[PCW] trailerable MC-29 power cat

[Greg Schoenberg]

I had the same thoughts.  Did you notice how it rolled when it was being
docked?

Perhaps a wider beam is in order.

Other than that, it is a nice looking boat.  If it's priced around 100k, it
will likely give GB and C-Dory some serious competition.

-Greg
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "D C *Mac* Macdonald" <k2gkk@hotmail.com>
To: <power-catamaran@lists.samurai.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 09, 2006 1:41 PM
Subject: Re: [PCW] trailerable MC-29 power cat


> 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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