My JH Outlaw does OK....certainly not great...but that's not what it was designed for. I can comfortably run in the mid to high 20's in a good chop....anything more and it's just not comfortable on the passengers (though the boat can handle a little more).

Then again....I don't care to fish on days with 30 mph winds?

They don't make the perfect boat....

Looking forward to those responses talking about how their cat will eat up a 3' chop

Just my 2 cents and honest assessment.

 

25+ winds makes for a very big Aransas bay no matter what you are in.
Cats do marginally better than a flat bottom....24+ft boat makes the biggest difference. Smaller and you just have to slow down and manage the throttle so you don't spear a wave.

 

25+ winds makes for a very big Aransas bay no matter what you are in.
Cats do marginally better than a flat bottom....24+ft boat makes the biggest difference. Smaller and you just have to slow down and manage the throttle so you don't spear a wave.

My kidneys and back beg to differ sgrem. Cats perform way beyond marginally than flat bottoms. Unless your talking about the Flats Cat.

 

Oldie but a goodie!

 

I only have about 40 hours on my 23 SWC. I'd say it's great up to about 18"... true 18" from water surface not the trough for a smooth ride. It might be good a on a bit larger but I've mostly run into this or big 2.5'+ and it's definitely not smooth on those. A BIG wave day on Aransas you'd need an offshore boat to be comfortable! We were on a friend's 25 Extreme last summer on a big day, never scared but rough and we were soaked.

 

Sometimes on Aransas I think a 27 Latitude would make the perfect boat. Buddy in an X3 says there's days he won't go out, even took a rouge wave over the nose. Ain't nobody got time for that.

 

I've never bothered measuring the wave height when it's got nasty but my shoalwater 23 handled better than my 23 tunnel vee did in similar conditions. You just had to play around to find what speed was the sweet spot.

I'm not sure how the area around POC compares to the area you are referencing but I'll never go back to a V-hull fishing this area. This coming from someone who was originally unsure of buying a cat


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I have taken my 21 Haynie cat out across Aransas in over 20 mph loaded up for duck hunting and it's not a lot of fun. Especially coming out of key allegro or the little Fulton ramp. But it's quite doable if you find a balance between speed and angle to the wind so that you stay as much as possible on top of two crests. Otherwise it's just riding them and throttling up and down and plowing through and not spearing a crest head on.

Another 2-3 feet in length would make a big difference

 

I have taken my 21 Haynie cat out across Aransas in over 20 mph loaded up for duck hunting and it's not a lot of fun. Especially coming out of key allegro or the little Fulton ramp. But it's quite doable if you find a balance between speed and angle to the wind so that you stay as much as possible on top of two crests. Otherwise it's just riding them and throttling up and down and plowing through and not spearing a crest head on.

Another 2-3 feet in length would make a big difference

Makes a huge difference. Fished out of my buddies 21' H Cat a few years ago then bought my 24' H Cat a couple years ago. Much more solid in big chop being its almost four feet longer and a good bit wider.

 

I run a 22 Mowdy, it has lots of hull up front, but I still avoid Aransas when its pumping 25mph or more. Just too bumpy.

 

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I run a 19 shoalwater cat and besides cat sneeze it handles it very well. Iv done low 30s in some pretty good chop prob 2s and with a full boat. If u know how to hit waves and when to use throttle and trim it makes a big difference on what u can get a boat to go through imo

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Why would you run straight across Aransas or Galveston bay in a 25 to 30 mph wind? I've seen those conditions in Aransas and there isn't a bay boat made that's going to make that ride any where near comfortable and you'll more than likely tear something up in the process. When your spearing waves in a 24' HO it doesn't take long to find a shoreline once you get the burning saltwater out of your eyes.

 

When I test drove the new El Pescador 21' Cat with the g2 250 out in ES Bay the wind was steady well over 20 mph. We drove it in heavy chop about 60 mph in a sweeping circle and never got a drop of water on us. It was a MUCH smoother, drier ride than I expected once we got the boat running on TOP of the chop. I ordered one then and there. There will be a learning curve after running RFL's for 25 years.

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60 mph in 20+ mph winds and a heavy chop?

That's what I'm talking about!!

 

Cats can take rough water if your back can handle it. Not many of them can handle running straight into a big bay chop though.

 

Dargel Kat 250 doin' work......

