290EC Running Video - Exclusive!

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!

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

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!

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!

29 Express Cabin

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

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

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.

290 Express Cabin Moving Along

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

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

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

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 Design Complete

We have completed the design phase of the 290EC and have begun creating the tooling necessary for this model. Built upon the 290 series hull, this boat is sure to be a big hit.

Here's some of the notable features for the model:

• Full cabin with master berth, and integrated storage
• Galley package w/ refrigerator, microwave, and sink
• Enclosed, lockable head w/ 15-gallon holding tank, freshwater shower, and vanity
• Molded-in bow seating with cushion
• Stainless-steel grabrail and toe kick
• Centerline helm including dual helm seat
• Centerline bait prep station w/ 40-gallon livewell
• Frigid Rigid 81-quart ice chest
• Euro-style transom
• Freshwater transom shower
• Shorepower w/ 30A service and battery charger
• 35-gallon freshwater system w/ water heater
• (2) 250-quart insulated floor fishboxes
  

First Prototype expected to complete in April... more info to follow!