World Cat Boat Design

290CC Prop Test

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:25:00 +0000

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! It was nice to get a few days off after a busy year in PDE!

The 290CC performance data has been officially released on our website in the prop test section for the 290CC. The test was performed with twin Yamaha 250's swinging 3 bladed 15 1/4" x 19" Yamaha props. Cruise was 32.4 mph @ 4000 rpm (1.9 mpg), and WOT was 49.7 mph @ 5900 rpm (1.1 mpg)... we'll release Suzuki 250 tests shortly (on boat #5 for the New Orleans Boat Show in Jan).

We're doing a photoshoot today out of Beaufort, NC... it should be a good day for testing and running the 290CC since it's barely above freezing here in NC! Hopefully the integrated windshield and hardtop will keep the drivers warm. Should have some good photos to share here and in the 290CC Photo Album.

290CC Photos Uploaded

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:25:00 +0000

The 290CC Center Console successfully debuted at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show last week and was a big hit with dealers and customers. I've attached a photo of the completed console from the boat show, and we've uploaded photos of the major features of the boat on the World Cat website.

Prototype #2 is finalizing production, and our production staff is getting all systems and processes in place to be at full production by prototype #4. The 290CC is scheduled to be at most major boat shows in the coming months, so find the boat show nearest to you and hopefully we'll see you there!

As always, you can request a factory tour and see the production of this boat and all our boats at our plant in Tarboro, NC. We continue to work through these difficult times and are confident that World Cat and the US will come out on top!

Happy Veterans Day!

290CC Proto Completed!

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:47:00 +0000

The 290CC Center Console completed sea trials and final prototype build last night. She has been cleaned and is patiently awaiting shrink wrap and shipment to Florida for the Ft Lauderdale Boat Show,which begins Oct 30th. We're still performing prop testing to verify the appropriate props and will release numbers once finalized... performance is similar to the other 290 models which can be reviewed on the World Cat website.

This boat looks awesome! The feedback we've received from customers, vendors, and employees has been phenomenal... this center console really turns heads, and with the completely enclosed integrated console and hardtop it's practical in all weather. Numerous features are included; wrap-around bow setaing, marine head in the console, rod locker storage in the bow, additional rod storage mid-ship, (4) rocket launchers, (8) rod-holders, a 42-gallon livewell, over 1000 quarts of insulated boxes, and much more! You can review all the features on the 290CC Features page of our website. We surveyed numerous customers and dealers in various regions and believe this boat will exceed expectations.

Here's a photo of the adjustable helm seat with built-in armrests, flip-up bolsters and a glove box. The dual seat attached to the forward part of the console also has a similar backrest with built-in armrests. And the drop-down seat gets out of your way when you're ready to fish providing lots of room to move around the bow safely. We will be replacing the renderings in the 290CC Photo Gallery shortly with photos taken today and next week at the boat show.

Visit our online forum and be sure to let us know what you think!

290CC Prepares for Sea Trials

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:12:00 +0000

The World Cat 290CC Center Console is prepping for sea trials this weekend! After testing she will get detailed and ready for the Ft Lauderdale Boat Show where she will be debuted at the convention center.

We think the boat turned out great, and I personally can't wait to take her on a demo run... hopefully in some nasty weather (catamarans love nasty weather). After sea trials, and once we have cleaned and detailed her I will shoot some photos of key areas of the boat... helm, bait prep area, head in console, forward wraparound seating, and the integrated console, windshield, and hardtop.

We'd love to hear your feedback, either on this blog, on our catamaran forum, or better yet... at a boat show near you! If you need tickets to a boat show, please contact us. Stay tuned for more updates!

290CC Proto Progress

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:53:00 +0000

I haven't done a very good job of providing timely updates for the 290CC Center Console. Honestly, although the project has been very exciting, the photos haven't been that exciting... photos of an all-white center console don't do this boat justice. We've been busy working out the details and finalizing the prototype in preparation for sea trial testing soon. Things are coming together very quickly, we're excited to get this center console out on the water.

Here's a photo of the console with the windshield installed, ready to be placed in the boat and the hardtop frame and fiberglass attached. Last time I posted I included a photo of the plug that produced the mold, which in turn produced this part... kind of a follow up. Comparing the previous post with this, you can see that the plug is built as the exact representation of the final part. Soon I'll have some more exciting photos to share of the boat, and of sea trials.

Be sure to get boat show tickets for the Ft Lauderdale if you haven't already, we will be debutting her at that show and traveling around to various other major shows during the fall and winter, including; New Orleans, Boston, Houston, Atlantic City, and finally Miami.

