The merits of the TomCat 255

L

luckyenough

New member
OK, so maybe I am a little bias, but no one can argue with the fact that the TomCat is the roomiest, smoothest riding, fastest, dryest and one of the most fuel effecient boats that C Dory has ever built.

We have taken this boat all the way to Minneapolis from Sarasota, FL as well as the entire Gulf Coast and the Keys. We have never been disappointed in the boat, it's performance or it's handling. It get's nearly 3 MPG at 29MPH!!!

The only reason that we are selling it is to move onto a larger live-aboard catamaran.

We have sold our home in Sarasota and we really need to sell the boat soon.

Someone is going to get a great boat and get it a a bargain price.
 
I realize that you want to sell your boat--but I don't buy the 3 miles per gallon. About the best that most of use have obtained is 2.2 miles per gallon. The Tom Cat 30 is probably a bit smoothing riding, but there are few of these available down in the Lower 48.

Good luck with the sale, and the boat looks clean, and well priced.
 
I agree....I have also owned a 22ft CDory...it was a great boat and I loved it.....But it is like a toy when put side by side to a TomCat....
I get from 1.8 to 2.5 MPG depending on the seas.......But that is twice as good as a monohull that weighs over 4 tons..
Comfort, room and stability the Tomcat is at the Top tier.
But at a price $$$
 
The Honda Fuel Management reads 2.7 - 2.8 MPG at 3700 rpms on the port and 3600 on the starboard. I did say "nearly 3 MPG". I guess that I should have said "more than 2.5 MPG". Of course it is completely dependent on conditions, but we generally cruise at 27 - 29 MPH and get 2.5+ . Do you think that the computer is flawed?
 
The only really accurate way to determine fuel economy is to start with a full tank, cruise for some significant distance, and then divide miles traveled by gallons used. An instantaneous fuel flow meter is a snapshot in time. Economy is an average over time in varying conditions. I think the point here, though, is probably best not to create unrealistic expectations for your buyer. Most everyone would probably agree that Tomcat 255s are great boats.


luckyenough":2uscnnre said:
The Honda Fuel Management reads 2.7 - 2.8 MPG at 3700 rpms on the port and 3600 on the starboard. I did say "nearly 3 MPG". I guess that I should have said "more than 2.5 MPG". Of course it is completely dependent on conditions, but we generally cruise at 27 - 29 MPH and get 2.5+ . Do you think that the computer is flawed?
Click to expand...
 
The best I got full fill up to fill up on a 200 mile run was 2.2 mpg. Average speed was 25 mph. (only a couple of miles at no wake speeds) This was consistent with the Lowrance fuel flow system, with the gauges calibrated. One has to re-calibrate occasionally.

I assume that the Honda uses data off the engine computer. My numbers are with the Suzuki 150s swinging 16" x 20 (may have been 21) props. and at that time a fairly light boat. However, it did have full fuel tanks at the start and had air conditioning, plus Radar etc. Having run the boat at multiple speeds, we found that 25 mph was a good compromise of speed and economy.

If you go to the Boat Test.com data, for a very light boat, and close to ideal conditions:

Honda 150 swinging a 15 1/4 x 19 prop:

3000 RPM 20.5 mph 3.20 mpg
3500 RPM 26.5 mph 2.78 mpg
4000 RPM 31. mph 2.37
http://www.boattest.com/boats/boat_video.aspx?id=1106#Test-Result

These numbers seemed a bit optimistic for those of us who cruised the boat. All cats are very sensitive to weight for both speed and mileage. Planing cats probably more than displacement cats at low speed. On this test, Boat Test, used the data from the Honda engine computer. I suspect that it is reading a bit optimistic--based on the experience from fill up to fill up--as Pat Anderson suggests. So I agree that expecting to get 2.8 mpg is a bit unrealistic. unless you are going to just keep the boat very light.

In any case--your boat is extremely well equipped and clean--it is a margin for someone.

What Cat trawler are you buying?
 
Look at the test report on the Triton website. The TomCat tested at 2.76 MPG at 26.5 MPH and that has indeed been our experience. I have no intention of misleading anyone. I have spent over 200 hours of the 325 on the boat at speeds of 27-29 MPH, put spray guards on the bracket, tried virtually every trim and engine speed combo, put the engines at three different heights to "dial her in" and by golly I think that we have nailed it. I am sorry that you don't believe that, but it is the truth. Even with two passengers, all of our gear, and full tanks we still manage to get greater than 2.5 MPG in relitively calm seas.
 
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