[PCW] trailerable MC-29 power cat

[D C *Mac* Macdonald]

Maybe it's my imagination (video is prett low resolution)
but the waves don't seem very big, but the boat seems
to be porpoising quite a big.  Also, there seems to be
quite a bit of roll when the boat is back in the harbor
toward the end of the video.

One other thing to mention is that the URL is definitely
"case-sensitive."


D C "Mac" Macdonald
Grand Lake - Oklahoma
Potential "catter"


----Original Message Follows----
From: rodgibbons@mindspring.com
Reply-To: rodgibbons@mindspring.com,Power Catamaran List 
<power-catamaran@lists.samurai.com>
To: power-catamaran@lists.samurai.com
Subject: Re: [PCW] trailerable MC-29 power cat
Date: Sat, 9 Sep 2006 02:10:30 -0400 (EDT)

(Bias Alert:  the following e-mail is from a catamaran dealer.  "Danger, 
Will Robinson...Danger!")

Occasionally a thread will appear here about trailerable power cats (Glacier 
Bay, Twin-Vee, C-Dory, etc.)

For those interested in that topic, I just received an e-mail from Grahame 
Shannon, Vancouver BC resident, and co-designer (with Jerzy Kostanski) of 
the MC-29 trailerable power cat. He was writing to let me know a 3-minute 
video of the MC-29 is now available at his web-site.

The first MC-29 to arrive in North America was offloaded in Vancouver, BC 
about 4 weeks ago (hull #12). The MC29 will have its formal North American 
debut at the Seattle Boats-Afloat show next week (9/13 thru 9/17), with 
private seatrials available in the days right after the show. Grahame will 
be at the show to explain the merits of his design.

For those who are unable to inspect the boat at that show, you may find 
interest in seeing the short video at Grahame's web-site:

www.aviadesign.com/MC29

After the site opens on your screen, simply click on the word "video."

I visited Vancouver 2 weeks ago, specifically to inspect and seatrial the 
MC-29. For those interested in my evaluation of the boat -- pros and cons -- 
feel free to contact me off-line.

Meanwhile, here are my primary observations.

PRO:

(1)  The finish and styling is the most appealing of any cats I've seen 
under 30' in length. Probably 85% of the trailerable cats currently 
available in the U.S. are, first and foremost, designed for fishing, with 
actual cruising a distant (or even unaddressed) afterthought. This boat is 
ALL about cruising, yet one could certainly add "rocket launchers" or 
"down-weight" trolling hardware and enjoy fishing from it, too.

(2)  Performance is heavily weighted toward economic, longer distance 
cruising. Top speed (with the 160 HP Volvo, or twin, 4-cycle outboards) is 
about 26 to 27 MPH. Economical cruising speed is about 18 to 21. (The Volvo 
diesel burns 4+ GPH at 20 MPH.) Twin 4-cycle, 40 HP outboards cost less, 
and, of course, give you less top speed, but even greater economy, with a 
cruising speed of 12 to 14 MPH.

(3)  I could easily imagine my girlfriend and me cruising aboard this pocket 
cruiser for anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks. And the fine galley and head 
design, plus large owner's berth, wouldn't make 3 months of coastal cruising 
a struggle either.

(4)  Ingenious inclusion of a fully private head with toilet, sink and 
shower fixture, h/c pressure water, AND 6'4" headroom. What a MAJOR 
difference from most other under-30 cats that often provide no more than a 
porta-potty and a flimsy curtain, calling that the "head area."

(5)  Trailerable, so great for sneaking off to Florida to launch for a 
Bahamas cruise...or down to the Sea of Cortez for a winter respite...or up 
to Bellingham and the San Juan Islands....or a New England coastal cruise.

(6)  Very comfortable owner's berth forward -- it's wider at one end than a 
queen-size bed, plus surprising amount of storage room in that compartment. 
Storage commodius enough for a pair of BIG duffle bags with room to spare.

(7)  Excellent headroom in the salon (about 6'5")

(8)  Easily transited side decks, with good hand-holds, and a surprisingly 
well-designed anchor locker and anchor sprit.

(9)  Without exception, this is the driest power cat I've ever been aboard. 
It soon becomes obvious this is because the odd-looking nacelle (oddly 
reminiscent of a "bull-frog's neck bulge") that's designed between the 
exceptionally slender cat hulls, thus precluding ANY "sneezing" whatsoever. 
I didn't see a single drop of spray on the windshield during 90-minutes of 
low-and-high speed maneuvering. Now THAT is unusual in a power cat.


CON:

(1)  Speaking of windshields, this design looks great from the outside, but 
inside I'd like to see a narrower post at either end of the windshield, port 
and starboard -- not much, just another inch or so. And there is no wiper 
system. For an upscale cruising boat like this, it would be nice if that 
were standard. (Although the dry ride is noted above, and one can add 
"drip-free" coating to the windshield like skiers use, to great success, on 
their goggles.)

