Quote:
Originally Posted by Night Nurse
Has anyone/does anyway know the were abouts of the boat if it is still around?
How much do people know about it then?
Will
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While trawling through some old posts I came across this thread about turbine boats.
I know the question was asked
6 years ago ....but I can fill in the details of some of the history of the ex Cougar catamaran Black & White Whisky if anyones interested.(and before my memory goes completely)
I understand that the boat was built in 1972 and launched as Bosscat. She is very similar to Catapult but not an exact sistership.
She is actually listed in the 1972 Cowes Torquay Cowes program as an entry in the Round the Island race as Bosscat fitted with a 250 HP BMW inboard. I dont know if she raced.
I have no other info on the boats early history, prior to her fame as Black and White Whisky in the late 1970s.
I acquired the boat (ex engine and drive) in early 1981. The boat was taken to our workshop in Guernsey and converted for outboard power. The plan was to race the boat in Guernsey Powerboat Association 1981 series .
Attempts were made to purchase a Mercury Black Max 225 but there were none readily available in time for the start of the season – so a V6 175 was bought from Russ Culpan in Dorset and the boat was prepared for the 81 round Guernsey.
The boat was painted all black with race number 41 and renamed Bosscat.
The 2 litre class (or at that time GPA class 5 for 151 to 200 HP) did not have much competition, our main rivals being an Avenger 19 Quicksilver (Ex John Player Special Easy Rider- also entered in the 1972 Round the Island by Graham Priaulx if my memory serves me right) and driven in 1981 GPA class 5 in cavalier style by Tony Lee and Top Gun on here.
Bosscat won 4 out of the 6 races entered in the 81 GPA series (retiring in the other 2) including winning the 1981 Havelet race while going astern at 3 MPH when the gearbox broke and we were stuck in reverse. I refused to retire and the race committee who wanted to go home and get ready for the evening prize giving told me they would award me the points as long as I agreed to be towed back into harbour- after a deal was struck we accepted the tow ..and the championship points. A similar class win in the Herm race was foiled after fuel problems and I could not paddle against the turning tide and retired about 200 yards from the finish. Needless to say the boat won class 5 that year.
We ran a couple of times in Jersey where I famously barrel rolled in the La Haule race, trying too hard on the final corner with the engine firing on only 4 or 5 cylinders as we trailed in 5th place. I fear that Big Dutch on here has never really forgiven me for that. The boat was towed into the beach righted, pumped out and driven back to Guernsey the same afternoon.
I raced the boat again in 1982 but work commitments meant that I could not compete in all races that season, we picked up a couple of 2nd places I believe with more reliable competition against the likes of the Ring 18 Magician and an SBM 18 Sigma plus regular competition from Jersey boats. The best performance in 82 was in the round Jersey when we left our class behind and were lying 3rd behind the 225 HP boats , the Ring 21 The Professional and Ring 20 Vanishing Point from Jersey, despite the boat running better than ever we didn’t finish after the failure of a steering cable ring bolt.
In 1983 or 84 the boat was sold on to Mike and Pat Lindley of the Royal Hotel who fitted a Mariner 150 and set the engine about 8 inches lower than we had the Merc. Speeds came down from 65 to about 50. Although the boat ran steadily picking up a few 3rd and 4th places. I went to Jersey as co driver with Mike and rember sitting in the back taking pictures a very comfortable ride and a great way to watch the race, we still placed 4th out of about 8 starters.
Finally in 1986 I bought the boat back again, this time fitted a new Mariner 200 . I entered the boat in a race for the last time in class 3D in Guernsey powerboat week 1987 but we didn’t start the race due to the inclement forecast (We were never going to beat the twin rigs and as the boat was for sale saw no point in bashing it up) ,
Finally the whole rig was sold with Mariner 200 and trailer to Barry Clayton in 1987 or 1988. I don’t know what happened to it after that though for some reasons old wooden catamarans seemed to encite a rabid frenzy with chain saws in Guernsey during that period so I suspect the worse.
From a technical point of view, the 1981 spec of the boat was as follows,
Length 21` 00
Beam 8`00
Weight (ready to race crewed and fully fueled ) 900 kg
Engine 1981 Mercury 175, 2 litre V6 (160 ish HP at prop)
Propeller Second effort Mach 3, 26” 3 blade cleaver
Engine height - bottom of skeg in line with bottom of hulls (about 9 “ up)
RPM 6300
Speeds Downwind 57 MPH, Into wind 65 MPH +
The boat was clearly capable of handling much more power than a single V6 . However the boat ran incredibly well in the rough and converted me forever to catamarans. (I raced briefly in a Phantom 21 in 1983 with the same power and couldn’t honestly see the point of getting bruised and bashed about even when it was calm !)
If anybody has any news aboat what happened to Bosscat, Black and White Whisky after 1987 or any photos from her Guernsey racing days it would be great to see them.
Cheers Guy
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