290CC Prototype Update

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:20:00 +0000

It's been a busy last couple months, so I'm finally updating on our progress on the 290CC Center Console... we haven't been standing still that's for sure, as you'll soon see in the next few weeks.

We've built the hull and have installed the stringers and bulkheads to add strength to the boat, and accommodate the deck. We are currently rigging prototype #1 and documenting the build for production.

The deck has also been built, currently we are bonding storage tubs and fishboxes to it and will be pulling deck #1 on Monday. At that point we'll have the two biggest components of the boat completed so that we can start to push forward with finalizing the prototype.

I'll update with some photos next week once we have a deck ready to view, it'll give everyone a good idea of what the boat will look like... a sneak peak of the console is pictured to the right, it's plug is getting the finishing touches before it gets detailed by Glen "Big G" Edwards (you can see Glen on the page called "the integrity of smooth" in our new brochure).

Stay tuned for lots of photos, we're still on schedule for the Ft Lauderdale Boat Show, so get your tickets now... FYI, we will be inside the convention center this year w/ five boats!

Building a "Lean" Kitty

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:54:00 +0000

Lean manufacturing is a strategy. Essentially, it's about reducing waste wherever it occurs in the organization. Lean wastes include excess inventory, excessive movement, over-production, and the list goes on... The goal of "Lean" is ridding the system of these wastes, along with the costs associated with those wastes.

During these tough economic times, and skyrocketing commodities costs it's essential to begin the journey of being lean, especially in the boat industry. It's what allows us to hold price increases to a minimum while operating profitably, and most importantly stay in business while others are not.

At World Cat we are committed to running a lean organization, and that includes our product development process too! The goals of eliminating waste are especially important in PD and is what has made companies such as Toyota not good but great!

The results of a lean PD process are getting the product right the first time, less rework and engineering changes, shorter lead times and most importantly designing and building with the customer in mind up front. Customer value drives the PD process from start to finish... if we don't build what the customer wants, then why are we building it at all?

I receive many questions on how we take products from concept to production from readers of this blog. I've tried to detail the steps of what we do in this blog and will continue to do so in the future. Additionally, I'm going to widen the scope of this blog to talk about our manufacturing and lean initiatives as well.

The next 6-18 months will be an exciting journey for us as a company, hopefully you'll come meets us for a factory tour and learn firsthand about the journey we're taking to be not just good, but great!

Project Updates - Happy 4th!

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:45:00 +0000

I hope this post finds everyone happy and healthy, it's been a while since I posted an update on the projects that we're working on. It's been a busy couple months with finalizing one boat and getting another design off the ground... we should have lots of updates over the next couple months.

We're finalizing the 3rd prototype 290 Express Cabin, it will soon be handed off to manufacturing for full production status. In order to get vendor parts approved, work instructions written, and associates up to speed we build three prototypes using resources from product development, manufacturing support, and manufacturing. The 4th boat is built by manufacturing with assistance from manufacturing support (including quality assurance), and is the milestone for product development that the project is complete. We're almost there! We'll have a video review done by Dean Travis Clarke of Sportfishing Magazine soon...

The 290 Center Console is moving along nicely, the deck plug arrived Monday during our annual factory shutdown and looks good. I'll post a photo once we return to give everyone an idea of the layout better than the renderings provided. We are finalizing our systems layout and vendor parts, and will start building mock-ups and tooling once we return from break.

We're also starting to work on concepts for our first cruising-oriented 290 model that is intended for customers who wish to cruise 1st, and fish 2nd. We're really excited about this project and we think it will be a great product that introduces the benefits of catamaran ownership to a new segment of the market.

Have a great 4th of July celebrating the greatest country in the world! The flag I attached is a photo I took while at Chimney Rock Park in North Carolina, schedule a visit and be sure to drop by and see us for a factory tour. Now vacation starts for me!

290CC Design Finalized!

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:30:00 +0000

We have finalized our 290 Center Console design and have begun constructing the necessary tooling to build the next boat in our 290 Series. We intend to have our initial prototype complete in time for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October.

Many of our customers have been looking to upgrade from their 250SF, 270SF, and 270TE center console fishing boats. Many have stepped up to our 330 Tournament Edition, but others have been waiting for a product in the 29-30' range.

With forward wrap-around seating and a flip-down forward facing seat for two on the front of the console passengers will be able to relax comfortably or convert the area for hard-core fishing. And the wrap-around windshield with wiper and washdown ensure that the crew will be protected from the elements.

