Power Cat by Twin Vee - Questions

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padfor

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10176
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I am looking at a 2001 16 foot Power Cat by Twin Vee, made in Florida. It has the 60 horse 4 cycle Suzuki engine. Anyone with experience with this boat model? I would like any information you might have. I plan to use it on a lake, most often as a tender around the docks, but sometimes venturing into the main lake body.

Thank you.
 
Oops. It is not a 16 foot boat. It is the 14 foot Fisherman model.

Thank you.
 
Suzyki is a very good engine, but that is a lot of HP for a 14 foot cat. It may also be more weight than the boat was designed to handle--being a 14 footer. The current 14 footer is rated for a 40 hp engine. But the current models are called "tenders"--so the boat you are looking at may be a center console, such as the 17 foot "Fisherman"--and I have seen photos of a 14 foot center console "fisherman".

The Twin Vee are rugged--and a bit rough. The newer boats are a bit smoother, but I saw some defects in most of the new ones I was looking at. I decided against buying on. They have a reputation of a good ride. Hard to know how the 14 footer relates to the 20 to 36 footers which are the boats used for bay and offshore fishing.

I would look at two areas very carefully-=-the fist is the transom, to be sure that there is no rot--flex the motor and see if the transom moves--an oversize motor can break down the supports and if there is any water intrusion into the core, the plywood will rot. The second place to look carefully is the deck. The boats I looked at didn't have screws sealed properly or the holes in the deck properly sealed, so there was significant risk of developing deck core rot.
 
Recommend you do a search for "Twin Vee" on the THT site. I remember some spirited discussions on the boats there. Lots of opinions to consider.
 
Butch, what is the THT site?

This boat is a center console and the factory plate shows 60 hp as the max. The transom appears solid and the prior owner appeared to have taken good care of the boat. He even installed a raw water washdown pump. The fuel tank seems small and the battery box is just behind the helm seat. I would like to move the battery box further back against the transom or under the console. Can the battery and fuel tank both be safely under the console?

Thank you.
 
Padfor,

THT is The Hull Truth and is www.thehulltruth.com and it is a pretty good discussion group. IMO the majority of discussion on the group centers around trailerable boats. The knowlege base is vast and useful. Add it to your favorites. As you will see there are several forums from which to choose.
 
You can find anything on THT you want. There are a lot of folks who have large battle waggons--but it is oriented toward fishing boats more than cruising or weekend with the family. The battery box may be foreward because of the engine weight--I would keep weight foreward. The question is how much weight is the transom rated for. Some older (and I am not sure where that line is) are rated for two strokes, and the increased weight of the 4 stroke may require re-balancing of the boat--. I would prefer not to put the battery in the same small enclosed console with a fuel tank.

You need to drive this boat on a rough day and see how it handles. Remember that cats handle differently than monohulls. It may take a little time to adjust to the cat.
 
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