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TWIN VEE
36 CENTER CONSOLE
Launched new for the 2005
season, I was able to jump aboard this huge twin-hulled catamaran
for a test ride at this past winter’s Miami Boat Show.
SUPER-SIZE ME
With Americans always being
accused of getting monstrous portions at the dinner table, ala the
recent wave of “Super-Size Me” in the competitive fast food commercials,
there must be some sort of “trickle-down” theory going on in other
industries, especially saltwater boatbuilding. The past two years have
seen over a dozen of these absolutely huge mid 30s monohulls and
catamarans coming to market, and people are buying them almost as fast
as they can be made. With four-stroke and two-stroke direct injection
outboards well-ensconced in the 250 to 300-horsepower range with proven
motors that seem to be holding up to the ravages and demands of extreme
saltwater coastal fishing, the boat-builders have followed suit and are
building the hulls to match the power. In my opinion, a mid 30s outboard
hull has many distinct advantages over similar inboard gas and diesel
powered boats and it seems that many other folks share my philosophy,
because I am seeing more of these craft 100 miles offshore at the
distant Northeast canyons on a regular basis.
I sat down for a few hours with David East, the president of Twin Vee
Catamarans, down at the Miami Boat Show last February to get a little
more info on thought and concept behind their new 36-foot center
console. According to David, the Twin Vee design team was looking to
extend its proven 32-footer into the land of the mid 30s, using an
over-wide beam that was 2 inches short of 12 feet and supporting a
cockpit that a football team could go fishing in without stepping on
each other’s cleats. The 36 CC was birthed to accomplish these
objectives, doing so in a no-frills rolled-edge skiff layout that makes
for easy clean-ups at the end of the day also keeps the purchase price
down significantly compared to other 36-footers.
When you jump on board, you will immediately realize the benefit of a
12-foot wide cat hull with twin sponsons. The boat is as solid as an
aircraft carrier with nary a lean to one side or another, even with four
folks looking over the edge. You want cockpit space? I can’t think of
any boat under 40 feet that gives you more than this feline, with a HUGE
fishing arena that measures 126 inches wide by 110 inches in length,
which translates to almost 100 square feet of totally clear dancing
room. With 27 inches of internal freeboard aft and 28 inches amidships,
your position on the cockpit soles is just about at the right height to
get maximum support and still be able to reach down to grab a leader for
either capture or tag-and-release ceremonies. From a fishing standpoint,
everything is here for you to max out your day, inshore or offshore,
with six gunwale-mount flush rodholders, horizontal racks for four
additional outfits under each gunwale, plus 10 vertical rodholders set
in the console sides. Add a leaning post/rocket launcher setup and get
five more vertical rodholders. Put on a T-Top and pick up yet another
six rodholders in an overhead rocket launcher. You get the picture: the
layout is totally up to you, the operator. There’s a 32-gallon raised
oval livewell aft, plus twin 128-quart cushioned Igloo coolers set in
the transom corners to provide crew seating when underway. A larger
162-quart Igloo cooler is installed forward of the console command
station to seat an additional two rod benders. Going forward, a 19-inch
step up to the forward casting deck presents a clear view of the ocean
in a 270-degree arc.
ROAD TEST
The Twin Vee 36 CC seems
somewhere between a semi-displacement design and a planing hull, since
it definitely breaks free of the water at a certain modest speed (about
18 mph) and is very efficient using only one of its outboard powerplants.
Our boat was outfitted with some of my favorite four-strokes, Suzuki’s
dynamite 250-horsepower V-6s, with their proprietary variable valve
induction set up, which really coaxes every sea pony out of the stable.
Running a set of Power-Tech 23-inch pitch 3-blade S/S props, we were
able to hit a top speed of 52 mph on this behemoth, with a minimum
planing speed of 18.8 mph at only 3,000 rpm, to ensure easy going when
the going gets rough offshore, like it always does at some point during
the trip. We were able to get 27 mph at 4,000 revs, with the twin
Suzuki’s drinking about 22 gph, for net of 1.23 mpg, which for a
36-footer is not such a bad deal. Factor in the cavernous 340-gallon
standard fuel capacity and the range on this monster cat approaches 375
to 400 miles, which puts you in just about any canyon you want, in total
comfort and safety. If one engine has a mechanical issue that you can’t
resolve, it’s nice to know that she’ll do a sprightly 25.5 mph on a
single engine, for the ultimate in get-home insurance. MSRP of the hull
only is $98K.
This might not be the prettiest girl on the block, but she can sure
cook. A lifetime structural warranty is standard. For more information,
contact Twin Vee at 772-429-2525, or visit them on the Internet at
www.twinvee.net..
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