Some of the highlights of this model will include:

Expansive wrap-around bow seating for (4) adults
(2) insulated 225-quart storage tubs w/ overboard drains
(1) insulated 105-quart cooler w/ overboard drain
Flip-up forward console seat for two
Wrap-around windshield w/ integrated hardtop
Dual helm seating w/ flip-up bolster seats
Marine head w/ 15-gallon holding tank
Fiberglass leaning post w/ 42-gallon livewell
(2) insulated 300-quart macerated floor fishboxes
Option fold-down transom seating
Euro transom w/ walk-through and transom shower
Extensive tackle and bulk storage compartments
Easy access to service areas

Visit our website to view complete specs on the 290CC

290EC Running Video - Exclusive!

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:38:00 +0000

Just a quick follow-up to my post about the 290EC Trial Run, here's some of the video that I shot while we performed our initial float and performance testing on the soon to be released 290 Express Cabin.

I shot this video from one of our 330 Tournament Edition boats; keep in mind that I'm no professional photographer or videographer, so please don't pick on the amateur. From the video you should be able to see the quality of the ride, and especially the maneuverability (don't let anyone fool you that a World Cat can't lean into a turn). Oh, and the boat looks great! Enjoy...

290EC First Splash!

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Mon, 05 May 2008 01:00:00 +0000

We ran the 290EC Friday at Town Creek Marina in beautiful Beaufort, NC with great success! The boat performed flawlessly, and the ergonomics at the helm where fantastic while operating her. The performance numbers were consistent with the 290DC prop tests, cruise speed was 33MPH and WOT was 48MPH @ 5900RPM.

With our initial float and performance testing complete, we've taken her back home to our factory and will complete the cabin and details of this first prototype in preparation for full production starting in July.

I'll post more photos of the finished prototype once we're complete in the next couple weeks. We're excited to get this boat completed, feedback from customers has been phenomenal. This offshore sportfishing boat is sure to be a big hit!

290 Express Cabin Update

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:10:00 +0000

The 290 hull, liners and deck have been poly-bonded together, so we officially have a boat now that is in one piece. It has now taken it's place on our production line, which means we're getting very close to being completed.

We're working hard to finalize this prototype in time for the first water test this Friday... engines are hanging today and the dash and baitprep station will be added tomorrow in time for the first splash. This boat really comes together when we installed the hardtop and windshield, now we've got our cabin builders concentrating on finishing out the berth so that it looks "World Class".

Stay tuned for an update of our initial water test this weekend!

Friday Night Updates!

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:11:00 +0000

Here's a couple photos from late in the day on Friday, I couldn't wait until Monday to share. The deck fits great! The lines look good, and cabin is very spacious similar to the 320EC.

We also checked the bait prep station and the dash, which fit perfect as well. Next week will be a big week wiring the boat (hopefully the harnesses show up!) and starting to install cabinetry, doors, and doing final fit to check all the details...

This is going to be a great boat for fisherman... did I mention the two 300-quart fishboxes? How about the completely re-designed baitwell? You can read all the specs at our website for this offshore fishing catamaran...

As always, stay tuned for the next update on this boat and others in development... yes, we have other models we're working on currently too. Soon I'll reveal the final renderings on the next center console that we're working on, the 290CC... it's headed to mill today to get started!

We're also working on 270's and 290's designed more around cruising than fishing. You might remember that we originally pitched the idea of World Cat Cruisers a couple months ago on this blog, and have received enough positive feedback to get started!

Support Green Boating

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby Brown) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:15:00 +0000

Earth Day and boating. It sounds like a marriage headed straight for divorce court. A day set aside for honoring, protecting and replenishing Mother Earth, trying to get along with something as seemingly environmentally unfriendly as boating. Never going to happen you say.

At World Cat we’re working to change that perception. “Going Green” is something we take very seriously here. Heck, “World” is our first name. In honor of Earth Day on April 22nd I’d like to share with you how World Cat is embracing “Green Boating.”

World Cat’s product development and engineering team are working to integrate solar panels into future designs to charge battery banks and power electronics on our boats. We’re also investigating diesel electric power to propel our boats, similar to how hybrid vehicles work. Think that’s cool? How about recycling our old boat molds to use in fishing reefs? Gives a whole new meaning to fishing on a World Cat.

We feel like as a company we have only begun to scratch the surface of how Mother Nature and boating can peacefully co-exist.

The EPA estimates the average American produces 4.5lbs of solid waste each day. Think about it. That adds up quickly! Any materials that can be recycled will reduce the amount of waste that is incinerated or sent to landfills, therefore conserving natural resources and raw materials. Recycling prevents the emission of many greenhouse gases and water pollutants, saves energy, conserves resources and reduces the need for new landfills. Did you know that the following marine-related products can be recycled?