(2)  This is highly subjective, but I'd not have bothered with keeping the 
beam to 8'6" for no-permit trailering. This isn't a boat that many American 
owners are going to launch and retrieve each weekend -- too easy (yet 
reasonably economical) to keep it berthed at a marina, ready to go. Instead, 
I'd have liked a beam of 9'10" or so, thus still allowing for inexpensive 
permit-capable trailering when occasionally desired, but thus always 
providing an even roomier craft. Then again, the boat's European built, and 
I believe they have more stringent rules over there regarding the trailering 
of boats that exceed the MC-29's current beam.

(3)  There's good visibility from the helm seat, but the spacious bench seat 
isn't quite big enough for today's "average size" American couple to sit 
there for an extended period. The boat wants a second raised seat, across 
from (to the port of) the current helm seat, also facing forward. The 
designers already have an option for that in mind, and it's something that 
would be good to see as standard.

(4)  When seated at the surprisingly roomy dinette (easily seats 4 adults, 
primarily because the designers wanted a convertible dinette that also would 
make into a ROOMY double berth for guests, which it does), there is no 
visibility out the sides of the salon. The admittedly large and pleasant 
side ports don't extend low enough to afford visibility for those seated at 
the dinette. But the designers have already come up with an additional 
(probably optional, but if so, well worth it) side window for each side of 
the salon, which would immediately fix this situation.

(5)  When I was aboard the boat there was a need for additional interior 
handles for moving about when underway. This has since been taken care of, 
and I've seen photos of these added handholds; a good item, whether standard 
or optional.

(6)  This first-in-North-America model is equipped with a single, aft-center 
mounted Volvo D-3, 160 HP inboard diesel. (as shown in the aforementioned 
video)  Noise is acceptable in the salon, especially with the aft sliding 
door closed. Plus the out-of-sight inboard installation makes for a clean 
appearance at the rear of the boat. But given my druthers, I'd probably opt 
for the twin, 4-cycle 60 HP outboards. Because they're mounted wide apart, 
they could only further enhance the already decent maneuvering capability. 
And the redundancy factor of twin engines is something I like. (But yes, 
there's something to be said for diesel over gasoline, and for the much 
larger alternator that a diesel engine includes, which affords much better 
battery charging.)

(7)  The boat had too little fuel capacity. The D-3 is quite fuel-miserly; 
the boat gets nearly 5 MPG at 20 MPH, but the range is only about 120 miles. 
I'd like to see that doubled. I'm told that added (doubled) fuel capacity is 
now available as an option, and may become standard. I'd definitely 
recommend ordering that increased tankage.

(8)  It's not fair to call the following a "con," but the motion aboard this 
boat is a new sensation to me. Due to the boat's modest, trailerable beam, 
and the relatively narrow fore sections of the "amas," there is an 
occasional, slight, side-to-side motion. Again, it encompasses only a few 
degrees, and is neither uncomfortable nor offputting. And I may have noticed 
it only because I'm so used to power cats where the beam often exceeds 
one-half the length of the boat.


Overall observation? If I were seeking a trailerable cat for which most (or 
even much) of my time were spent fishing, I'd get a Glacier Bay, or 
Twin-Vee, or World Cat -- or one of their cousins -- that include 
rod-holding compartments, slide-out drawers for lures and lines, live-bait 
wells, recessed/walk-around decks, etc. (Conversely, I wouldn't choose to 
CRUISE for more than a couple days on ANY of those fishing-oriented cats.)

If you're seeking a truly comfortable under-30-feet cat, designed expressly 
for extended cruising (tho' still fishing capable), this is one of the few 
cats for your very-short, final-selection list. The only other cat that 
immediatley comes to mind for that list is the C-Dory. But the level of 
finish, and the excellent ergonomics (2nd forward seat not withstanding) of 
the MC-29 -- ergonomics including generous standing head room, large owner's 
berth, very workable galley unit, ingenious private head compartment, etc. 
-- that combination of design and comfort is likely to make this new, 
pocket-cruising cat a leading choice for would-be owners seeking an 
under-30' power cat.

And for those looking to "pimp their ride," the MC-29 offers an unusually 
extensive luxury-options list (gensets, heating and air-conditioning, 
electric anchor windlass, state-of-the-art electronics, etc.). In fact, the 
list is more extensive than that available from some builders of larger cats 
costing $100,000 to $200,000 more than the MC29. (Depending on the engine 
package selected, the MC-29 starts at about $110K to $120K.)

Check out Grahame's video. You'll see another unusual aspect of this boat. 
Until it's underway, you could easily confuse it for a monohull. Given its 
advantages over a monohull, you might say that makes the MC-29 a "wolf in 
sheep's clothing."

Rod Gibbons
founder:  Cruising Cats USA
Seattle - Portland - SF Bay - Hawaii
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