# 14.5' Shoalwater Cat vs Tran Baby cat?



## stxhunter (May 19, 2006)

A friend of mine is thinking about getting a new boat. He wants something relatively small that he can handle by himself, maybe another person on board every now and then. Of course he is wanting to go shallow and have a decent ride. We checked out both the trans baby cat and 14.5' shoal cat and now he can't decide. He was wondering the differences in the two and which you would choose and why??


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## POC Transplant (Feb 26, 2008)

I have a friend with the baby shoalwater cat w/ a 90 etec. It will run 40mph w/ 2 big guys and a full tank and still get 6-7 mpg. It is extremely smooth and dry, especially for a boat that size with no sides. One thing to look for is put a hydraulic jackplate on it. My buddy only has a manual one that cant be adjusted on the fly and it wont let him take off real shallow. He also doesnt have it propped exactly right i dont think, but it will run skinny enough to scare the pants off of you. His has a T-top and we still managed to fish 3 people (including 1 rookie) without much of a problem at all. I love that little boat, but I haven't had any experience with the baby tran cat.


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## stxhunter (May 19, 2006)

With a 90 e-tec? I thought the max Hp was 60? I know there are a lot of threads like this out there but i wanted more info specifically on the 14.5 and 16ft versions.


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## POC Transplant (Feb 26, 2008)

Max HP on the 14.5 Shoalwater Cat is 90HP. I would definitely run one with a 60 before I bought it. It might be pretty slow but the weight difference may make up for it.


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## stxhunter (May 19, 2006)

I bet that sucker flys with a 90!! This is what it says on their website:

*Length &#8230;&#8230;.. 14 feet 6 Inches* *Maximum Rated Horsepower* *&#8230;. 60 hp Capacity &#8230;&#8230;.. 4 Person*

​*
*


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## POC Transplant (Feb 26, 2008)

You're right about what it says on the web site, I went back and looked. I most of these boats I have seen, including the first one in the web gallery, have been rigged with a 90. It is quite zippy with a 90. Top end about 38-40 with 2-3 guys (avg. 210/person), full tank of gas and all the fishing stuff you can fit on that little boat. Oh, that was also with a T-top. It is sweet.


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## Javadrinker (Feb 13, 2008)

what is the price on these little cats?


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## stxhunter (May 19, 2006)

The 14.5 with a 50e-tech is 15,999 without a jack plate, prob one of the best boats for the price. I think 16ft trans cat was just a little more with a jack plate. Like I was telling my bud you pretty much have to get a jack plate with these little boats. Also the shaol cat comes with a basic rear flip flop ice chest seat, which in this particular case is also going to be upgraded. Anyway they are both pretty neat rigs that act like bigger boats. I think the baby tran cat was hitting 45 with the 90hp tohatsu and the 14.5 was around 35-40 with one or two people and minimum load.


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## POC Transplant (Feb 26, 2008)

Where are you pricing the Shoalwater from?


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## stxhunter (May 19, 2006)

The price on the shoalwater was from a dealer in Portland, is this not a good price?


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## Catn' Around (May 21, 2004)

There's also the little mowdy cat.


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## BeachCityBoy (May 27, 2007)

Don't forget the Flatlander "Chiquita".... http://www.flatlanderboats.com/chiquita.htm


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## TKoenig (Apr 8, 2007)

Catn' Around said:


> There's also the little mowdy cat.


i stopped by mowdy boats and talked to clark a while on friday... the 10ft mowdy and the 18 mod-v molds are being retired due to being worn out... hes replacing then with the 16cat and the 25cat...

the 16 mowdy cat is running around 40-42 with a 90 e-tec on it, and im tryin to get him to take me out on it for a cruise. so if i do i will post up some ride/performance specs on it..

when i worked at marine services i helped build a couple of chiquitas, and most people think they are just another flatbottom skiff. but they are actually a little concave on the bottom to make them ride a little smoother and drier. and they will run scary shallow without worrying about sliding compared to a RFL or any flatbottom skiffs...

The tran baby cat is an awesome little rig, but i have never been in a shoalwater cat so i cant help much in that dept.


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## gris (Feb 8, 2006)

*Don't pass up the Shallow Sport 15*

You might want to think about Shallow Sport


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## fishnlab (Jul 10, 2004)

stxhunter said:


> ......... I think the baby tran cat was hitting 45 with the 90hp tohatsu ....


Can anyone verify this? I think you would have to turn a 19" prop for those speeds. Seems like a lot of work for that 90. I wouldn't this it could do it on that hull.

I love those baby cats. They feel MUCH bigger than 16'.


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## Javadrinker (Feb 13, 2008)

can someone pm the prices on these 3?


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## stxhunter (May 19, 2006)

As far as price, you could figure on 16,000-21,000+ttl depending on how you have it rigged out. I would call some of the dealers to get more of an exact price with your specs.

There was no way for me to verify the speed of the baby cat, but I can tell you were were hauling!! The dealer was the one who gave me those numbers, but I'm sure with a GPS you could find out. We also went out of the protected area into the ruff stuff, the only boat other than the big ol cigar boat i saw out there. As expected the ride was rough, but to my surprise we didn't get wet at all!! Considering this boat had little to no sides I was impressed. 

