After the recent Sydney International Boat Show I was offered a ride
on a couple of the more interesting cats.
Firstly I went for a couple of hours on the Lightwave 46.
This is the only boat of this model made, and both the builder and
the owner were on board.
The only helm (other than a remote pilot) was in the cockpit, in a
raised position.
So it has no flybridge, but the position is well elevated and the
skipper is not removed from the activity.
The 160 HP Volvos were very quiet and quite sufficient.
We headed briefly out to sea in a moderate swell.
I found the ride to be a little jerky. This may be due to the rather
wide beam of 7.3 m.
Also the bows threw up a fair bit of water. Although this was
deflected down very efficiently by strakes,
the wind often caught the splash and lifted it on deck.
The hull is a modified sailing cat hull. Bulbs have been fitted onto
the bows.
These obviously increase buoyancy and somewhat slow down the rate of
rise and fall of the bows.
Lightwave promote these bulbs as a feature, but are they really a
designer's way of patching
up a hull that wasn't designed from the start as a power cat?
This fact is also seen, I think, in the relatively deep draft of 1.2 m.
Long thin hulls must sink deeper into the water than hulls with more
volume.
The galley is down and I'm warming more to this arrangement.
Finish was generally superb.
There is much to like about this cat.
I'll try to get a ride on her smaller 40 foot sister when I visit the
boatyard next week.
I'll report on the other cat later (Part 2).
Gary
After the recent Sydney International Boat Show I was offered a ride
on a couple of the more interesting cats.
Firstly I went for a couple of hours on the Lightwave 46.
This is the only boat of this model made, and both the builder and
the owner were on board.
The only helm (other than a remote pilot) was in the cockpit, in a
raised position.
So it has no flybridge, but the position is well elevated and the
skipper is not removed from the activity.
The 160 HP Volvos were very quiet and quite sufficient.
We headed briefly out to sea in a moderate swell.
I found the ride to be a little jerky. This may be due to the rather
wide beam of 7.3 m.
Also the bows threw up a fair bit of water. Although this was
deflected down very efficiently by strakes,
the wind often caught the splash and lifted it on deck.
The hull is a modified sailing cat hull. Bulbs have been fitted onto
the bows.
These obviously increase buoyancy and somewhat slow down the rate of
rise and fall of the bows.
Lightwave promote these bulbs as a feature, but are they really a
designer's way of patching
up a hull that wasn't designed from the start as a power cat?
This fact is also seen, I think, in the relatively deep draft of 1.2 m.
Long thin hulls must sink deeper into the water than hulls with more
volume.
The galley is down and I'm warming more to this arrangement.
Finish was generally superb.
There is much to like about this cat.
I'll try to get a ride on her smaller 40 foot sister when I visit the
boatyard next week.
I'll report on the other cat later (Part 2).
Gary
