I've had an opportunity to get a pretty good deal on one of these and was going to see what anybody had experience wise. Can't find a lot of information about resale or cost, but they seem to be pretty decently built boats But there's not a lot of them. Just curious to see if anybody could share their opinions on the boat, on the company, and anything else they know.

Buy it & post a review here

Don't.

Ag by Association said:

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Don't.

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Any particular reason why

I'd wait for Gunny to respond.

They've had some problems with "staying afloat". Ain't being an ass, just do a little digging.

understood. that's why i'm here. i've done a ton of research but kind of hit a dead end because it's a smaller company. I don't buy a pizza without researching to death first.

it's why i'm here. y'all know stuff

I can't help you on the fatcat brand but I take my boat to them for my maintenances. For what it's worth, They're fairly easy to deal with and I haven't had any complaints.

There have been numerous small mom and pop boat manufacturers that come and go in the marine business.
That can cause hardships for consumers that purchase the boats of companies that end up kaput. Personally I know little of the Fat Cat brand. They are basically a small local marine manufacturer. That can be good or bad.
What I can suggest is to see if their products are NMMA certified by checking the NMMA website. If they are it can indicate a decent product.
I would also go to the factory and get them to let you watch how they build a boat….especially lamination and flotation. Ask them about their resin types and see if they use chopped glass (commonly called a "chopper gun") or hand lay up.
Check specifically how they build their transoms and stringer systems.
See how they run their wiring…. in conduit or just hung in the boat.
Read the hull warranty closely and make sure you totally understand it. See if it's transferable and how?
(This greatly affects resale value).
By going to the factory you can get a good gut feel on quality and the overall financial well being of a boat builder. Look for consistency and cleanliness and pride in the boat builders (the workers themselves) attitude.
If the place has the look and feel of professionalism and not a backyard garage building boats it's a plus.
The above applies when considering any brand of fiberglass boats or even aluminum boat.
Hope this helps some.

this helps a ton. thanks

Good feedback dude.

Fat Cat is a very local very niche builder for that customer that just wants it. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't have to. There are bigger builders with a widespread network. The Fat Cat buyer doesn't care about any of that. They just want it and thats that. They are in the class of the hyper fast bay boat for Texas flats fishing. Get there stupid fast then get out and wade. That's it. If you like the layout and it's rigged how you like and a good deal go for it. Plan to deal with whatever issues yourself cuz some of these types of niche manufacturers can change names tomorrow.

I have two hulls by manufacturers that are not in business. Great boats set up incredible by me. They are valuable, respected, and do well in my charter business for how I fish. Im the only one that works on my boats. Sure I have a Suzuki guy and a Mercury guy and an Etec guy and a fiberglasser and an electronics guy. But I do most of the work and use specialists for specialty stuff. There is zero dealer support for my hulls. I am on my own. Doesn't affect my buying decision at all. But I expect that and I'm very capable.

Fat Cat are high performance upper end go fast fast boats that may or may not be in business in the future. That is all.

Go fast boats that are built well and have excellent fit and finish. Also, very expensive. I have never heard about hull problems and know plenty of folks who run them. I am a fly fisherman and prefer skiffs, so not my bag.

After reading the post by Grem and Tarponfly of the ultra top end performance of the Fat Cat hulls, it raised my curiosity to look on their website on specifications of their boats. Albeit that hull design plays a part in top end speed, the most important factor of obtaining speed on the water is a direct result of the Horsepower to Weight ratio.
Fat Cat list their 24' performance V at 1500 lbs and their 26' performance V at a mere 1600 lbs.
As just an example of comparison….Allison Boats ( well known premier high performance boat builder), list their 21' Bass boat at 1450 lbs.
Would be interesting to know what their lamination schedule of lay up is and what types of resins and glass they use to keep the boats that light.
A 24' boat that weighs 1500 lbs. should be fast.

FWIW they have been in business at least as long as I have been in Corpus which is going on 15 years or so now.

will.mcg said:

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FWIW they have been in business at least as long as I have been in Corpus which is going on 15 years or so now.

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Correct. They are not a new outfit. Their original location was in the Bluff off of SPID. Their new location is just down Flour Bluff Dr in the old Johnson Greenhouse/Hebert Irrigation building. A friend has one, I am not sure of the exact model, but it sure is a nice boat to head to Baffin on. That is my only experience with them, as we have always run Majek's, but Fat Cat has to be close to their 20th year in business.

ETA: After Gunny's post, it looks like the name has been around a lot longer than the Corpus guys.

They were founded in 2014 by John Hearne, the current owner, who had made his money in the O&G industry. He hired a fellow named Rick George who was his GM for a while until he broke away and started Climax boats.
Rick George passed a few years back.
There was another FatCat boat made in the Rio Grande Valley. It was not associated with Fat Cat in Corpus. It was owned by Manny Vasquez who has also passed away.
I believe, and could be in error, that Fat Cat has no dealers at present , but sells directly from their facility in Corpus.

I rode in a few Fat Cats when I lived in Orange Grove. Good boats, but I preferred my Mowdy for comfort and layout. I dont care about going fast.

I can confirm they have had some delaminate. I don't know how prevalent but it's happened.

thank you guys for chiming in. I'm currently working on getting it done. If so i'll have to take some of yall out in Port A

I used to see Flats Cat boats right after I bought the first one of my three Shallow Sports. I haven't seen one of them in a long time.

sunchaser said:

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I used to see Flats Cat boats right after I bought the first one of my three Shallow Sports. I haven't seen one of them in a long time.

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Flats Cat =/= Fat Cat

I know....but the names are similar and I haven't seen one in a long time......but they are still around.

https://flatscat.com/

Gunny456 said:

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They were founded in 2014 by John Hearne, the current owner, who had made his money in the O&G industry. He hired a fellow named Rick George who was his GM for a while until he broke away and started Climax boats.
Rick George passed a few years back.

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I grew up with Rick's oldest stepson. I have vague memories of Rick coaching our soccer team one year. He was an absolute artist with fiberglass. He had a late '70s-early '80s C3 Corvette that he had done new body panels on. Everyone our age just referred to it as the Batmobile. It was the coolest thing ever to a bunch of 10 to 15 year old kids.

That you?

A first for me….25 plus years of watching boats going In and out.
They just came thru some big boat waves. The captain stopped as a guy was throwing up over the transom. Going to be a long day for him.

sunchaser said:

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That you?

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ha. not just yet. still working out the details

kosmostx said:

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Gunny456 said:

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y were founded in 2014 by John Hearne, the current owner, who had made his money in the O&G industry. He hired a fellow named Rick George who was his GM for a while until he broke away and started Climax boats.
Rick George passed a few years back.

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I grew up with Rick's oldest stepson. I have vague memories of Rick coaching our soccer team one year. He was an absolute artist with fiberglass. He had a late '70s-early '80s C3 Corvette that he had done new body panels on. Everyone our age just referred to it as the Batmobile. It was the coolest thing ever to a bunch of 10 to 15 year old kids.

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Is this the Rick George from Carrizo Springs. If so I knew him when he was in high school. He sure had some nice parents.

sunchaser said:

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That you?

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Was this at Conn Brown? I just got off the water and pretty sure I saw that same boat and guy in the harbor.

No….taken off my deck at Cline's Landing in Port Aransas. He had a lot of rods on the boat. Between PAMA, Bay Tree and Cline's Landing it's pretty often guides will move into the marina and pick people up in the morning.

Quote:

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Is this the Rick George from Carrizo Springs. If so I knew him when he was in high school. He sure had some nice parents.

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Yep.