Hot Multi's - Pictures

[JP Love]

Nice read you guys and pics is awesome... JP Love

[T2x]

I am needing to replace a friends 30' Cobra cat with new. The new boat needs to be lighter, (we have the technology), better riding and better as a fishing boat. We have a clean sheet of paper to start from. Why have the symmetrical hull cats gone by the wayside. In one picture I see a Molinari and a symmetrical hulled race cat on the same course. Is there a reason that the current fast cats all have vertical tunnel walls? My 22' cat has nearly symmetrical round bottom hulls, but it was never intended to be fast. We did get 60 mph out of it however it sure seams like we should have gotten more. The Cobra cat got 88 mph from a pair of 250 4 stroke Yamaha's.

Assymetrical cats turn better, are simpler to construct and have a much cleaner airflow in the tunnel. They also allow more air to pack underneath for greater lift. The only symmetrical cat currently racing is the unique "deep Vee cat" which get's all of its speed from the drastically widened tunnel section , a very low profile, and the very narrow sponsons...IMHO. The deep sponson symmetrical cats work better in slower speed utility, fishing, and big seas cruising applications.

[Mini Max]

Asymmetrical cats turn better, are simpler to construct and have a much cleaner airflow in the tunnel. They also allow more air to pack underneath for greater lift. The only symmetrical cat currently racing is the unique "deep Vee cat" which get's all of its speed from the drastically widened tunnel section , a very low profile, and the very narrow sponsons...IMHO. The deep sponson symmetrical cats work better in slower speed utility, fishing, and big seas cruising applications.

When I worked in the UK, they called your comment; "Been there, Done that" or in the US "I have the T shirt to prove it"

The 27 we did was a single step with guidelines Harry Schoell gave me. Round bilged and nearly symmetrical because we inserted the mold we had. For its speed envelope, rides great. All up weight on the grain scale next to ramp, rigged with a pair of 450 lb 150 hp four strokes, little fuel, was 3500 lbs. Light enough, but with the new boat I think we can pull 400 more lbs out. I have a series of models and the next test is asymmetrical bottom, vertical tunnel walls.

In WW II there were three High speed boats of note. The Huckins or Vosper PT boats, the Air Sea rescue boats built at Miami Ships, and the German E boats. The E boats were round bilged and could not match the flat water speed of the PT boats, but in a sea they were faster. Bob Derecktor told me that before the Navy learned he could fix PT boats, he drove them. He built a helm station of a sheet of plywood on four jeep tires to mitigate the shock.

Not to hijack the thread, here is another symetrical hull cat; a Craig Craft that was gutted and built up by Dick Davis. I bought it after the Chryslers came off and he put a pair of Merc 1000's on it.

[FUJIMO]

"When I worked in the UK, they called your comment; "Been there, Done that" or in the US "I have the T shirt to prove it."
LOL!

[Powercat]

DoubleEagle:
I don't recognize the rig either, for 1962 they must have had access to the latest in Mercury motors as that was the first year for the black 100's, Looks to be a CF registry number so its California boat.. The Salton Sea 500 was a brutal race that took
a lot out of the boats motors and drivers. Keep 'em coming .. great to see these shots..
Attached is the team boat for 1962
Danny

And one for Danny. This is dated 1962 Salton Sea I don't have any other info but who ever it is. There having a great time two in a boat with twins and a Power Cat don't get much better than that.

[lilabner]

In my opinion, the hull in post#885 on pg59, looks more like a JavCat than a PowerCat. I know the Critchfield I had was a copy of a JavCat. Notice the chine line and lack of spray rail.

Same thing I thought Jim. The chines are the main clue. I don't have a picture that shows the chines good. Most of them I have are slow shots. Here is one that ran Kissimmee, then Jimmy Sewares brought it to Miami. Never could make it run good though.

[mbd29]

I don't know if this has been posted before but I found it in the files. Not sure where it is at.

[mbd29]

Here are a few from Parker 67 and 70. Mert looks to be in the triple.

[mbd29]

Don Pruett: Havasu 1971 before he wrecked the boat and another from Parker 67.

[willabee]

Swiped this from mbd29, hadn't seen this one before. It's Boots (Francis to his very good friends ) during the 1969 Parker 9 Hour. He and Jim Merten combined to complete the best finish to date against the big ol' inboards that had previously ruled that race .... 1st outboard and 2nd overall. One thing I always wished I had done was record the lap times of those two drivers and the pit stop times, just to see how they may impacted their opportunity to beat Lou Brummet in Rawhide. Looks to me like Boots was getting everything that Wet & Wild had to offer and stay right side up. I think I recall that their race strategy was for Mert to push and for Boots to maintain any gains Mert may have achieved.

[Old fiberglass]

I bet the times between the two were close. Wonder where all the records of the Parker races went ?? I heard Boots really liked to be called Francis.....just don't say it to his face.

[Mini Max]

This motor cover is good for a 3-4 mph........Reduction. Makes the 29' fishing boat I built almost 20 years ago really quiet but slower. How are those Merc's breathing?

[bernie]

I remember running your 29" out of Lauderdale one time - hit a roller and kited it! Awesome boat - as were all your boats. Don't remember that motor cover - bet the suction back there salted them black motors like a bag of salted peanuts!!! What's going on over at Fountain these days - they building anything?

[Mini Max]

Yes Bernie that was a good ride. Its the Winds fault, not mine that a light boat likes to fly. :-)

The motor cover was not my idea, I saw them on a Conch 27. You cannot hear the engine running and the customer wanted a place to cut bait. I don't recall the vacuum causing a problem, but I built it and it went away. The weirdest effect I ever saw was my 16' flats boat prototype. I took one of the Mechanic's for a spin after work. Sitting on the deck beside me somewhere above 50 mph the beer he was holding started to snake out of the can like a cobra. He tried to catch it in his mouth and the stream collapsed in his lap. I said "lets do it again" and he chugged it!


I am all about Catamarans for the moment, but what a pain in the ass to laminate, expensive in labor and materials too. We are getting really good fuel economy numbers, soft ride, speed and stability. I think it's worth it, just need the customers to "buy in" !

I think they are shipping a few Proline's and Fountain's each week. Not sure about Donzi's and Baha's. They also shipped a 30' race boat. They molded a Plexiglas windshield for a catamaran I am building a few weeks ago. Nice guys, wish them well.

[willabee]

This motor cover is good for a 3-4 mph........Reduction. Makes the 29' fishing boat I built almost 20 years ago really quiet but slower. How are those Merc's breathing?

Wonder how many times Boots and the boys went by this rig in nine hours?