much weight for a Powercat. These things have been running twins since Methusalah was a child....I think they would float a Cummins diesel.

[T2x]

I am a little curious why you think twin I6's are too much weight for a Powercat. These things have been running twins since Methusalah was a child....I think they would float a Cummins diesel.

Weight is a problem only when the c/g get's out of wack. We always used ballast of some sort to assure that a race hull would leave the water and re-enter at the same attack angle. A lot of guys overlook this in the pursuit of the last mile per hour and wind up with hull damage from hard impacts, blow-overs, or taking water over the transom when backing down.

We didn't get these hulls to run from Albany to NY and other rough venues by simply slapping them together and going balls to the wall.

[lilabner]

Remember Chuck Mersereau's words..."Kick em out and Let her eat!"

[Tom Foley]

But, when you can't kick em out, just strap the throttles down and hang on to the engines going down wind. Remember Kissimmee in '59?

Please elaborate !!!! Cool project Rich ...jonesing for pics .:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[T2x]

Tom,
I better elaborate in a PM, other wise, from what I've seen on this website, MK75h might ban me for hijacking this thread.

It's my thread .... post whatever you want Jim......... as long as it has no 4 letter words...... :D

[lilabner]

I remember well Jim...The first time I heard Chuck say that was at the West Palm to Ft Pierce return run around 61..He had a white Bubble Cat and the wind was really bad..it was rough..He came back from a quick test, more in the air than on the water, and a spectator asked him how he could run in that stuff..That was his reply..

Butch

[T2x]

Transom has been raised 5 Inches............ Even though we are using short shaft (15") motors, I don't want to waste a lot of hardware and time jacking them to where we all know they belong. In addition this will reduce the opportunity for water to flow over the transom when backing down off plane.

[Sunburnt]

Transom has been raised 5 Inches............ Even though we are using short shaft (15") motors, I don't want to waste a lot of hardware and time jacking them to where we all know they belong. In addition this will reduce the opportunity for water to flow over the transom when backing down off plane.

Boy, Doesn't that look familiar! :)

[lilabner]

Transom has been raised 5 Inches............ Even though we are using short shaft (15") motors, I don't want to waste a lot of hardware and time jacking them to where we all know they belong. In addition this will reduce the opportunity for water to flow over the transom when backing down off plane.

Rich, that's another thing the sandbags are for...

[T2x]

My 15C back in 1964 had the transom raised exactly the same way............ and it works.

Difference here is that fuel tanks will be mounted further forward........ centered on the c/g. Batteries will be ultra light aircraft 12 volts, and there will be trim pumps mounted as far forward as possible. I am thinking about a bendable fibreglass tunnel tab. Ballast will be placed permanently where needed after rigging.

[lilabner]

sounds like a well thought out plan Rich, actually the sandbags were only needed on a Bubble Cat when we put the Merc 1000's on them..Even with Speedmasters they added enough weight to cause concern while sitting still..A small wake over the transom would wash into the boat..

[T2x]

Actually that same thing happened to me before the Lake George Marathon Nationals in '66. we were sitting with the stern facing out toward the main lake and it was windy and choppy. We took a big roller over the transom, but any hull of that era would have had a tough time that day

[velox]

The biggest problem with the small cats was not so much blowing over, but submarining.
Butch has done it and so have I. When he did it, he brought about 75% of the boat home.
I was a little luckier. I nosed in the Raveau cat at about 80 and went completely under and popped up with one engine still running. I bent the steering wheel where I was holding on and the engine cowls looked like someone had taken a baseball bat to them. I got the stopped engine running and continued the race.
I think you will find, balancing the cat is a lot different than the wing. The wing has a relatively fixed center of lift that you can work around. The cat needs to run on the very last few inches of the bottom to work. We talked a lot at the last OFF, so I know you probably understand weight and balance, CG, and center of lift better that 99.9% of all of the racers. Damn I wish I knew then, what I know now! Back then we just put the biggest engine on the smallest boat, jacked the engine up and out (remember no hydraulic trim) and let er rip. Sometimes we blew over, sometimes we nosed dived and sometime we finished.

[T2x]

The biggest problem with the small cats was not so much blowing over, but submarining.
Butch has done it and so have I. When he did it, he brought about 75% of the boat home.
I was a little luckier. I nosed in the Raveau cat at about 80 and went completely under and popped up with one engine still running. I bent the steering wheel where I was holding on and the engine cowls looked like someone had taken a baseball bat to them. I got the stopped engine running and continued the race.
I think you will find, balancing the cat is a lot different than the wing. The wing has a relatively fixed center of lift that you can work around. The cat needs to run on the very last few inches of the bottom to work. We talked a lot at the last OFF, so I know you probably understand weight and balance, CG, and center of lift better that 99.9% of all of the racers. Damn I wish I knew then, what I know now! Back then we just put the biggest engine on the smallest boat, jacked the engine up and out (remember no hydraulic trim) and let er rip. Sometimes we blew over, sometimes we nosed dived and sometime we finished.

One of the things that I know for sure is if the bow doesn't do high ballistic rebounds off of the water, it can't slam back down to stuff. I like to set up boats that run at low attack angles( 2-6 degrees), but still run relatively dry overall with mimimal hull in the water( the mark of a well set up boat). With the luxury of all the added power on my 15C (twin 1500's), i won't be able to use all of it anyhow and can afford to set up for safety and speed. I figure with today's props, and 300 hp the liitle critter could hit 100+.....but would certainly want to backflip well before that. Remember, this will be the first twin 15c that I know of with power trim. If I can get a consistent 75 to 80 out of it when needed with throttle left to go, I'll be fine. The Vintage events really don't require a lot of top speed, and getting around the moderately choppy courses in comfort is the priority.

[lilabner]

The last ride I had in a 15C was the one I will remember most..I was running the JJ-40 Stack Cat, seen in many of my posts, at Blue Ridge Reservoir in Georiga..This was after the race..My future wife wanted a ride,( I didn't know that yet) so she sat on the tunnel behind the only seat..We took off across that beautiful Lake, late in the afternoon, a tiny bit of a chop, maybe 3 inches, and the cat just floated, doing a crazy little aero thing with the nose..kind of like piloting a helicopter with a front cross wind..I guess you could call it a yaw..but it felt totally safe..speed was a little over 80..sound was stunning..We got to the other side and came back the same way..after that I ran 15C Bubble Cats..They weren't as forgiving..The best cat I ever drove was Skip Talbots triple Stylecraft..the one that ended his racing..It was sweet..
Rich, I wish you the best,, stay safe, and I'll see you at OFF..

[FUJIMO]

My 15C back in 1964 had the transom raised exactly the same way............ and it works.

Difference here is that fuel tanks will be mounted further forward........ centered on the c/g.
Lets see...with the two 150's you indend to use...that should be about a foot forward of the transom, on that little boat. lol:)

[T2x]

Lets see...with the two 150's you indend to use...that should be about a foot forward of the transom, on that little boat. lol:)

You cut the quote short and left out.......

"Ballast will be placed permanently where needed after rigging."