Anyone ever see one of these Mako cat 485 ??

[Sea Ranger]

Just because I'm curious has anyone ever been out in one of these Mako Cat 485's  by Alf Stessl?

one for sale

a nice write up

When searching for the replacement outboard for my Haines I stumbled on this odd hull.  I didn't think single engine cats worked very well (which is probably why these are not made anymore)  Still curious if anyone has ever been out in one and how did she turn?  any ventilation?

They seem a bit pricey for what they are but maybe I'm missing something

 

Bear

Edited September 21, 2018 by Noo2OzFish
fix er up some son

[antonywardle]

That was a good read!

 

 

[fishrepellent]

Hi

A few years ago after reading the great reviews I was pretty keen on getting one as it ticked a lot of boxes.  So we went and had a look at a brand new one and was ready to pay there and then but was really disappointed in the quality of the welds (both internal and external) and overall finish which was really apparent. My wife who knows nothing of boats etc also commented on it as soon as we saw the boat and as a result we walked away deflated.   At least the 5hr round trip was a nice drive!  

That aside, it had heaps of deck space and I liked the layout etc for what I wanted and from all accounts (well from the magazine reviews anyway!) a good boat -  but I too couldn't find anyone except the magazine reviewers who had been in one.  

The NZ made Blackdog Cat's  are single engine too.

Cheers

[Sea Ranger]

Funny you say that.  This one has a section on the starboard hull near the bow which looks like it has been dented.  However as my Mrs pointed out the paint over it looked flawless. It was then I noticed the welds were messy on that side and had a grinder on them prior to painting when comparing to the port hull in the same location.  I guessed that spot got overheated and warped the hull about the size of a football.  Shoddy.  Same as you I was attracted to all the deck space.

[fishrepellent]

The boat I looked at had sizeable "woofs" on both sides - about the size of footballs too.  The welds were really shoddy and they were the ones that we could see -  this made us question as to what it was like in the areas we couldn't see!  I think that there were variants around the transom area too re battery storage - from memory on this boat the battery was simply in a battery box  on the deck.

A good layout though with heaps of room with storage under the decks etc. and it was  "big" boat for its size.