Great Channel 👍! We sold this Takacat to Karl and delivered it to him at the ramp in Coconut Grove in Miami when he was working his way south and was in dire need of a dinghy. Glad to see he’s continued on his journey in the Caribbean🌴 and he’s enjoying the Takacat.
Some of the more memorable times on the water are with the overpowered dinghy of my grandfather. That cat looks like a real blast. I can imagine my 12 year old self bombing that boat- and my 40 year old self too. Thank you for focusing on this little sliver of boat life that can be so much fun. And thanks for your refreshing take on videos.
Awesome job! Other than pure sales videos, it's hard to find user experience videos about the Takacat. Really appreciate you covering this and other dinghies!!
Great series. Lotta respect for Karl. He looks dialed in and seems to have some humility. Would be comfortable in a William Gibson novel FOR SURE. Please pass on an absolute stranger's regards next time you see him and keep up the top notch work!
We have a TrueKit cat inflatable similar to the Takakat with a closed bow. They are both cats but with the closed front avoids the wet feet issue. I am powered by an epropulsion el outboard. Not very fast but quiet and balanced. The cat design makes steerage and balance excellent.
I have the T340 LX with the Honda 9.9 hp outboard and it tops out at 16 knots with two people in the boat. It is a much drier ride than I expected. In a few hours I’m heading up river about 7 miles to pick someone up and bring them back. I really like it so far. I didn’t think about adding a fuel filter like the boat in the video. Good idea.
I appreciated this video because I own a Takacat powered by an electric Torqueedo motor, though I am planning on getting a larger gas motor for occasions where more speed and distance were needed. I like the electric, but of course won't plane. (They say the Torqueedo is "equivalent" to a 2 hp motor, but is really a 2/3 hp motor, from the kilowatt rating info on the motor, but moves the boat well enough. I guess it might have 8 miles of no-wind range.) My Takacat (same model as video) is only rated for 6 hp max, so I appreciated the 8 hp feedback, and the fin comment. I was hoping to try a couple larger motors before I bought a second gas motor to supplement the electric. The principal good things I find about the Takacat are 1) self bailing, 2) packs down into two manageable bags (about 40 lbs, and 15 lbs,) 3) easy entry from the water from the front, e.g., from swimming or diving. It is PVC, but I mostly keep it packed up, so not exposed to UV except periodically. Anyhow, at $1800 is cheap enough to replace periodically, compared to more durable Hypalon RIBs. I think you can use the inflatable floor as a sort of standup paddleboard, though have never tried it yet. All packable dingys are shown being deflated and packed on a flat surface; it is a pain to do it on the non-flat front end of a 40' sailboat with a staysail, but can be awkwardly done. The open-bow aspect will fit under the Hoyt staysail boom, barely.
Hi there, just found your channel. Really good, I work in the marine industry in costa del sol spain. I have 4 zodiac boats .2m,2.5m,2.8mand a 550 pro .keep up the good work 👏
I really like the lightweight aspect of these inflatable cats. I didn't know about them when I bought our inflatable, which is 11.5' & weighs about 92 lbs. I'm hauling it in our travel van & would really appreciate having a 55 lb boat. Btw, have you guys seen the Thundercats? They look like a blast.
fun fact - these inflatables are named after the beach that's very close to where the boats are built in NZ, called Takapuna - both 'a's are pronounced as in 'tack' ;-)
Thanks, that's interesting. Our friend Stuart from "lucky fish" has one. He is from NZ and pronounced it that way. But with that extremely hard New Zealand "A" sound.
Thats the modern way it is pronounced, and how I I do, and many people who live there do. It is a Te Reo Maori word and is correctly pronounced like the a in taco. Its not a long sound, just a short one. So your chap in the video is pronouncing it correctly. As long as we all know what we are talking about then who really minds.
Speed wise you just need a different pitch prop... if it takes 5hp (on a 10hp outboard) to get it on plane then and you max out at 15 knots thats because your prop pitch is too shallow, get a different prop and it will plane at half throttle and have the rest of the throttle for higher performance... thats the difference between planing at 15knots and being able to get to 20knots or so.... the catch would be you might not plane with 3 people on this thing with the faster prop.
