Weird boat.

[Donn]

Well, maybe interesting is a better word.

I was just out in the garden, and my diesel wrench stopped by to show me a picture of (the sister of) a boat he just bought. He's already thinkiing of selling it, and thought I might be interested. I might be.

It's something I've never seen before, apparently a Chris Craft product called the Crooked Island Catboat.

http://www.crookedislandcatboat.com/images/1deckprofile.jpg

18' long, 9'4" wide, 17" draft. His is powered by a little 3-lung Volvo diesel.

Maybe weird is the right word.

[JimD]

Looks like a catboat alright. A very stable platform. What does it look like below the waterline and how heavy is it? Could be a boat that wide might behave more like a raft than a boat if it sits on the water instead of in it.

[Donn]

It weighs 1800 pounds, and is reputedly extremely stable.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/donnwest/profileanddeck.jpg

[Lew Barrett]

I like it, actually. Might name it "Tubby" though...

[Donn]

I was thinking "Giant Pumpkinseed."

[JimD]

I like it too. You could just about pitch a tent in it.

[Gulfcoastbreeze]

Somehow the drawing looks better than the photo. Could be the lighting.

[Donn]

Pity it's fiberglass. It'd make a great bay boat, for fishing and tending traps. It's supposedly wet in a short chop, which we have plenty of, but I like the room inside, and the forward freeboard.

[Backfin]

Could someone explain the bow gear to me? Is it for pushing or transferring passengers?

[Donn]

The boat in the photo is a yacht club launch, so I'd say the "bow gear" is for passenger transfer.

[rbgarr]

I think the bow gear is so it can act as a push boat for some reason. I (at least) wouldn't want any launch to nose up to my boat and unload passengers that way.

The railings on the port side are for passenger transfer.

[Gulfcoastbreeze]

The bow setup is for passenger transfer. Note the diamond-plate walkway and handholds. The verticals are used to fend off against a pier while the launch is in forward gear, in idle.