Boatworld KAT Sport 330

Speedy boat with a 15HP Suzuki, getting 25mph with engine not at full throttle, it's quite scary as it becomes extremely twitchy above that speed at full throttle. Need to experiment with a hydrofoil on my outboard and a bit of weight up front when on my own. Great fun on flat water, you'll bounce about at sea with any waves, still good fun though

Following on from viewing the new Kat Sport 330 in the flesh at its Boatlife launch, just picked up their pre production demo boat from those nice guys at Boatworld for some real on the water testing.
Big thanks to Boatworld for the loan of their ‘only one in the country’ new Kat Sport 330

Comes neatly packed in two boxes which easily fit into the average car and soon had the little Kat assembled and inflated. Very straightforward, quick and easy with all components fitting well…reckon it’s less than a twenty minute job with a half decent pump once organised.

All looking pretty good thus far. Only reservation would be motor looks a tad high even sat straight on transom. Might ventilate, might not, will find out tomorrow for its maiden voyage if the weather holds out.

Great weather on test day with a gentle cross shore breeze, small lazy swell inside the reefs and a mild chop further out….time to get the little Kat wet.

A breeze to pull through the dunes, down the beach and easily launched with the included transom wheels. Didn’t notice too much nose weight despite fully loaded with 9.8 hp motor, 12l fuel tank, anchor tub and kit bag.

After warming up the motor we were off and it all worked pretty much straight out of the box, which for a ‘cat’ is pretty impressive. Any reservations of motor sat a bit high were unfounded as only very minor ventilation experienced. Ran with virtually no ventilation fully trimmed in on pin one (transom is vertical on these). Trimming out to pin two, arguably more ideal for ride trim, resulted in intermittent ventilation particularly getting out the hole. We did experience some splashing on both trim settings, slightly more pronounced downwind, but nothing too serious and certainly not coming back into boat. Of course, the above is only pertinent to this motor/boat combination and conditions on the day. A cupped prop and/or a hydrofoil (Permatrim are good) are often recommended upgrades to sort stubborn catamaran ventilation issues.

Performance with the Tohatsu 9.8 two stroke running stock prop, one up plus kit, pops quickly onto the plane and tops out at a very impressive top speed of just over 19 knots nudging 6000rpm. Running at a more relaxed 4500 and 5000rpm achieved cruising speeds of 14 and 16 knots respectively. The little Kat will remain on the plane down to around 11/12 knots.

Ride wise it’s everything you’d expect from a ‘cat’. Nice and stable just pootling around with its big tubes and a dry ride, open it up though and it’s a little hooligan! Wind on the revs it pops quickly up onto the plane and then the air cushion can be really worked if you keep the power on to seriously smooth out the ride in chop. Definitely a better, and faster, ride head to wind/waves. In a following sea/downwind, then slightly prone to a little bow steering now and again, just to keep you on your toes, and harder to keep that air cushion working for you. Tracks really well and corners flat with tenacious grip in tight turns, so well you need to hang on or sit low. The massive 500mm dia tubes providing a confidence inspiring ride, help minimise any bow steering downwind (common on cats) and plenty of buoyancy for heavier motors. Will also be good fun playing in the surf zone (no real waves today unfortunately) where the open transom instantly sheds any water taken onboard.

Overall build quality, materials and fittings, even on this pre production model, look more than acceptable and particularly at this price point. Only real negative comment would be the tubes are single chamber….but then so are Takacats at this length.

For anyone interested in one of the Takacat/TrueKit Kiwi style catamarans, or indeed anyone just after something sporty or a little different, then certainly worth adding the Kat Sport to your shortlist.