My Takacat is rusting! The transom tubes of the open transom are made of stainless steel 304 (V2A) (also for cost reasons). The tubes show ugly rust after a short time in a salt water environment. From my point of view, the maintenance is very time-consuming and is not reasonable for me. Unfortunately, I only found out about this disadvantage of the high maintenance effort after the purchase. For me, this product is not recommended for salt water environments. I am very dissatisfied and disappointed with the Takacat 340 LS for the above reasons. It does not meet my expectations and, in my opinion, is only partially suitable for my application as a full time yacht tender. I quote from Takacat's care instructions: 1. A first care step when driving in salt water is washing the transom tubes at the end of a trip with fresh water (fresh water) including thorough drying. 2. The insides of the transom tubes can be pulled through with an extra-long bottle brush. 3. If corrosion has formed, it can be removed with a stainless steel cleaner. 4. If you drive permanently in salt water, it is advisable to spray the transom tubes and optional slip wheels with a seawater-resistant stainless steel protector. Did you experience similar issues? Best regards Xaver
That sucks. Thanks for the advice, I hope some potential buyers read this. Is this surface rust or deep. I ask this because it's common for "uncarefully" made stainless parts to pick up surface steel during manufacturer. Just dragging a pipe off a truck picks up regular steel that takes many years to rust out but then it's often better. Polishing with a Scotch right pad (a lot) can really help. I have 50 year old stainless components on Temptress that are perfect and some parts I had manufactured 30 years ago that surface rusted for about 10 years. But if it's real rust they used the wrong metal.
My 340 LX came with an inflatable seat that fits across the middle and attaches to the rope on each side. The boat rows great. It rows really great without the outboard.
Hi, I also have a 260', it rows very quickly and safely, much much better than other inflatable boats. The floor is a little higher, so you do not need the seat (if your knees are still working). For longer trips just use the outboard engine…
For the cost of that I perfer a Costco dingy the front and gets up hoer and this one with big waive will load the whole tip I have a 15 ho motor in mone and. Mine hold way more people
Interesting you guys yourselves use a hard shell aluminium dinghy , how much would it weigh to haul onto a deck for passage? Can you after watching your own boat tour video give an idea of your tankage as you have traveled some long passages. It’s a limitation of some yachts for choosing a potential lure water cruiser. You also have mentioned hauling out for winter storage, you don’t live on board all year then?
I think you have us confused with someone else. In 30 years of owning this boat I have never stored it on the hard over a winter. Besides there are no winters where we cruise. The aluminum we use weighs 200lbs. The last one was 120lbs. I think I liked the lighter one better. It had a flatter bottom aft. This one is more comfortable and stronger but the light one was faster and string enough. We carry over 100 gallons of diesel. Plenty as we actually sail. 140 gallons of water. In these days of water makers that's more then needed. -C
@@Clarks-Adventure thank you for answering, I’m hoping to do my yacht masters this year, and because of changing circumstances I will be looking to live aboard myself rather than mortgage on a property, you could be right I may have confused a winter haul out with another channel, sorry about that, I mostly watch yourselves, AlluringAirtic, and Sailing Cadoa and a few others , no offence intended. Do you have any diesel bug or tank sludge experience? Engines always seem to have issues when actually needed but the Dipper seems to work for Cadoa, perhaps it’s down to quality of fuel storage before purchasing or condensation forming in part filled tanks, also do you use a water maker?
Yes on the water maker. Diesel lasts about forever in the tank as long as you keep the water out. I built a "fuel polisher" into my tank transfer system so all my fuel gets a trip through the filter/water separator on the way into storage and again when it comes back to the day tank. I had issues when I bought the boat 30 years ago. Put that in and only one load of extremely bad fuel from San Diego. No problems besides that. And I've stored fuel on board for like 5 or 6 years.
@@neilquigley1030 Thx since you mentioned I found that option on the Tacacat EU page thru google and I think it's new. Wouldn't hurt sales to put that more up front.
![A Utility Boat as a Dinghy? [Show Us Your Dinghy] - Our Aluminum Skiff](/img/1.gif)
This series about “dingy’s” is awesome… Clark treats all with dignity and yet does not dodge the real issues…. Good Job!
Great Channel 👍! We sold this Takacat to Karl and delivered it to him at the ramp in Coconut Grove in Miami when he was working his way south and was in dire need of a dinghy. Glad to see he’s continued on his journey in the Caribbean🌴 and he’s enjoying the Takacat.
A major feature not mentioned is it's easy to get on board from the water via the bow, instead of having to clamber over a side tube.
Some of the more memorable times on the water are with the overpowered dinghy of my grandfather. That cat looks like a real blast. I can imagine my 12 year old self bombing that boat- and my 40 year old self too. Thank you for focusing on this little sliver of boat life that can be so much fun. And thanks for your refreshing take on videos.
Awesome job! Other than pure sales videos, it's hard to find user experience videos about the Takacat. Really appreciate you covering this and other dinghies!!
I guess everyone loves their own dinghy.
We hope with enough stories and you can read between the lines and see if you think one would work for you.
Great series. Lotta respect for Karl. He looks dialed in and seems to have some humility. Would be comfortable in a William Gibson novel FOR SURE. Please pass on an absolute stranger's regards next time you see him and keep up the top notch work!
