Hiya
Just before i bought my new boat, i was seriously interested in the 38' supercat. The 29'er was JUST launched, but becuase it couldn't carry the big loads that i was interested in, i wasn't interested in it.
I reckon that these craft are the vessels of the future. This will be the evolution of the current ski-boats. BIG boats, powered by ridiculously small engines, making them PHENOMINALY fuel efficient, with-out the slamming of mono-hulls.
Many boaters are not keen on anything new. When i made my boat a open transom, 99% of the boaters here in the Cape told me that it will not work and is a stupid idea, yet the Durban boyz have been running their boats like that for years!!
For recreational fishing, the 29' sliver looks AWESOME!! Looking at the Cape Tuna fishing front, an average trip is 100-120nm. With the 38' Supercat, you'd be looking at 100-120ltrs of fuel used!! Compare that to al least 500ltrs used by the 35' normal cats!! The 29' Sliver will use even LESS fuel!!
Rough sea's handling. Don't know about the 29' Sliver, but i've seen some photo's on their website when the went to Moz (i think), with the 38'er in HORRIBLE sea's. So, you can be pretty sure that you'll get home, should the sea pick up. Very big swells will present a problem, but you don't go fishing when their is large swells running.
Its really sad that nobody here in the Cape uses one. I know only of one that came to SimonsTown earlier this year, a 38'er, but the owner is a novice to boating, so one can't really get a good comparison.
Bottom line: TEST the 29'er. It opens up a whole new world of boating!! You can keep her in Houtbay, fish Cape Point or the deep, take cruise to Camps Bay and enjoy and sunset dinner whilst on anchor, or make a trip up to Dassen Island and spend the night there!! The possibilities are endless, because you now have sleeping accomodations, with a small fuel bill and the ability to go anywhere!!