Catalac 8m

[Tropic Cat]

Glad I could help, good luck

[D.Curtiss]

I recently owned (and sold) an 8 meter Catalac in Ventura, Ca., We first had a 9.9 Yamaha that gave us fits and then splurged on a 9.9 Honda with an automatic lift and an alternator. The Honda was great and we had the rudders linked to the engine so manueverability was excellent. The Honda had a standard long shaft on it, but it would cavitate a little in bigger waves. We used less than a gallon an hour. We found the boat was not great close to the wind since it had no board or real keels. Nonetheless, it was a little trooper and felt safe. It was a little cramped below but we put on a full dodger with a bimini, creating another living space in the cockpit. My own thought was that we would not have gotten any other engine for our weekend cruises.

David Curtiss

[Jackstee]

Hi Rick

Always good to find a new Cat page. Especially when your stuck in the fare end of a country like Pakistan.

But we hope to get 2 - 3 months next year and that WILL be good.

Best regards

Steve & Jackie

[Tropic Cat]

It's always good to hear from fellow Cat owners.

One of my friends owns and lives aboard his HT26. It must be a little bit small as a liveaboard. The Catalac 8M is comparable. We are a bit quicker, but traded the center cockpit for twin diesels.

I've done a fair bit of rig tweaking and regularly sail up to 30 degrees apparent. Even with leeway this isn't terrible. I would agree that the Catalacs were never designed to be speed demons but one made it intact through the '94 Queens birthday storm, which speaks for how rugged they were built.

I'll trade safety for speed any day.

[Talbot]

Rick,

From your last post, all the discussions we have had, have paid off. Very pleased to hear it.

Worth mentioning on here for other Catalac Owners that the Original UK Catalac and Bobcat Owners association is still going and in addition to a register of all owners it also has a wealth of additional data and hints etc.

You can find it at Bobcatandcatalac

Please let them know the wehreabouts and ownership of your boat as it is a useful resource when cruising.


An earlier post on this thread talks about the possibilities for re-engining the 8m. IMHO and I have seen a lot of these, the 8m is ideal for a single inboard diesel of 15 - 20 hp mated to a silette leg (similar to prout snowgoose). You keep the great lockers where the twin inboards go, plus you have the benefit of swinging a much bigger prop (15") more slowly so less risk of cavitation. and biggest benefit of all, you get a decent charge rate.

I thought about doing this with my 9m catalac, but the design is not so convenient for this. Ii ended up witha 27 hp diesel outboard fitted to mine. For that pesky marina work, my outboard was steered sepeately from the main steering, which improved manoeurability considerably and also provided more thrust when motor sailing. I have also fitted a bow thruster for those moments when wind is blowing of the jetty.
In fact after 20 years ownership. I reckon I know a little bit about these boats, sadly mine is for sale (divorce)

[Tropic Cat]

Talbot is a walking, talking expert on Catalacs in particular, and catamarans in general, and is certainly my "go to guy" when I need advice.

Speaking of advice.... what do you think up upgrading my engines from 1GM's to 2GMs? Will I benefit from the 50% increase in power?

Coincidently, I was just thinking about you the other day when I came across a Catalac 12M project boat. I was thinking it would be a perfect upgrade from your 9M!! Email me for the details.

[Talbot]

IMHO the IGM is underpowered for the 8m catalac, but was used as a replacement for the old dolphin engine due to size constraints.

The problem with both the 8m and the 9m is the position of the shafts (and their angle), and the space in front of the shafts.

One solution is to fit saildrives, and most of the 900s did this, but in order to allow the boat to take to the ground without crunching the saildrive, it has to be fitted at the back of the engine compartment, and this unbalances the boat.

The Yanmar 1GM is 9 hp and weighs 156 ilbs
The Yanmar 2GM is 15 hp and weighs 227 ibs
The 3 is a 3 cylinder these days and pushes out 22 hp and weighs 266 lb.

I have known a 9m with 2 x 22 hp engines. makes a fair difference in bad weather, but the additional fuel requirement and all that weight aft badly unballances the boat.

IMHO the beta range are a better engine for this:
Beta 14 at 13.5 hp weighs 196 lb
the 16 at 16 hp weighs 205 lb
and the 20 hp weighs 233 ib quite significant savings (and cheaper spares!!!!!!!!!!)

The biggest problem is costs for an upgrade unless the engines you have are no longer reliable, it is not really a cost effective solution to change 2 engines.

I have suggested on another thread another potential alternative which may be cheaper. take out the centre cockpit locker and install a diesel generator, then fit electric drives to the two shafts. I havent costed this, but reckon that this may provide some considerable savings. It must be cheaper than saildrives, it will be lighter, it will provide power for all sorts of other purposes.

Furthermore, the engine is accessible, which unless you are a very thin monkey with very long arms is not really the case at the moment.


If this had been available when I changed my engine, I would definitely have gone this route.


A 12m project boat - they are nice boats and at the right price and at the right time, I would have been interested, but I dont have the time to do it at the moment or the space. Instead, I am working hard and saving my pennies for something I can get afloat on immediately. I am still peeved about that Prout that you offered to look at for me. They rejected my offer - spurned it really, and despite my telling the broker that I would remain open if they changed their mind, they sold it 6 months later for the same price I offered to somebody else - peeved doesnt even come close.

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by Talbot

IMHO the IGM is underpowered for the 8m catalac, but was used as a replacement for the old dolphin engine due to size constraints.

The problem with both the 8m and the 9m is the position of the shafts (and their angle), and the space in front of the shafts.

As to Catalac engine options... I do agree with you that 8M's are underpowered, but then again I believe almost all catmaran owners would say the same thing about their boats as our diesels were never intended on being the primary power source, and are auxiliary propulsion. However.... on a windy day..... more power isn't a bad thing .

I've seen some used yanmar 2GM's pop up on ebay for reasonable prices recently, and actually that's what began my thought process on more power.

When I looked up the dimensions on the 2GM it appears they are actually 35mm or so shorter than the 1GM measured from the front of the pulley. They also bolt to the Yanmar KM2 series transmission which is the same as the 1GM. I could only imagine that the shaft angle wouldn't be a show stopper. But then again, I could be wrong!!

Ummm...any boat repowering expert may jump into this thread at any time!!