· Oil
· Used oil filters
· Shrink wrap
· Flares
· Lead batteries
· Monofilament fishing line
· Antifreeze

*Source: Earth911.org

29 Express Cabin

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 02:30:00 +0000

The hull liner for the 290EC was completed on schedule, looks great, and fits perfectly in the hull! Most importantly it holds the toilet quite nicely as you can see in one of the photos... seriously, everything seems really well spaced and comfortable.

We hit our first snag... waiting for wiring harnesses in order to set the liner into the hull. Oh well... we worked it out and they'll be here next week, we just hate losing time upfront but better they are done right than done quickly.

The headliner was pulled today too! We're setting the headliner into the deck tomorrow, and will be doing a preliminary dry set on Monday... at which point it'll look like a real boat. Just a couple more weeks until the maiden voyage and extensive testing!

Rigging the 290EC Hull

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:30:00 +0000

We have begun installing tanks, pumps, plumbing and soon electrical this week... this process of building the prototype, approving the vendor parts, and documenting the build to ensure manufacturing will be able to replicate consistently starting on boat #4 will continue throughout next week.

The hull liner was built today, it will be pulled and set in the boat next week and then the cabin build will begin.

Once we complete the under the deck work, and the initial cabin build, we're scheduled to set the deck onto the hull and bond together on April 21st. Right on schedule to have the first prototype to the water for testing and propping.

Next week it will start to look like a boat! Stay tuned for updates...

290EC Hardtop Preview

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:14:00 +0000

The 290EC is moving along on schedule and major components are starting to come together. We visited Ashley Welding to see the progress of a couple of the most important components, the aluminum hardtop frame and the stainless steel bow rail... both are coming along great, and fit the boat quite well.

You can see the deck lines in the photo, the final prototype version of the hardtop frame will be awesome. Sturdily built, looks great, and plenty of room to rig electronics.

I will post updates of the rigging and assembly process, we've been very busy trying to get all the vendor parts in house. The hull liner mold was completed today, as well as the bait prep station and various lids. Won't be long until this begins to look like a boat... stay tuned for updates, April will be a busy month.

290DC Offshore Dive Boat Video

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:55:00 +0000

Here's the newest video of the World Cat 290 Dual Console, The Ultimate Offshore Family Fun and Dive Boat... This video was a review done by Dean Travis Clarke of Sportfishing Magazine.

Cat vs Mono - Check Out This Video

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:09:00 +0000

Evinrude created a video to explain the differences between the catamaran hull and the mono hull designs, and what to look for while purchasing a catamaran... whether it be a World Cat, Glacier Bay, Twin Vee, ProKat or other... or even a mono-hull! There's a boat for everyone! Take a look if you haven't seen, it's quite informative.

290 Express Cabin Moving Along

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 03:32:00 +0000

The 290EC continues to move forward, we now have the stringers and bulkheads installed in the hull and are starting to fit the hull with tanks and rigging... I'll get some photos to update the stiffening and rigging processes. Everything is fitting together nicely so far, we're working hard on the head/cabin liner plug, which is the most difficult part of the project. I've included a photo of that process here, it's tedious and not too exciting... but extremely important to designing and bringing to life a high end boat.

Once we're done with the head/cabin liner, we'll build the mold and pull the first part to be included in our first prototype. A few more weeks until that is done, but we're building the hull liner, the dash, and lids mold next week... so stay tuned for updates on those processes. Next week will be a busy one!

Be sure to email us at pde@worldcat.com if there are any items you have questions on how we go through the boat design and boat construction process, hopefully everyone is finding this blog informative and interesting.

Happy Easter to All!

290EC Deck #1 Built

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:30:00 +0000

We finished building the first 290EC deck part today, it looks great! This will be the deck used on prototype #1 which is scheduled to be completed May 2nd for dealer and customer feedback as well as extensive water testing.

Next week we'll start rigging this deck, and fitting vendor parts. The 290 hull for proto #1 will be completed next week, so we'll be able to start on that as well. Once we verify rigging and fit, we begin setting up jigs and fixtures to ensure that we build each and every 290 Express Cabin to the tight tolerances we expect.

This boat is going to be a great addition to our sportfishing cabin boats!

Additional 290 Hull Mold

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:45:00 +0000

We've completed our second 290 series hull mold... this will be a welcome addition to our plant and quickly become a necessity with the addition of the Express Cabin and Center Console models in order to meet retail demand.

If we continued with only one hull mold this would mean that we could only build a 290 series boat every other start. This is because we build our hulls over a two-day period in order to maximize the benefits of a properly cured skin coat.

