am thinking about buying a kevlacat 1900 and wonder if anyone has one and what they think of the model . i would like the next size up but the hilux wont tow the weight . cheers neil
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hi mate i have the old version of the 1900 (5.2) and they are a great offshore boat very stable heaps of room compared to any other 5.2 on the market. and handle the rough really well for a small boat.few fellas have them on here and they all seem to love them
I sold my 6.1 Hydrofield 2 years ago & at the time was thinking the same & after going for a run in one i was sold.
The Hydro was heavy being double fibreglass hull as it was a Rescue boat b4 i got my hands on it, big difference for me was going into a sea the hydro was a wet boat especially with the flat deck & nose.
The Kevlacat like others sat much higher in the nose so they were much dryer.
Hydro had no tunnel slap though & being so heavy really handled bad conditions & was rediculously stable but required big power to make the most of it so fuel usage was high, but you get that.
IMO i would be hapy to go either way the Hydro or Cat but the Cat has more plus's i think.
Narooma & i love that place & that boat with twin 115 Ocean Runners which went to Adelaide.
Time to do some Fishin & less workin.
Frosti have PM'd you some info
Last edited by kaypee; 16-11-2012 at 03:26 PM. Reason: decided to PM Message
I would definately buy one, sure bigger is better but a 5.2 with twin 60 4 stroke yamahas is nearly unbeatable awesome rig travels really well.
A 5.2 with twin 60s would be an absolute slug. I would take it for a water test in a bit of chop and see how it performs or should i say lack of performance. Then go for a run in the same size boat with bigger motors. I have a 5.5m bruce harris and it has twin 130s yammies. I wouldnt go anything less then twin 90s however the Kevlacats are well known for being under powered.
Cheers Mick
hey mick quite a few guys have yammie high thrust 60s an get 28-30knt out of them how much faster do you need to go when your offshore?not many days of the year you would want to go much faster. i have 75s on mine and can get 32 -34knts and have never felt like i needed to go faster these boats cruise at around 20-23knts comfortably in most seas. your shark cat would be much heavier and would need the power to push it i assume. plus 5.2 dont like to much weight on the ass although im not sure about the new model 1900Originally Posted by wave dancer
cheers dan
the one i was looking at has 90 hp mercury optimax's on it which is max hp . what year did the new model 1900 start from
ARKMARINE build the pods for KC UP TO 2400 pretty sure that boat was retooled in 2005 all that was done was a small strake was added and larger pods which by the way are heavier than the old ones 90 hp two strokes are perfect power for them even dare i say it Etecs ///// I have driven the one with 60 hp SUZI and you are ringing thier necks up in the 5500 rev range in moderate chop (normal conditions) so i think 90 Merc Opti would be good .
I would ring Rafe at Springwood Marine and talk to him .Cheers Rod
rodneyk, you are spot on. Twin 90s are the go unless you want to leave the ramp and travel everywhere ringing the guts out of smaller motors. More wear and tear, higher fuel consumption really doesnt make sense to me.
dan12345 not sure how much distance you cover in a days fishing but any real distance travelling at 20-23 knots would take forever. I would hate to get caught out in bad weather and be limited to those sort of speeds. I was fishing the top end of moreton island and seen a storm heading our way, so the call was made and we sat on 45knts all the way back to manly harbour. We had a smooth ride all the way back, no wet ass not like some other boats who left the same time and got caught in the rain, wind and a ####n bad chop. I by no means travel at that speed all the time but it sure is handy to have it there when you need it. As for weight on the ass end, i would rather the extra power of twin 90 two strokes then have underpowered twin 60 four strokes. The new two strokes feul consumption isnt as good as the four stroke of course but they have come along way and arent really that bad. If the buyer is worried about fuel consumption dont buy a boat with twin motors as everything is doubled. Its like buying a v8 and expecting four cylinder economy.
Cheers Mick.
90 Optimax's are NOT light weight, they will be putting the rear down big time, so fishing will require gumboots to keep your feet dry, 60Hp on a 5.2 is only OK at best.
wave dancer i travel more distance then most in my boat. i agree 60s arnt great but they ok, i have 75 etecs and they are good the 90s would be great being the same weight but with the added power when needed. im not diagreeing thats 90s are better but the 5.2 kc doesnt handle the weight on the ass very well hence why most people dont fit 90 4st they are to heavy and they affect the ride of the boat. as noelm has stated 90 opts will require gumboots to fish. but hey each to their own i guess
wave dancer my boat is the same hull as yours they are a 560 series sharkcat!! I have twin 100 4stroke yamahas on mine and it is heaps 25knots @ 4500 / 38knots@5800 which is great power/economy. I travel 100kms each way and 23knots is comfortable speed. I would be interested to see you do 45 knots in a rough sea and so would every one else on here. and with twin 130 2 strokes (mind you your pic has johnsons??)you would have to have 400 litres of fuel miniumum to go 100kms each way. twin 60's on 5.2 kevlacat produce same speed figures as min whilst getting almost 2km/ltr
Hi Catchin'Em, you must have trouble reading as i said we headed for home BEFORE the bad weather hit and i did not mention rough seas.We managed to beat the wind rain and bad chop not ROUGH SEAS as you mentioned ?? However your powers of observation are pretty good as you are correct about the johnsons on the back. (old pic). It seems that you know alot about my boat so i am guessing you would know what size fuel tanks are in it?? what economy i get ??( which might just suprise you) unless the new fuel sensors are wrong. I am pretty sure i said that i dont travel at that speed all the time, however it is handy to have it there when you need it. (As quoted above). Maybe try reading it again and RE-THINK.
Cheers Mick.
micks boat gets 1ltr/k combined so 200 lt trip 200ltrs,pretty good for 2 strokes.not sure what you get out of yours catch em.. but i know i get bout .8-1ltr / k combined out of my 2400 kc with 140hp suzukies.. i guess it comes down to how fast you drive..but i do know micks does that right through the rev range...imho i recon 70's at a minimum on the 1900 but 90's would be a better option....with 90 opti's there spose to do .4ltr / k combined so pretty unreal and the 2100 kc spose to do around the same...the 1900 at springwood marine at the moment is a good buy i recon for 65k, now to sit back on the fence
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