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I am considering buying a Prokat 2860. From reading all of the post and speaking to one current owner, I understand that the Prokat does not ride as well as a Glacier Bay or World Cat. But, I would gain speed and fuel milage over Glacier Bay, as well as longer and wider (more room) My question is - even though this cat does not ride as good as other cats in 3-4' seas, shouldn't this boat ride MUCH better than my 24' V-hull CC with 18 degrees of deadrise? I do not like fishing in seas over 3', but you never know what may happen out there. I have a 10 yr old son and 67 year old father that like to go, but hate to get beat up. The Prokat offers genset and A/C package also, I like that!
You have to take one out to really answer this questions and many others that will come up. But, the first answer is yes, the ride will be much better.
Remember, with a planning cat the ride can get a little rougher, but slowing down a liitle will solve that problem, and when you go out every moring when its calm you will burn less fuel and get there faster, so this doesn't sound like such a bad trade off to me, as slow and comfortable in chop in a cat is 25 mph, not 15 as in your mono.
Test ride the Twin vee 26 with the cabin too, although I perfer the cc, where I live.
Thanks Bullshipper. That is exactly what I was thinking, but wanted to hear from someone else. I like the Twin-Vee, but the 26 has VERY short gunnels. I would worry about my son or older father falling out with those shin-high gunnels. Maybe a 32' with 12' beam!! Although I want a genset with A/C.
I can not wait until someone makes a 30' boat with lots of fishing room, but sleeps 4 with Genset and A/C. Cruises @ 40 mph in 3-4' seas with NO banging. Gets 3 mpg and cost $30,000.00 Ha!Ha! That may be a perfect boat.
Do yourself a favor and don't buy the Pro-Kat. Buy a world cat or GB they are much better quality. I owned the 28' and it was junk. I owned a 21' bay boat that was a better boat than it was. The boat was great at drift but would beat the crap out of you when underway.
I have only seen the Prokat at the boat show.....It was not my kind of boat.....You should look at World Cat and Glacier Bay. World Cat has a 27 cuddy and GB has a 26... Both ride very well is seas, but are a little different...There are a lot of folks down in your neck of the woods with Glacier Bays......make sure you ride in a few different boats before you get one.....
Boat buying is a balancing act like most anything else. You have to balance what your needs and wants are vs what you are willing to spend. The ProKat has good beam and cabin space, but quality could be better. The planing hull design rides well in most anything but will pound some in a head sea. It will be smoother than your 24' mono though. They also get pretty good mpg. For the right price, I think they are a good buy. I almost bought a used 2002 back in 2003, but I only offered $41k for it. It sold for $42k. If you are looking at buying one for $80k-$100k, I would consider a WorlCat or a Glacier Bay. I would test drive some boats before buying them and also look at some used ones to see how they hold up. Searching the threads is a good idea too, but you will often find a disproportionate number of unhappy owners when you search the web.
The Prokat has the cabin like you want, but this is also available in the Worldcat, GB and TV product line.
There are a couple of others to throw into the mix and they are the Aussiecat (liesurecat?) and Noosacat from Austrailia, with 25 years of experience in sportcabin style cats. http://www.noosacat.com.au/2300_cud_ht.html#
But the Ren. Prowler, WorldCat, GB and TV are the current kings of the hill, then you have the wanna bees like Prokat, Kevelcat, and someday me.
The reason I mentioned the TV26 is because of the following
Price $45K
Fit and Finish- greatly improved this year under the new owners, along with higher prices
High Gunnel Option now is available for $1300, and this raises the inside freeboard by 9" to around 22-24" which is standard and acceptable.
Performance: Real soft ride, best milage and speed out there per horsepower. Negatives: low tunnel will wave slap while standing, so that species that are pressured and are noise sensitive in shallow water like Striped Bass and Bonefish may move away from your boat. I do not consider this a factor when offshore, just on the flats.
They have a cabin model also.
I have riden on many of the samller 20 and 22's TVs with the low gunnels, and like you, felt the sea was going to come rushing in and over the rail when it got nasty, but the truth is, it never did, and the higher gunnel will only help to give you a lot more piece of mind in terms of safety.
And while I am rambing and babbling, let me caution you about buying a cat with a forward cabin, as this extra weight will make it more propense to take a wave over the bow, and the forward seating is a lot less comfortable ride than farther back, like on a CC. This problem has been addressed with more weight on the stern to help keep the bows up, but it can still be a problem if you like to troll slow into steep chop, and to me this is a critical test to pass and feel good about, before buying.
So if you have the dough stay wit the Prowler, WC, GB or TV as the depreciation won't hurt you. I think this is pretty impartial advice as I am a monohull owner who had a cat, and is going back, and these conclusions come from 10 years of experience and daily study.
txjeep, what is your opinon on Hydrocat quality, ride effencey? I know at one time you said to get the 2000 or later model. Their are several on the net with twin Yanmar outdrives for sale at a decent price.
The 30' plus length, the cuddy and fuel capacity make a nice long range boat.
txjeep, what is your opinon on Hydrocat quality, ride effencey? I know at one time you said to get the 2000 or later model. Their are several on the net with twin Yanmar outdrives for sale at a decent price.
The 30' plus length, the cuddy and fuel capacity make a nice long range boat.
Thanks
John
I don't want to hijack the thread, but since you asked ... It is a first class boat all the way around. Ride quality is superb. I love the boat. It is heavy, so you give up some fuel economy with it. I average about 1.25mpg (fully loaded) on a round trip but I don't necessarily run at peak fuel efficiency. My peak efficiency is 1.5mpg (loaded) in perfect conditions at about 32mph.
The Yanmar diesels are superb, but hard to work on (tight fit) if needed. I had a 2000 model with 250HP Yanmars bought at one point, but the owner weirded out on me so I let that deal slip. It was one sweet boat (fast and got 2mpg).
As a reminder, the pre-2000 models are planing hulls and the later models are semi-planing with a deep tunnel and a lot of deadrise. Back to the original question, if one was shopping Prokats, I would say an older style planing HydroCat would be an attractive option if it wasn't too big for you and you didn't mind giving up some fuel economy for increased room and BEEF.
ProKat 2860 Advice?? 
... It is a first class boat all the way around. Ride quality is superb. I love the boat. It is heavy, so you give up some fuel economy with it. I average about 1.25mpg (fully loaded) on a round trip but I don't necessarily run at peak fuel efficiency. My peak efficiency is 1.5mpg (loaded) in perfect conditions at about 32mph.