We have yet to try out the 14.5 ft cat but should be scheduling something soon.


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## kcliff (Dec 18, 2004)

STXHunter PM me your number I have been looking at the same boats and a JH scooter. I would be happy to help. I havent been on the Shoal 14.5 though, I know one thing it is missing storage and not as big as the baby cat. I have been on 3 different baby cats and was impressed with them all. they go anywhere from 37 to 41mph. GPS on two of them. the baby cat seems like it can fish more people than the 14.5 and the storage thing. It just depends on price an how much. no doubt Shoal Water makes a good boat. All around I like the baby cat though. that Nissan 90 or tohat 90 is perfect. I like yamaha but would rather have a fuel injected motor. the JH scooter is alot like a shallow sport but different material anyway give me a number if you want. i have been looking for a while.


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## POC Transplant (Feb 26, 2008)

stxhunter said:


> The price on the shoalwater was from a dealer in Portland, is this not a good price?


It seems a little steep with a 60hp. They priced me the 19' cat w/115hp and raised console for 24-25K. You could probably talk them down a little in person though. In any case, I am sure it is a better price than from Gander Mountain.


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## Stuart (May 21, 2004)

TKoenig said:


> i stopped by mowdy boats and talked to clark a while on friday... the 10ft mowdy and the 18 mod-v molds are being retired due to being worn out... hes replacing then with the 16cat and the 25cat...


The molds may well be "worn out" like he said, but I bet it was more of a profitability decision that went into discontinuing those two models, especially the 18 footer. A mold isn't that hard to bring back up to snuff if they really wanted to still build them.

When it comes down to it, bigger boats aren't that much more work to rig out (the tedious, time consuming part) than their smaller counterparts, but you can ask a lot more money for them. I think that is why you saw the explosion of bigger and bigger bay boats over the last decade or so. What did the little scooter sell for, like $4k? The 16 footer is going for $14k. That might not be exactly an apples to apples comparison, but you get my drift.


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## crabbeater (Feb 9, 2006)

you cannot beat the baby cat, wood free construction will not rot! it is stable, smooth, dry, shallow, economical, roomy, ample storage, & fast! plus factory 6year warranty.

Price is not a factor when u want the best.

oh and keep a look out for their new 18 footer scooter cat! coming this summer!


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## kcliff (Dec 18, 2004)

crab beater can you give more details? I was looking at the baby cat and really like long story short i may go to a bit bigger boat. What is the differeence between the Tran 18 SC and the regular Tran cat 18'


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## bb1234 (Dec 24, 2007)

Nice boat , the baby cat definately looks clutter free.


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## crabbeater (Feb 9, 2006)

the Tran Cat 180 V is the big full size cat. the new 180 SC will be the same bottom of the 16 baby cat only longer wider and a lil higher sides. Due to the 160SC's fantastic hull design, the 180SC will have a smoother dryer ride than the full size 180 V. However it will not be as wide of boat nor heavy. the 180 V is definately a large boat and has more room than most 20-22ft boats out there.


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## crabbeater (Feb 9, 2006)

Here is a picture of a tran 160SC baby cat in action.


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## kcliff (Dec 18, 2004)

cool pic. I am all for the baby cat when it comes to the 14-16ft scooter range. i want to get a small 16ft scooter but i am moving to Houston so I need to rethink the size due to the bays. I think people have been just trying to sell me a bigger boat. I think it is perfect for SPI and corpus. i just dont know anything about the northern bays and i need to think cost and best bang for the dollar. i really like the simplicity the bay cat offers fishes 4 ok easy for 1 to handle runs SUPER skinny and 37-40mph with a 90 2stk. sounds like Shoalcat has noticed the baby cat and plans to offer competition the 14.5 couldn't handle. i cant wait to get moved and settled then I can boat shop again. moving to Houston popped up at the last minute. anyway I really like Tran and the baby cat is a great boat.


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## tranbabycat (May 5, 2008)

Ive got a Tran Baby cat being built now, test drove one about three weeks ago, man very nice boat. You cant beat Donny's customer service!!


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## Andrew Mox (Dec 20, 2007)

Dont Forget about the New 16 Cat from Shoalwater. Come see it at the Houston Summer Boat Show


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## raz1056 (Jun 16, 2006)

I'll second the customer service, how many dealers will give a customer their cell phone number to be contacted after hours??????


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## o_brother (Jul 26, 2007)

Shallow Stalker has a nice 17' (I think) skiff with a raised deck that looks awesome. I looked at them in Corpus at Gulf Coast Marine. They make a v-bow as well.. Last years prices were 18k with the raised deck and a 90 hp E-Tec.


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## stxhunter (May 19, 2006)

I have a shallow stalker v20 and I'm pretty happy with it. The 17 is very nice and I have heard some good things about it!


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## CroakerSoakerBirdChaser (Jul 9, 2005)

*Both great boats. Just don't put a E-tec on it. my 2cents*

*:an6:.*


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