florida to chessy trip report, plus boat review

scottyt · #1 (**permalink**) 05-07-2010

okay first i gave a boat review of the boat i was on. then is a basic trip report, not much there are not much went on. but i did translate my spot messenger gps locations into one google earth pic with date and times. if you want more detail of actual gps locations just ask or go to sneade's thread in off topic.

i also have more pics i will up load when i have better internet.

okay first a review of the boat. i have no interest in the maker of this boat, or am i the owner, i was just a crew member.

the boat is a tomcat 9.7 sailing cat, it was hull number 10 and i believe they are up to around 20 something. the boat is a great looking boat on the outside, i love the lines. the inside is pretty nice too, but i was not a fan of the layout. first it has a center wheel like a center console boat, with entry into the saloon on either side. the saloon has standing head room except at the table, pretty much standard layout in most cats i have seen.

stepping down into the starboard hull you have a nice large aft cabin, with room for 2 people who are close but not really too close. as you travel forward you hit the galley which has a decent layout, i see no issues with the galley. all the way forward is the fridge, and the master cabin. the layout does out really have the access to the master cabin bed from this side but you could climb into it.

stepping from the saloon in to the port hull on this boat has the head immediately forward and a cabin aft just like the starboard aft cabin. stepping into the head is pretty much like any boat head. to get to the master cabin you have to go thru the head, but once there the master cabin has a nice area for getting dressed or what ever. there is a step to get up into the bed built into the hull that i think was a great idea, its round and large enough to be used as a seat but it does not get in the way. the head in the middle of the hull i dont like, but they also make it with an aft head instead of a second aft cabin.

the boat design is an open boat design there is very little that separates the master cabin from the rest of the boat, except curtains. as well as the whole aft "wall" of the saloon removes for great view and access. i would say the boat would be a great warm weather boat as the back of the saloon does not give great access when buttoned up, it really only works when fully open. in the cockpit is a long bench that goes across the rear of the boat, and its built into an arch, so the mainsheet is above and out of the way, which i loved. the cockpit design is better than a gemini cat in my opinion. also the rudder and centerboard raising controls are under the ships wheel so access is great for them

the boat does not have a back stay, so the side stays are sharply angled to the aft. the 3 stays, fore, port and starboard, are all about 120 degrees to each other. that means the side stays are about 30 degrees aft of being 90 degrees to the mast, which strictly limits the range of boom motion. so lets just say down wind performance really needs a spin, although we saw out greatest speed on runs with 25 to 30 knot winds. with a reef in the main we did over 10 knots in 25 knot winds so it does move along. the top speed we saw was over 13 knots quite a few times.

engine stuff, the boat uses 2 9.9 outboards as power, nice incase one breaks down but gas mileage is not as good as diesel. the nice feature is each motor raises up so drag is less

i do like the boat, but would love to see the interior layout like a gemini. so as of right now my dream cat would be the bastard step child of a tomcat and a gemini. out side looks of a tomcat with the inside of a gemini. then make sure it does not have the rig design of the tomcat, but i dont know what a gemini rig is like.

edit another thing i liked about the boat is all the fixed windows are 1/2 thick if not thicker glass that are bedded in. they where solid as heck and probably would take a gun shot to break them

scottyt · #2 (**permalink**) 05-07-2010

okay the trip report

first day was nothing big, we got a late start and pretty much had to motor sail all the way from punta gorda to the keys, which took about 28 hours. we arrived at channel 5 in the keys after dark in 25 knot winds so we decided to wait till morning to go thru the channel. we anchored in about 7 feet of water with lots of scope, some where around 12 to 1. the anchor was a rocna 15 which after the second attempt the anchor head solid on a big windage boat in 25 knots. anchor watch was peaceful as it could be becuase the cockpit was very shelltered by the design.

the next day was simple wake up and get thru the cut and under the bridge and find some gas as we knew we might not get to land for many days. the trip up the keys was simple, until the stream started to get us and the waves built up. once we got outside the reefs the trip got smoother. we simply ran with the stream and made great time as map below will show. the first night in the florida straights got a little rough with something around 5 to 10 seas, wind speeds approaching 25 knots and 10 to 13 knot boat speeds under full sail, we reefed and it got a little better. at no time did the boat get to the point where i did feel unsafe, uneasy till we reefed but not unsafe.

the days after the rough night where easy the wind stayed behind us and the auto pilot made watch easy. boat speed stayed around 8 to 9 knots all the way until we cut towards hatteras.

the trip up the chessy was just a normal sail in the chessy the only wind was on the tail at 5 to 8 knots, which was not enough to try wing on wing, or what the boat would do as its best impression of it.

docking was a slight issue with a narrow slip that already had a boat in it and motors that did not want to go in to reverse. so we tied up on the T head for a while

we did have some small issues with the boat as it is a coastal boat. nothing that was a big deal but they could have been. such as the bench seat across the back broke not a big deal but it is attached to the arch so if the arch had failed then... well it did not. also things like the bracket for the stack pack aft end came loose from the boom, again not a big deal. so the boat held up in some rougher water for 1200 miles or so and it did not fall apart. i had no reason to doubt the hull as it seemed really well built.

thats all

sailingdog · #3 (**permalink**) 05-08-2010

Good post. Not a big fan of the saloon/cockpit setup on the TomCat 9.7...or the twin outboard setup on the boat.

BTW, the rig on a Gemini is a standard sloop rig with aft swept spreaders and a backstay. One novel and often useful feature on the Gemini is the screacher or asym's tack is mounted on a curved traveler track and allows you to move the luff of the asy/screacher.

scottyt · #4 (**permalink**) 05-08-2010

as for the cockpit set up of the tom cat, i do like like it. i like the open feeling, and i like having more than one way into the saloon. i dont like the lack of access when its buttoned up, or the security.

i am not a fan of the outboard idea but it does give a nice back up