We have a TrueKit cat inflatable similar to the Takakat with a closed bow. They are both cats but with the closed front avoids the wet feet issue. I am powered by an epropulsion el outboard. Not very fast but quiet and balanced. The cat design makes steerage and balance excellent.
I have the T340 LX with the Honda 9.9 hp outboard and it tops out at 16 knots with two people in the boat. It is a much drier ride than I expected. In a few hours I’m heading up river about 7 miles to pick someone up and bring them back. I really like it so far. I didn’t think about adding a fuel filter like the boat in the video. Good idea.
I appreciated this video because I own a Takacat powered by an electric Torqueedo motor, though I am planning on getting a larger gas motor for occasions where more speed and distance were needed. I like the electric, but of course won't plane. (They say the Torqueedo is "equivalent" to a 2 hp motor, but is really a 2/3 hp motor, from the kilowatt rating info on the motor, but moves the boat well enough. I guess it might have 8 miles of no-wind range.) My Takacat (same model as video) is only rated for 6 hp max, so I appreciated the 8 hp feedback, and the fin comment. I was hoping to try a couple larger motors before I bought a second gas motor to supplement the electric. The principal good things I find about the Takacat are 1) self bailing, 2) packs down into two manageable bags (about 40 lbs, and 15 lbs,) 3) easy entry from the water from the front, e.g., from swimming or diving. It is PVC, but I mostly keep it packed up, so not exposed to UV except periodically. Anyhow, at $1800 is cheap enough to replace periodically, compared to more durable Hypalon RIBs. I think you can use the inflatable floor as a sort of standup paddleboard, though have never tried it yet. All packable dingys are shown being deflated and packed on a flat surface; it is a pain to do it on the non-flat front end of a 40' sailboat with a staysail, but can be awkwardly done. The open-bow aspect will fit under the Hoyt staysail boom, barely.
I would 2.5 hp.... Hull speed is fine. I want a light motor that's easier to mount and remove.
Nice review.
Mine comes this week. Cant wait. Learned i need fins. Thank you. Great video. New sub.
Love the dinghy series guys. Keep it up!
Hi there, just found your channel. Really good, I work in the marine industry in costa del sol spain. I have 4 zodiac boats .2m,2.5m,2.8mand a 550 pro .keep up the good work 👏
Great video. I will soon be looking for a dingy. I am just starting to get info.
I like the monthly expenses run down.
I really like the lightweight aspect of these inflatable cats. I didn't know about them when I bought our inflatable, which is 11.5' & weighs about 92 lbs. I'm hauling it in our travel van & would really appreciate having a 55 lb boat.
Btw, have you guys seen the Thundercats? They look like a blast.
looks like fun to use
i got a saturn cat mini it’s nice
Thank you for all your time and effort in making these informative videos!
fun fact - these inflatables are named after the beach that's very close to where the boats are built in NZ, called Takapuna - both 'a's are pronounced as in 'tack' ;-)
Thanks, that's interesting.
Our friend Stuart from "lucky fish" has one. He is from NZ and pronounced it that way. But with that extremely hard New Zealand "A" sound.
@@Clarks-Adventure I grew up in Auckland - raced a Farr 3.7 dinghy at Takapuna Boating Club for a couple years while at uni.
Thats the modern way it is pronounced, and how I I do, and many people who live there do. It is a Te Reo Maori word and is correctly pronounced like the a in taco. Its not a long sound, just a short one. So your chap in the video is pronouncing it correctly. As long as we all know what we are talking about then who really minds.
With a much lighter 2 stoke. So easy to manage as a solo sailer.
Can you talk about your power source and how it is set up on your boat please.
Have you seen my lithium and lead battery videos yet?
This guy looks a bit like me and my comrades in 1982 :-) well, we had bikes not boats .... so IMHO he made the better choice ...
Clark, you have any knowledge of the plastic ones. like the Whaly 310?
I haven't seen a plastic skiff. So basically plastic boats don't plane.
@@Clarks-Adventure these seem to, here is a link to the company. Lots of youtube videos on it. www.whalyboatsusa.com/product-page/model-310
I ask, why make it look like a deflatable?
I have a Whaly 370 and it can plane.
@@Clarks-Adventure not sure, but I like it on paper. Light, and tough.
Any updates on the battery management system ?
Update coming tomorrow am
@@Clarks-Adventure awesome!!! Ive been super excited about this
Speed wise you just need a different pitch prop... if it takes 5hp (on a 10hp outboard) to get it on plane then and you max out at 15 knots thats because your prop pitch is too shallow, get a different prop and it will plane at half throttle and have the rest of the throttle for higher performance... thats the difference between planing at 15knots and being able to get to 20knots or so.... the catch would be you might not plane with 3 people on this thing with the faster prop.
🤪 I always read it as “take-a-cat” 🤷♂️😂😂😂
My Takacat is rusting!
