new 19' Shoalwater cat - questions and issues

[Justin_Time]

I figured the 19 cat with a 115-130 would be getting better top end numbers. I have a 14.5 Cat with an Etec 60 and hit 33 on the GPS all day (loaded down).

[tickbird]

I have a 19' Cat and I went against Shoalwater's suggestions and put a 4 stroke 115 Yamaha with a 4 blade prop on mine. They told me they wouldn't be responsible because the boat wouldn't perform the way it was made to. 1) I have never had my boat overheat or have problems with the low water intake on my motor. 2) I don't know how the hole shot could be any better. With 3 adults and an 11 year old, it comes out like a charm. 5 is too many in this boat. 3) With the 4 blade prop I have given up some speed but I am not in that big of a hurry most times. 35-38 at 5400 rpms. 4) I downsized from a 23' Shallowcraft to this boat. It takes the rough water better than that boat and I would have to agree on being very comparable to the 22 Gulfcoast. Best friend has one that we fish out of. 5) I wouldn't trade for any other boat on the water. It is exactly what I wanted and performs like I hoped it would. I never fish out of the boat and spend lots of time in very skinny water. My only negative is that it doesn't perform well at all with a livewell full of water. I am a artificial fisherman and my livewell doesn't get used. A few times we have bought bait for my kid's to fish under a cork and it changes the performance of the boat a bunch. I would buy bigger if I put water in the livewell. The extra weight is tough on the hole shot and the 115 4 stroke.

[Yellow Cat]

Originally Posted by Justin_Time

Of course a TRP would have a better hole shot... Thats like saying a 4 wheel drive can go through more mud than a 2 wheel drive. Thats what its made for.

X's2 on that one my friend!!!! X's 2

[POC Transplant]

Originally Posted by katytkd

I have had a 19cat with 150etec for 1 1/2 years now. I have had to do a few things to improve the hole shot. When I first got the boat it did not have the shoalwater cav. plate on it. It would blow out when ever I tried to get shallow water start, and it did not seem to hold rpms well between 3000-4000. The cav. plate made a huge improvement. After the cav. plate, I took my prop to Bauman's shop, and they added some cup to my prop. Now my boat comes firing out of the water. Shallow water starts are no problem at all. With my original prop I was able to get around 55mph, now with the changes I can get 44-46mph. Would like to be faster, but the hole shot is well worth it. Every now and then my motor will overheat. I do have the large intake scoops. It makes no sense at all. Somedays I can run shallow all day with jackplate all the up without problem. It overheated on Thursday in the cold water, 6 foot deep and jackplate down. I think I will try the Bob's Low Water pickup down the road. Overall I love my boat. The only other boat I even dream about getting is the 23cat.

What he said. I have a 19 cat w/ 150 etec and had horrible hole shot to start with and I have trim tabs. In my opinion, trim tabs are a must on this boat if you are going to run with your motor trimmed up at all. I tried a ton of different props and ended up getting Bauman to make me a custom prop. My speed suffered severely (only hitting 39 now) but this thing is a rocket now. I have a buddy with the 130 and he had the same problem and had to try a bunch of different props till he found one that works. He hasnt had any overheating issues that I know about though. I have had the same problems with the over heating as katykid and I am going to get a LWP as soon as I get a chance.

[POC Transplant]

Originally Posted by WestBay

I have a 19 Cat with an ETEC 115 and will address some of the comments I have seen on here:

1) I have a Bob's low water pickup and it's well worth the money if you run skinny...in fact i would argue you have to have one to get the most out of this boat. Short of an RFL or small scooter this boat will run as skinny as anything out there. As a result of being able to run all day with the jackplate at its highest position (6) my speed has increased as a result of lower drag.

Hey WB did you send your lower unit to Bob's or get it done locally? How much did it run you?

[WestBay]

Originally Posted by POC Transplant

Hey WB did you send your lower unit to Bob's or get it done locally? How much did it run you?

I had a mechanic here in Houston take the lower unit off and I shipped it to Bob's in Tampa myself. By the time you factor in shipping and the short amount of time the mechanic needs I want to say its around $900. It is well worth the money.

[Yellow Cat]

Hey Cal Gee. i thought you fixed that problem with your overheating.

[Yellow Cat]

Oh and no I have not had any over-heating problems with the 130 etec. the only problem we had with alarms was the no oil light coming on and acies said, it was cause more than likely there was a bubble in the line right before the sensor. He said to do the winterization technique if it ever does that again. The only thing is we were lucky when that happened cause we were running across paytons bay and luckily the water was really high. If it was as low as it should have been and the no oil alarm had gone off it would have shut my motor down in 7-10in of sand which is deep enough for running but not for starting up in. My advice if this ever happens to anyone and your in deep water heading for shallow, shut down and winterize cause it will do it again even if there is a full tub of oil.

[TooShallow]

Hello Yellow Cat......Get a good cup on the three blade and hold on.....ditch the four blade. Your top end was much better with the three blade just needed a little cup to knock down the rpm.

[POC Transplant]

Originally Posted by Yellow Cat

Hey Cal Gee. i thought you fixed that problem with your overheating.

It comes and goes. As long as I run it on lower than 4" and dont put it on the dash it is fine. If i got the LWP I might be able to move it up a hole or two.