SeaJay wrote:
They don't sell the 545 hardtop anymore and ill leave it at that. |
the simple fact is - cats work best when they are large. the larger they are, the better they work and look. things tend to start coming right north of 40ft and a million dollars...
performance all comes back to bridgedeck clearance and the ability to spread the weight of the vessel over long/thin hulls.
if you want a metre or more of bridgedeck clearance (and you do) - incorporating this into a 6m boat is only going to result in something that looks like a block of flats.
obviously not practical or aesthetic.
good performing catamarans typically have a length-to-hull beam ratio in excess of 10:1. If you want that in a 6m boat that fits in your yard at home - there is never going to be sufficient bouyancy in the hulls to support any sort of structure, let alone outboard motor/s, batteries, big fuel tanks etc.
a 10:1 L to B ratio in a 6m boat looks something more like a Hobie cat.
and then there is what BlackDog are trying to do.
BlackDog are actually trying to produce a boat that runs more like a Hover-craft/aircushion type vessel - that is, relying on a pocket of pressurised air under the bridgedeck to help skip over the waves and reduce slamming. I gather it kind of works in some conditions where the boat can run at high speed and really force the air under the boat deck, but in many other situations it is not possible to create this 'ground-effect' and the boat turns into a dog...
As for the single engine - the manufacturer probably knows that twins would be far more effective for performance - where the hulls can provide an 'end-effect' and clean the water flow for the engine legs to run in, but it would make the rigs much more expensive and less competitive in the marketplace.