By Noah Thompson

AS A DESIGNER, I GET ENQUIRIES FROM ALL over the world for various configurations of powercats. From those enquiries I have noticed several trends over the years. The first trend was the Baby Boomer market selling their sailing cat and moving on to a powercat. I was told a powercat was not as physical to operate just turn the key and away you go. Today I am noticing a new trend emerging in the same way. A segment of those buyers are now asking me for smaller trailer sized power catamarans. Some would be buying a motor home as well and like spending time between the two. They are looking for large volume 7m to 9m trailer powercats that could be towed by a mid size SUV and stored out of the water.

One example is an 8.6m trailer cat design that was commissioned by Kinetic Boats Ltd in New Zealand. The design focus was using aluminium hulls and a full composite cabin structure, keeping the CG as low as possible on a trailer. The beam of the cat is only 2.5m, and does not have any effect on the performance or stability of the cat. It does however make for easier towing. Kinetic Boats incorporated a lot comfort features and still kept within the towable weight for the Nissan Patrol.

The design offers a large double bunk compartment. The toilet/shower has headroom and privacy in its own compartment. The layout is simple with a large galley bench, cooker, sink and dinning seat. The aft deck is a sufficient size for fishing, and water activities. The cat tows really well behind the Patrol and is easy to launch and retrieve. The 8.6m trailer cat offers the customer the freedom to have a nomadic coastal journey by road or water.

In the USA, my customers are asking for other features to be included into the custom designs of my trailer cats. They are looking for easy boarding access from docks, from the water, and from the beach. Boarding a small cat from the stern can be cumbersome as the duckboard is in-between the engines and high off the water. Some customers are also asking for access around a large double berth making getting out of bed easier without climbing over the other. Other requests are for the shower and toilet to be separated. To help cater to some of the request, I have designed a 9m ‘Great Escape’. This design is built using CNC kitset method and pre-laminated panels and is available to DIY builders.

The two designs I have mentioned were done specifically as cruising cats on a trailer. Some may think that both cat designs are too small for cruising. But when you go to tow them, your mind may quickly changes to: “That is a lot of cruising boat to tow.” Like all things that float, there are compromises to be made when deciding what size boat to purchase, regardless if it is on a trailer or not.

After weighing up all the trailer cat designs I have done to date, it is my opinion that a 7m to 7.2m is a good all round size. It’s the most economical to run, it’s lightweight, it’s easy to tow, it has good performance hulls, and easy to find a parking place. I like to call the smaller ones the ‘Pocket Cruiser’ of powercats. If you set up a 7m correctly, it should prove to have just enough features for a family or couple to enjoy short stints of coastal cruising.

In Australia, Streamline Catamarans Pty Ltd are producing new range of 7m pocket cruisers from a mould. Back in 2004 Wayne Jones from Streamline Catamarans in Hervey Bay had the vision of a small lightweight coastal cruiser with excellent performance. We toyed with the idea of small displacement hulls with twin 60hp outboards, but in the end we decided to go for a planning hull with twin 90hp outboards that would offer a bit of speed to get the cat up and planning over short sharp chop. The idea was to use the cat for coastal camping along Fraser Island and be durable enough to allow the cat to rest on her bottom in tidal estuaries or on beaches with rocks and shells.

Incorporated into the design of the Streamline 7000 are two large single berths forward, plenty of stowage, and a separate toilet compartment located behind the dash. The configuration is set-up as an express style cruiser with clears attaching to a hardtop. Mosquito netting may be attached around the hardtop and aft deck. Also included are a cooker, sink, and icebox. Standard power is with twin 90hp outboards and reaches speeds of 35kts. Options for the customer may include larger or smaller engines, solar panels for the hardtop, larger battery bank, increased water tanks, and bench seats around the aft deck. I would recommend the Streamline 7000 as a perfect size family ‘Pocket Cruiser’.

For sales enquiries on the Streamline 7000 visit www.streamline-catamarans.com or for further information on design talk to me, Noah Thompson at www.eastcapemarine.com