Bryan wrote:
The fuel tanks in the front are 20 gallons each, therefore,
support work was necessary to keep the boat from cracking in two.
This increased the overall weight in the front by quite a bit.
We use the boat for pleasure, not racing...except for an
occasional run down the river with an Allison or Mirage, etc.
When you pull up next to a new boat, they tend to frown...
and continue to frown as they watch me pass.
Kinda fun to show them how an old boat can RUN!
( Go to the video page and check out Cats At Play
for
some footage )
P.S. The paint job was done by the guy who paints for Popeye's Racing Boats!
..
The boat planes off great! No nose lift under acceleration,
since I installed
aluminum fins that attach to the motors. They are not "whale
tails".
They
are about 19"x 19" with each outside edge angled down 45 degrees to
hold
the water underneath the fin. When planing off, from 0 to 25 mph,
these
fins
are in the water at negative trim. The motors are jacked up off
the
transom
8 inches, so at any speed above 25 mph, there is nothing in the water
but
the prop shaft.
..
Interesting to hear of another pink cat out there, as mine was
originally
pink and white.
FYI, at the beginning of the Elvis movie "Girls, Girls, Girls", they
show
a
PowerCat pulling two or three skiers. Ever noticed this?
Bryan.........................
Yes....I have some original pics, but they are black and
white....guess you
can't see the pink, huh. The pics do show the original white
mercs....the
old mercs, you know, the ones you had to turn off and start the key
backwards to get reverse. As soon as my new scanner is set up, I
will
send
some pics to everyone.
..
Did not have much opportunity to run the boat this summer. The
last
outing
we had, we brought a GPS with us and finally broke 100 mph. GPS
read
103
mph. Handled good with new cleaver props (I got a great deal on
the
props
that I have been searching for forever) They are 14 1/2 x 32 pitch.
Boat is in a buddy's shop (he has a 66' model 18' PowerCat currently
in
restoration). We are putting a new seat and a layout deck for my
wife
to
sun herself. This is going to allow for more storage and
repositioning of
the fuel tanks.
Looking forward to running it next season.
Bryan.........................
P.S. Did anyone go out and rent Girls, Girls, Girls.
P.S.S. Have some interesting PowerCat pics and info that I am
going
to be
sending to all of you as soon as the scanner is up and running.
Be
on the
lookout.
.
.
..
..