A few pics for perspective of the Dargel Kat.

 

A few pics for perspective of the Dargel Kat.

King of the rough water Cats.

 

Now that's a cat that can take rough seas

 

My cat takes the waves pretty good but there is no way I want to run dead into a 25-30mph wind in Aransas. I wouldn't want to do it in a 31 Bertram either though.

 

I ran around a little in my Mowdy on Saturday, it was rough, borderline unsafe.

 

Aransas Bay can get nasty. Going from a Blackjack to a Cat I can honestly say pucker factor increases dramatically. I will look for alternative fishing areas if I fish at all in higher wind conditions. Can the cats run in 2 - 3' chop. Yes. Can you go into the gulf with them. Yes. You can also run a jon boat in the same conditions. Doesn't make it right or smart. Never had a wave come over the front on a deep v, but have had this happen numerous times with the cat. Just aint fun.

 

I'm in the market for a new boat currently run a Nautic Star 214 shallow bay. I fish Aransas from Goose Island. I cant go longer then 22'. I feel like that puts me out of the cat market for the rough waters around there. I am up for any suggestions from people who know the area! Thanks!
Needs:
High sides
Aft Seating
draft at rest ~12

 

A CAT can handle that area no problem. People from goose island in scooters all the time. In my opinion low sided "shallow water" boats are safer than traditional "high sided" bay boats. Take a wave over the front of a bay boat and you have a problem. In a shoalwater cat no big deal. Just hope nothing is washed over. I have been in a pathfinder that took a wave over the bow. It was a BIG deal. Those high side hold a lot of water.

 

If that was the case wouldn't offshore boats be switching over to low sides?If you're taking waves over the bow of any boat your in a bad situation and it is a big deal.Ive never seen a self bailing hull that can drain water fast enough.Cat boats serve a purpose as far as riding better than a flat bottom and shallower than a deep vee,but I'll take an old 24' Kenner over any 24' low side cat hull when it comes to crossing a bay in 20mph winds and waves big enough to come over the bow.It takes a lot bigger wave to come over a high sided boat than a low one.

 

My observations:
1. It does matter how high the sides are; a low sided boat will only hold so much water as a maximum as it drains off. An amount that doesn't negatively affect flotation.
2. Wind speed....who cares? It's the wave height and spacing that matter.
3. Yes, it's easy to say you won't go out in 25mph, it's another thing to have it come up fast when you're on the other side of Aransas, Baffin, etc.
4. 60mph or anywhere near that in big waves is nuts! Although that post mentions wind speed not wave size.

 

The ESCB R24 aka Recon is built to handle swells. I've taken one into Corpus Chisti Bay during rock the dock and that thing was solid as a rock and it was almost fun running those swells in the April wind. The Stingray is made for chop and handles that awesome but the Recon R24 handles big water great. Due to the air pressure built up in the tunnel it lands a lot softer than a v hull falling of the back of the wave. Call Eric and ask for a test drive in the bay on a windy day and I think you'll be very impressed and then he'll take you into green lake marsh and run in inches. Bring your check book too. lol

 

Recon is built to handle swells. I've taken one into Corpus Chisti Bay during rock the dock

almost fun running those swells in the April wind.

Due to the air pressure built up in the tunnel it lands a lot softer than a v hull falling of the back of the wave.

You waited 6 years for this? Lol, indeed.

 

I've crossed Aransas in high winds in my 23 sw. It sucked lol. Wind picked up and just about realigned my spine. Was never worried I wouldn't make it but it was not a fun ride. Much easier to just run shorelines all the way around if you can.

 

Took the new Dargel Kat out last week in Ingleside. Winds were SE blowing 20+kts across corpus bay and I had to take her out in the rough stuff to see how she would do. Blew my expectations. Took a little bit to figure out the right trim and speed but once dialed in and a little throttle action she ran 30kts fairly comfortably. Chop was easily 2-3 feet.


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Took the new Dargel Kat out last week in Ingleside. Winds were SE blowing 20+kts across corpus bay and I had to take her out in the rough stuff to see how she would do. Blew my expectations. Took a little bit to figure out the right trim and speed but once dialed in and a little throttle action she ran 30kts fairly comfortably. Chop was easily 2-3 feet.

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People that lump the Dargel with the others have not been on one.