Day one consists of spraying gelcoat, and skinning the hull to approx 70 mils. We allow this to cure overnight in order to ensure that the proper hardness is reached in the skin coat which protects the finished surface.

Day two consists of adding the bulk laminate which consists of layers of bi-axial and tri-axial materials, and foam coring above the waterline. Once they are done with bulk laminate, they finish day two by installing the transom, stringers, and the bulkheads.

Adding this second mold we mean that we can start a 290 series boat every single day, and considering we build one boat per day, that's a lot of capacity! Once we get the metal framework glassed onto the hull mold for rigidity, mold care will then properly bring it up for the first two production parts by buffing, sealing, and applying release agent. After building the first two parts we'll perform final tooling to take the mold to 1000-grit finish, and it'll be ready for years of high-quality production parts.

290EC Deck Mold Framed

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 04:07:00 +0000

The metal framework was added to the World Cat 290EC deck mold and it was pulled Monday... we've templated our patterns for coring and glass kits, and the mold has now entered mold care.

In mold care they will tape off all non-skid to protect, buff the mold using three separate buffing compounds to bring out the shine in the mold for production, and then add two coats of sealer, and five coats of release agent.

Once we complete mold care, we will mount the mold to it's spindle to allow for easy lamination. We will then build the first two parts! Part #1 will be for the first prototype 290EC, and part #2 will remain in the mold to build the fiberglass cabin headliner. Building the headliner in the mold takes much more time than simply milling a plug and building a mold, however, yields a part that is perfectly mated to the deck. Details like this will show show up in the final product.

Both deck parts will be built next week, and then we can simultaneously start the prototyping process on the 290EC deck and begin building the 290EC cabin headliner.

Once we complete the headliner mold, the deck mold will be sent back to mold care to perform final tooling on the mold and take it to 1000 grit in order to ensure the highest quality parts will be built using the deck tooling.

We're also working on splashes for use as cutting templates on the deck plug before we send it off to Ashley Welding to build the hardtop frame and bow rail...

All in all this is the busiest couple weeks of the project... did I mention that we're building 290 hull mold #2? More on that later... stay tuned.

290EC Deck Mold Complete

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:45:00 +0000

We finished building our 290EC deck mold last Friday while I was at the Miami Boat Show. The flange has been trimmed and the mold (sitting atop of the plug) has been sent over to maintenance to add the steel framework. The steel framework will give the mold rigidity to ensure that each part comes out per our design specification and also that the mold is structurally sound enough to last many years.

This mold looks great! At World Cat, we have a dedicated in-house team that builds our molds and takes their job very seriously as leaders in charge of our future. Many manufacturers outsource the mold making process, we believe that we're best suited to build our most valuable assets!

When building our molds we use a 100% vinyl-ester tooling resin that is specifically designed to build tooling and to withstand heat and shrinkage. After the plug is completed, we wax and prep the mold and spray one layer of black tooling gelcoat (the outside layer), and one layer of green tooling gelcoat (the inner layer). We do this so that we can see problem areas that need fixed on the mold before they become real problems in production. On hulls and decks, once the gelcoat has become tacky, we buildup the mold by hand-laying 12 layers of chopped strand mat which results in a 21-ounce buildup. This is allowed to cure completely, and that's where we are at now... time to add metal!

Hope you found this interesting, stay tuned for future updates to the 290EC and our other projects, we'll finish building the metal framework this week and pull the mold next week to begin prepping it for the first deck!

Miami Boat Show Recap

cbrockway@hccomposites.com (Chris Brockway) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:45:00 +0000

I just got back from the Miami Boat Show, it truly is the show that kicks off the boating year! You could feel the electricity in the air in Miami, this was a big show for the boating industry, lots of new and interesting products and technologies as always.

This was the first in-water show for our 290DC Dual Console, which was a great success. The 290DC sea trial schedule was filled for each and every sea trial from 10AM to 5PM from Thurs day until today with over 120 trials taken! Although we applied for an NMMA Innovation Award for the 290DC, we weren't able to win. We're not going to let that get us down, based on customer feedback and feature comparison, we believe the 290DC to be the best in class offshore dual console boat available... styling, features, seating, safety, and of course... ride. Lots of excitement around the World Cat docks and booth. Our preliminary sales results show an increase in retail units over last year of 50%! This gives us the confidence that we're listening to our customers and designing products with them in mind. We're looking forward to releasing the new products we currently have in development (290EC, 290CC), and especially the ones we've been dreaming up over the past week!

We'll keep trying on those awards!