The transom tubes of the open transom are made of stainless steel 304 (V2A) (also for cost reasons). The tubes show ugly rust after a short time in a salt water environment. From my point of view, the maintenance is very time-consuming and is not reasonable for me. Unfortunately, I only found out about this disadvantage of the high maintenance effort after the purchase. For me, this product is not recommended for salt water environments. I am very dissatisfied and disappointed with the Takacat 340 LS for the above reasons. It does not meet my expectations and, in my opinion, is only partially suitable for my application as a full time yacht tender.
I quote from Takacat's care instructions: 1. A first care step when driving in salt water is washing the transom tubes at the end of a trip with fresh water (fresh water) including thorough drying. 2. The insides of the transom tubes can be pulled through with an extra-long bottle brush. 3. If corrosion has formed, it can be removed with a stainless steel cleaner. 4. If you drive permanently in salt water, it is advisable to spray the transom tubes and optional slip wheels with a seawater-resistant stainless steel protector.
Did you experience similar issues?
Best regards
Xaver
That sucks.
Thanks for the advice, I hope some potential buyers read this.
Is this surface rust or deep. I ask this because it's common for "uncarefully" made stainless parts to pick up surface steel during manufacturer. Just dragging a pipe off a truck picks up regular steel that takes many years to rust out but then it's often better.
Polishing with a Scotch right pad (a lot) can really help.
I have 50 year old stainless components on Temptress that are perfect and some parts I had manufactured 30 years ago that surface rusted for about 10 years.
But if it's real rust they used the wrong metal.
Where do you sit if you have to row, though?
Never seen a deflatable that rows well. I guess you kneel.
My 340 LX came with an inflatable seat that fits across the middle and attaches to the rope on each side. The boat rows great. It rows really great without the outboard.
Hi, I also have a 260', it rows very quickly and safely, much much better than other inflatable boats. The floor is a little higher, so you do not need the seat (if your knees are still working). For longer trips just use the outboard engine…
Clark, do you know if
?
👍👍
Northeast FLA is far safer for hurricane season. I'm in JAX
For the cost of that I perfer a Costco dingy the front and gets up hoer and this one with big waive will load the whole tip I have a 15 ho motor in mone and. Mine hold way more people
Carl really hates his dinghy now
Seems to attract dirt or stain badly more than most very much older dinghy
Interesting you guys yourselves use a hard shell aluminium dinghy , how much would it weigh to haul onto a deck for passage? Can you after watching your own boat tour video give an idea of your tankage as you have traveled some long passages. It’s a limitation of some yachts for choosing a potential lure water cruiser. You also have mentioned hauling out for winter storage, you don’t live on board all year then?
I think you have us confused with someone else. In 30 years of owning this boat I have never stored it on the hard over a winter. Besides there are no winters where we cruise.
The aluminum we use weighs 200lbs. The last one was 120lbs. I think I liked the lighter one better. It had a flatter bottom aft. This one is more comfortable and stronger but the light one was faster and string enough.
We carry over 100 gallons of diesel. Plenty as we actually sail. 140 gallons of water. In these days of water makers that's more then needed. -C
@@Clarks-Adventure thank you for answering, I’m hoping to do my yacht masters this year, and because of changing circumstances I will be looking to live aboard myself rather than mortgage on a property, you could be right I may have confused a winter haul out with another channel, sorry about that, I mostly watch yourselves, AlluringAirtic, and Sailing Cadoa and a few others , no offence intended. Do you have any diesel bug or tank sludge experience? Engines always seem to have issues when actually needed but the Dipper seems to work for Cadoa, perhaps it’s down to quality of fuel storage before purchasing or condensation forming in part filled tanks, also do you use a water maker?
Yes on the water maker.
Diesel lasts about forever in the tank as long as you keep the water out. I built a "fuel polisher" into my tank transfer system so all my fuel gets a trip through the filter/water separator on the way into storage and again when it comes back to the day tank.
I had issues when I bought the boat 30 years ago. Put that in and only one load of extremely bad fuel from San Diego. No problems besides that. And I've stored fuel on board for like 5 or 6 years.
The hose ones are hoorblle fact my dingy gets no water in it fact I hate these one fact like more lift in the front tho
He now hates his dinghy. It turned out to be a terrible boat
They are PVC.
Yes I thought maybe with the weight.
can get either hypalon or PVC versions
@@Clarks-Adventure Tropical sun has no mercy with PVC.
I bet he has the hypalon version and we looked up the weight of the PVC version.
Our error.
@@neilquigley1030 Thx since you mentioned I found that option on the Tacacat EU page thru google and I think it's new. Wouldn't hurt sales to put that more up front.
Its a raft
Yep.
If course I think all deflatables are rafts.