Articles - Boat test: Thai Cat TT

MULTIHULLS like the Thai Cat allow high performance from less power and added stability but can still be trailed easily.

The merits of catamaran designs have been known in the southern oceans for centuries. Modern catamaran designs have been popular in Australia and South Africa for many years because they allow high performance from less power and added stability for a given length. The twin hulls combined have less wetted area than a similarly sized monohull, making them less power hungry.

Another benefit is that the beam can be carried all the way forward as there is no requirement to narrow the main deck to make the bow. This translates into extremely spacious, stable and easily driven boats. So why have they taken so long to find favour in our home waters? Perhaps it is just the typical British reticence to accept something new or different? 

There are few catamarans in the trailerable size range too, which is another factor affecting their popularity. The Thai Cat at 21ft long and 7ft 6in beam, is well within the width limit for towing, making her much more versatile and appealing to those boaters who like to be able to tow their boat to various locations.

Fishing Fun

We took the TT version out to have a go for a last cod or an early ray. The weather was not ideal for boating, with freezing fog and just a little breeze.

The water was smooth other than the wash of the regular ships passing close by. As a change for the boat tests this year, we are actually going to fish from them and put them to the use for which they are intended. It doesn’t mean we are going to catch anything, but we’ll try.

The protection that the pods provide for the seats was evident as soon as we were taking the boat out across the Solent in the thick fog, with the fast ferries still running flat out. The wind was deflected nicely despite the funnelling effect of the extensive targa top.

In rain there are three canvas panels that can be clipped in place to create an enclosed wheelhouse. For winter fishing this would make a huge difference and the daft thing is we had them in the forward storage locker, but didn’t stop to fit them. It would only have been a five-minute job and would have kept us much warmer.

The open deck layout is ideal for activity boating. The length of deck was sufficient for setting up an uptider easily without other people tripping over it. There is a handy tackle tidy in the port bulwark that you can use to keep small rig making bits handy. In the passenger console there is more stowage accessed though a hatch lid well off the deck. We put our spare clothes and lunch in here.

There is 6ft 2in of headroom in the heads compartment, which has a flushing toilet with electric macerator and pump - a very civilised addition.

The test boat had fixed seats with stowage bins in their bases at the helm position, but various seating arrangements are available. The fixed seats would have been better if they had swinging backrests, so they could have been used facing aft, sat watching the rods fishing at anchor.

This was overcome by sitting on the cockpit coaming, which is fine in calm, predictable conditions but not ideal when it is rough. The dash panel is quite small and fitting electronics requires the use of a head up panel dropped down from the overhead canopy rather than mounting on the curved top of the head’s deckhead.

Working Space

The aft cockpit provides a spacious working deck, plenty of storage space, including a tackle tidy in the port bulwark. The transom bins could easily be used as livebait wells and below decks hatch access can be used for removable fish boxes.

The batteries are located in the after bulwarks and so do not take up any normal storage space. I was rather disappointed by the quality of the doors and wood trim though. There was evidence of the doors having warped or sagged and several places showed the wood trim to have splintered. I would like to see a bit more input in these areas which let down an otherwise sound boat.

The cockpit is lower than the main deck by a couple of inches, making the water that bit closer to reach when leaning over the waist high coaming making this a very safe working area. For anyone wanting to land big fish, such as sharks, the stern bench could be exchanged for a transom gate and tuna chute between the motors. Otherwise it is a matter of hauling them over the gunwale like everything else.

The forward seating runs right around the forward cockpit and provides plenty of covered seating for eight adults, this where we sat to rig up and to eat our sandwiches.

There is a table that can be shipped in the middle of the U-shaped settee but we didn’t need to use it. It is there if you want it though.

The hard top covers all the way to the front of the seating to provide shade in hot climes, if only, it was close to freezing when we were out! The canopy will act as an umbrella in the rain though, which given the British weather is far more likely.

The rocket launcher rod holders on the frame are great for keeping the deck tidy when underway.

As we took on the wash from the ships and the ferries the boat easily rode over the waves, this is down to the planing surface being carried all the way forward to the bow. The chines direct the water flow downwards very efficiently providing additional lift and, with the short bow, there is much greater buoyancy forward to prevent the bow from stuffing.

This is one of the factors that helps when running in a following sea, the greater buoyancy and those stacked chines keep the bow up as you come down into the trough off the face of a wave.

At The Helm

Driving and handling this cat is a revelation. She will manoeuvre on the engines alone, put one ahead and the other astern and she will go round in circles on the spot. For getting into tight berths this facet is unbeatable.

The twin hulls give a much steadier ride too, a slower motion than a monohull. With the sea on the beam the tunnel allows the crest of a wave to pass beneath without the hull sitting on the apex of the wave, it just passes from one hull to the other and so there is a much reduced angle of roll making life very much more pleasant aboard.

The twin 100hp engines on the test boat gave her a very nippy top speed of over 43mph with an easy cruising speed of 28.5mph at 4000rpm. This provides for frugal running with a fuel consumption of 18 litres per hour at a steady 24mph, or if you are in a bit of a hurry to catch the tide, running at 35mph still returns 28 litres per hour.

These figures give a good indication of the typical fuel consumption you can expect on everyday running around, and with 300 litre tanks you have a range of around 350 miles at cruising speed.

Well Worth A Look

For a boat that is easily trailered and capable of venturing offshore to the mid channel wrecks, or running across to the Channel Isles in settled weather, the Thai Cat punches well above her weight - a 21 footer that has the deck space and sea keeping of a 25ft monohull.

The price might put a few people off, but if you wanted to reduce the outlay then there are substantial savings to be made by ordering smaller engines and leaving out the teak decking.

With her high freeboard, multiple stacked chines, large volume hulls and good use of the internal space she is ideally suited to British waters as angling boat.

She rides soft, recovers from rolling over waves quickly, has loads of space aboard and is frugal in use. This is a lot of boat in a compact package that should see more than a few fish over the gunwale.

* Do you own a boat like this? Tell us how she handles in our Boat Fishing Forum

Specifications:

LOA            6.60m
LWL            6.17m
BEAM        2.20m
WEIGHT        1650kg
FUEL CAPACITY    300 litres
MIN POWER        2 x 50hp
MAX POWER        2 x 100hp
MAX PERSONS        Nine


Performance Figures:

Speed At Revs
500    idle     1.5mph
1000            2.5
2000            6.2
3000            15.7
4000            28.6
5000            37.3
5800             43.1
Top speed attained - 43.1 mph with three adults and fishing gear aboard.

Price and Availability
As tested with 2x Mercury 100hp EFi - £46,847.38 incl VAT.
Bare boat from - £34,216.38 incl VAT.
Test boat kindly supplied by: Osmotech  UK, Hamble Point Marina, School Lane, Hamble, SO31 4NB. Tel: 02380 456450, e-mail: info@thaicats.co.uk, website: www.thaicats.co.uk (link opens in new window)