CHIPS 15 - Tweaking on a Pipe Dream...

[jrodda]

Mosquito has been nice to at least get out a lot for cheap. A lot more durable than I imagined, doesn't rock much with its two pontoons, super fuel efficient.

Lately I have been starting to dread the assembly and takedown more and more that comes with rolling it up and putting everything in for the day. So a trailer boat is sounding great. Getting faster than 10 knots also sounds nice, at least 20mph and anything more for this build is icing on top. I like the stability of the pontoons, but not so much the inherent anxiety of an inflatable.

So I've settled on a catamaran. I want to still be as fuel efficient as possible, though. So gotta stay light and probably small. And for all the offshore stuff I've come to enjoy doing, I think it's appropriate, if possible to get twin outboards. With a solid hull, I would be much more comfortable chasing pointy things like makos and swords. So it's gonna be outfitted primarily for solo trips, one fishing guest max.

So for the hull: in a perfect world, I think I would get a Mexicat. You can find the builder on instagram under pinchifrondo or something like that. Someone caught 2 swords last year on his 14'er. He can do a kevlar composite build, which lightens things up quite a bit. Big bonus for fuel economy. He's done 8, 10, 14, 16, and a few 20'+ builds. I think a 15' would be the sweet spot for me. If I can't do mexicat for any number of reasons, a Livingston 155 would be what I set my sights on.

Engines: I've been looking at this website to compare fuel economy.

https://www.boat-fuel-economy.com/outboard-fuel-consumption-us-gallons

Guy with the 14' Kevlar Mexicat put a 50hp tohatsu on it and gets 10mpg. Looking at pics of how it sits, I think that's the max weight to put on the stern. So I looked around and found either Suzuki or Mercury 25hp would match the weight of the 50 and beat the 50's fuel economy by a small but noticeable amount. 2.2 gph at cruise for both 25hp combined.


Now shaping the deck...

This is where greed has to be met with hella creativity. 15' isn't a lot of boat and I want to treat it like a 26' offshore battlewagon. I want a nice big c*ckpit, generous helm, midship for the sake of my spine, and a bow that's more accessible than the Radons and sportfishers that seem to all but put to waste the bow by making it a tight rope walk to get up there.

So I wanna put the swivel pilot seat dead center, midship. That will set the stage. Helm's dashboard will be almost the full beam's width, kind of Hawaii style but not full pilothouse. Plexiglass visor to cut the wind down though.

Console should be just narrow enough that stepping around it to the bow will be a simple two step task, railing around the bow.
Bow area would be built to be uniform with the height of the gunnel. Still haven't gotten used to bay boats without rails, standing on them while rocking around.
Being a cat, it would have two storage points on the bow in the port and starboard pontoons, so safety gear and anchor gear would most likely fill those.

Moving to the c*ckpit! Trying to keep it feeling as open as possible. Bait tank/passenger seat directly behind the pilot seat.
Bait tank doesn't need to be big. Never gonna buy a scoop, so I imagine it would only ever have a few mackerel in there, or some squid. 18x18x24 approximately outer dimension so 30 gallon usable capacity I figure.
I'm thinking have a seat back post that could slide in and out on any side of the bait tank, so that it would be a minimalistic bait tank when I'm alone, and when a passenger is on they can orient themselves any which way.
I'd like enough rod holders for a 5 rod spread, and a few more further up the gunnel for drift fishing while staying at the helm. I'd like at least one gunnel rod holder to be reinforced for fighting fish from.

I want to build the floor up in the hulls so it's uniform with the tunnel, that way there's some under-floor storage. Personal possessions, tackle box, kill box.

The fuel tank will be under the floor as well, just not sure where for weight distribution. I was originally thinking bow, but me and the helm station might be enough weight forward to put it midship or aft, like in "Kill Box 1 [or 2]" as pictured. 20 gallons would be a nice max, to get out to Clemente or Santa Barbara Isle, and touch on the banks in those areas for pelagics. Current concern is asymmetric vs symmetric fuel storage.

From pics of sorta similar Livvie builds, there wouldn't be much under-gunnel storage for rods and things if I built the floor up, but it would probably still be just enough to stick a long gaff and a dart underneath.

Before electronics, I'm optimistically looking at a $30k package. But of course why not, throw on the fancy 3kw transducers and 16" Garmin FFs and Rhodan GPS Anchors for another 10k.



Going into this, I thought, what would be a good cute cat name for a little catamaran? I like Chips.

All said and done, this build won't be happening for at least a few more years. But during the slow hours of grubhub I've had a lot of time to sketch and research and have a pretty good idea of the space I'm working with in the future.

And don't get me started on the blueprints for the 26' battlewagon....

[Latimeria]

I absolutely love this....  I used to always conjure up what my boat would look like and what I could reasonably afford.  My case in point was the Boma since that was more recent, but I always loved dreaming what I could modify to make my fishing machine.

It's funny when you said catamaran, because I saw this at DatD.  I'm pretty sure it was only 13 to 15' long (max) but was a killer build up on a catamaran!




Thanks for that cool look into your head!  I love the thought process.

[Chris]

Tohatsu new 25/30hp are 126lbs. You can slap two 30's on there. I think a single 30 would do just fine for a solo craft though.

As for speed, you're lucky to do 15 in anything under 20ft. Sure on a glass day let it rip but with any swell you're looking at 12-15mph being a comfortable ride.

The further back you sit the more comfortable the ride is. The bow constantly slaps the water and you'll feel it after awhile. Maybe not the 1st trip but by the end of the season you will for sure.

If I did it I would make the deck level with the center and seal the hulls and only leave room for the fuel tanks (9 gallons on each side), put a 75-105 qt. Cooler to sit on and a grab rail with electronics mounted on it 2/3 forward and center of the hull.

Tiller motor with extended tiller and carry a kill bag for fish. You can put a low, 15 -20 gallon bait tank center and behind you and have plenty of bait.

[KogaHead]

Someone went to the dispensary and picked up some chewables or married Warren Buffet's kid.

Get a 14-16 foot welded aluminum boat.

https://www.loweboats.com/fishing/utility.html

Slap on one of these.

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/engines/outboard/fourstroke/25-25hp/

Put on a compass and fish finder.

Simple and easy to wash off.

Can fish both fresh and salt.

[jrodda]

Someone went to the dispensary and picked up some chewables or married Warren Buffet's kid.

Get a 14-16 foot welded aluminum boat.

https://www.loweboats.com/fishing/utility.html

Slap on one of these.

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/engines/outboard/fourstroke/25-25hp/

Put on a compass and fish finder.

Simple and easy to wash off.

Can fish both fresh and salt.

I said I can draw it, I didn't say I can afford it!!!

Funny you mention it, I had a 25mg CBD/2mg THC gummy for the first time in years after posting this. Woulda thought those numbers were switched cuz my face melted a little tonight...

A Lowe would also be a super fun project boat, and certainly more budget friendly, but I'm all the way in on catamarans. Something I've come to understand is along with the balance of a cat, they also eat up chop better than other boats their size. Still has its limits but them things are gonna be the way of the future, you'll see! Florida bois are on the cat renaissance as we speak.