My toy: Hydrolift Sportcat 22 - Merc 300 XS

[WargtaSS]

Bought this cat last autumn and got the motor this summer.
Rigged it and got it on the water in July, driven 5 times so far.

Still in test mode trying various props etc.
Also thinking about adding a trim tank in the bow eventually.

[WargtaSS]

A few more pics...

[Renegade]

OOH!! get some footage of it running please!

[WargtaSS]

And some more:

[WargtaSS]

Originally Posted by Renegade

OOH!! get some footage of it running please!

Hehe yeah well, I would like some of thoose myself but will need a good photographer on shore then while I fly by I guess...
I will see what I can come up with later, got a friend thats good with cameras.

[bling ring]

Let it rip !!!

[boatnut]

Originally Posted by WargtaSS

Bought this cat last autumn and got the motor this summer.
Rigged it and got it on the water in July, driven 5 times so far.

Still in test mode trying various props etc.
Also thinking about adding a trim tank in the bow eventually.

nice looking cat , cool colours, is that one of alans ?

[WargtaSS]

Done 90mph/78knots so far with a standard Bravo1 30p, engine pulling nice all the way and die out at the rev limiter (to fast)...

Also tried a Mercury labbed 34p Bravo1 that has been further modified by an propellor tech. It was hell to drive with, felt like boat was all over the place and jumping heavy above 35 knots. Think I need to balance the boat more before I use that one, should be a nice topspeed prop tho if it fits this boat.

[WargtaSS]

Originally Posted by boatnut

nice looking cat , cool colours, is that one of alans ?

No, this is the norwegian sportcat, from the -90'ies

[Renegade]

Hydrolift made some awesome bits of kit back in the day.

[WargtaSS]

Hydrolift Sportcat is actually based on the english Lynx 22 designed by Chris Hodges.
The rights was bought from him and the Sportcat was made, the hull was added the last balance step but the deck was completely redesigned, and they used the Hydrolift T20 dash/interior. It came out in 1991 I think and ended in the late 90-ies.

My boat is a -07 from the later production made by a firm called Norcat, and from what I hear some of the people working there was former Hydrolift workers and also some from what today is Goldfish. They had the original moulds and made a little batch in -05-07.
The moulds were then sold again but no Sportcat has been made after that I think.

Alan's (Powermarine?) Sportcats are based on the american Skater 21. Just the name is similar with my cat

[olli]

Originally Posted by WargtaSS

Hydrolift Sportcat is actually based on the english Lynx 22 designed by Chris Hodges.
The rights was bought from him and the Sportcat was made, the hull was added the last balance step but the deck was completely redesigned, and they used the Hydrolift T20 dash/interior. It came out in 1991 I think and ended in the late 90-ies...

Thank God:

[WargtaSS]

Originally Posted by olli

Thank God:

What, aint that a beautiful boat??!

[WargtaSS]

I have been told that a Merc racing PRO ET 28p or maybe even a 30p should fit this boat and engine very nicely. Anyone got one of thoose for sale or know someone who got one? Preferably the labbed version.

[FrenchPhil]

I'd try a 30 cleaver, they're also easier to find than an ET.

[WargtaSS]

Originally Posted by FrenchPhil

I'd try a 30 cleaver, they're also easier to find than an ET.

Cleaver work well also, but a Pro ET is the best on this boat/motor combo according to another previous sportcat owner.
If I cant find a used one I'll order a new one. Anyone with a good price on theese?

[Frenchbruno]

Hi,
I've tried the PROET and le PROET LABBED on different monohulls, the 28x14,5 PROET I have was coming from an ARGO 23, the owner told me there is too much bow lift with the standard PROET, the labbed one I've tried also has less cup on the blades and less bow lift.
here is the prop I bought 5 years ago
http://www.screamandfly.com/showthre...85#post1419185
here is the boat where the prop came
http://www.screamandfly.com/showthre...hlight=ARGO+23
so, I think the regular PROET is not suitable for your setup, the labbed one will be better.
I've found also some pictures of your boat when new(I guess), at the boatbuilder facilities. Is it yours???

[WargtaSS]

Originally Posted by Frenchbruno

I think the regular PROET is not suitable for your setup, the labbed one will be better.
I've found also some pictures of your boat when new(I guess), at the boatbuilder facilities. Is it yours???

Wow nice! Cool pictures! Yes that is my boat
Thanks! You have more of it?

I know there were some pics on the old sportcat.no site but it was removed before I got to download them...

The story goes that Jahn Andreassen (the owner?) of the company Norcat built this boat for himself, and he was also tired of regular white boats so he put some colors on this one.
The deck was also the lightest they ever made around, around 90kg I think.

I am not sure if he ever used it/drove it before it was sold to a guy in Oslo, or if theese last pics with the motor on is from this new owner in Oslo.
I know the Oslo guy had a 300XS on it at least.

Then this guy and his father took it out for a test and they flipped the boat in 35-40 knots because the steering suddenly broke (!) The boat got some light damage on the deck left side near the transom and the guy was scared and sold everything off, motor separate.

Then this other guy which I bought the boat from buys it in 2009 I think and has it repaired and changes all the electrical system and gauges etc and puts on an old Merc Black Max. After some years this motor goes on fire (!) and he sells me the boat in august 2012. Boat was not damaged from the fire, they were close to the docks when this happend and put out the fire relatively fast.

So there seems to be some bad luck following this boat, but I hope it has ended now hehe

I then searched for a 300XS nearly 6 months before I finally found one and bought it and could put it on the boat juni/july this year
Still in test phase, but I already love this boat and the potential it has.

Gonna sell my 2 Bravo's I think and go for maybe both a 28 and 30 PRO ET lab finish, or maybe even a Performance Propeller Drag 4 (which is very similar). I hear from a guy that is also a member on this forum that the labbed 28p PRO ET suits this boat very nicely, and he has tried out a bunch so no point for me to re-invent the wheel.
He made over 80 knots with that prop, so I am thinking I can maybe use a 30 to get 90 knots

So first priority is a labbed pro et and I know the labbed version gives less bowlift than the pro finish. I got more than enough bow lift already so that will probably work out nice.
But I was thinking if I could not find a labbed one fast I COULD try out a non-labbed if anyone had one cheap untill I get the labbed I want.
I bet they are better than the Bravo's I got today at least

[WargtaSS]

Originally Posted by Frenchbruno

Is it yours???

Actually when I look at the pics again I see now that the last 4 with the motor on is taken at a gas station in Oslo so that is probably from the second owner that lived there.

[Frenchbruno]

Hi,
As far I know the first setting of your boat is with the 300XS on the picture,
The first engine on this hull was a 300XS.
i've n ore picture of your boat new. I've some story of sportcat hydrolift hereunder: a bit long but interesting.
If you need to know more about Hydrolift, ask to AENEAS here on boatmad, He is swedish living in Oslo. Or ask to MARKUS at scream & fly (swedish guy also)Gothenburg, Sweden.
Here is a link for SC22
http://www.hydroline.se/MARINE/data/sc22_broschyr2.jpg
http://www.hydroline.se/MARINE/Sportcat22.htm

and a few story of this model:
SportCat 22 was introduced 1990 and came to replace the extremely popular T20 as the performance boat if you wanted to be fastest on the sea. In 1989, the general opinion was that catamarans were fast on flat water, but in rough sea, they were inferior to the monohulls. However, Egil Ranvig, the designer of the classic Hydrolift boats, had started to notice some interesting things. At the time, he was racing actively with the R-20 in the often brutal sea conditions of Norway. He was competing in an offshore race in Tvedestrand where an odd catamaran suddenly past by him, triumphed and won in superior style. The strange thing was that this was happening in 3-4 meter waves...


The boat was the Lynx catamaran, designed by famous designer, Chris Hodges. After a while the Lynx production rights ended up in possession of Hydro Design, owned by Egil Ranvig and the company behind the Hydrolift boats. Ranvig, who had an eye for beautiful lines and sleek aerodynamic shapes, quickly discarded the "not so very good looking" deck of the Lynx. He designed a new lighter deck with much better aerodynamics and weight balance. The cockpit design was borrowed from the T-20. The only, but very important, change to the hull were a well calculated transom step (notch) in each sponson. These steps gave the new boat a much needed change in the hydrodynamic balance.
The speed gain was very obvious and in the official Norwegian Speed Record trials in 1990 this was to be demonstrated. With a Mercury 2.4 EFI engine the Sportcat clocked 90 mph.
Compared to the 72 mph speed of the Lynx in the 1989 trial (with the same engine), this was remarkable. Ranvig’s combination of changes had resulted in an unbelievable speed gain of not less than 18 mph!

The new construction was named Hydrolift Sportcat 22 and it debuted in 1990 both as a race boat (CR-22), and a 5-seat Sports boat (CT-22).A catamaran sports boat was something new. Not many people knew what it was like riding a catamaran and the Sportcat quickly became the name of the game in Norway. The critics were quickly silenced by the enormous success the boat had on the races. At the time, the T-20 was known as the fastest pleasure boat on the water, but it took a skilful driver to master this little monster at high speed. The T-20 quickly lost its appeal when the Sportcats started to zoom bye with their drivers having one hand on the steering wheel and waving a cold drink in the other, all while the T-20 crews were spitting blood and fighting for their lives. The catamaran was riding on air with a stability not previously known to the enthusiasts. The sea-worthiness of this design left everything in its wake at the time.

Egil Ranvig had done it again. He repeated the success of the T-20 and created a very attractive sports boat that somehow managed to win offshore races against pure racing designs. .

This was the beginning of the catamaran era for Hydrolift.
Based on his experiences with the Sportcat, Ranvig later designed a whole new series of state of the art racing catamarans, ranging from 20 to 38 fot. The results culminates by setting the UIM World Speed Record in offshore S (6L) class with the CR-28 and the Unlimited RIB Word Speed Record with Ribcat 38. But even 16 years after it was original designed a slightly modified CR-24 (Hydrocat) was able to win the 2006 World Championship in Offshore C class.

In 1998 the Sportcat moulds was sold to a racing enthusiast in Drammen, Norway who made a few boats, but soon his time and interest was used on other projects.
He then sold the moulds to Jaro Tech Composites in Drøbak, Norway who now is the owner of the original moulds.