We’re shooting out of the Severn River aboard a Caymas 34 CT powercat at 55 mph when one of the Naval Academy yard boats goes by and… waves? What waves? Then we pass a big cruiser and… waves? What waves? I pull the throttles back to pre-planing speeds to make the biggest waves I possibly can myself, do a bunch of doughnuts, run a few hundred yards away, then turn around and blast back towards the roiled waters and… well, you know. And you can see for yourself in our video boat review of the Caymas 34 CT, before reading about the details.
Try as I might, while testing the Caymas 34 CT I found it utterly impossible to make it slam, bang, or slap. No, we weren’t in the open Atlantic charging into 10-foot rollers, but foot-for-foot my internal impact-O-meter told me that this boat ran smoother than any monohull of its size that I’ve ever set foot on. The twin hulls slice and dice the waves with variable deadrise angles hitting 50/55 degrees at the entry and 18/22 degrees at the transom. What’s with the dual deadrises? The hulls of this boat are semi-asymmetrical, which is a snazzy way of saying that the outside of each hull mirrors the outside of the other, and the inside of each hull mirrors the inside of the other, but the outside and inside do not mirror each other.
Tricky? Youbetcha. But it allows the designer to craft a catamaran hull that rides uber-smooth, doesn’t suffer from some of the potential cat quirks like odd handling and sneezing, and enjoys excellent efficiency. Which in this case, also gets a boost from twin steps. Cruising along in the mid-30s we noted we were getting 1.6 mpg. A peek at Mercury’s performance reports and some number-crunching with a calculator shows that twin 400 Verado monohull center consoles in this size range post an average of 1.3 mpg. And a bit more calculator fun reveals that on a 75-mile trip to the canyons and back, that equates to burning about 22 gallons less fuel each and every time.
For we hardcore anglers fuel be danged, what matters even more is just how fishable the boat is once you reach your final destination. And when we did a rodholder count on our test boat, we were floored — between the flush gunwale holders, rocket launchers, and racks, we counted 49 places to put a fishing rod. I like hauling a ton of gear as much as anyone, but if you find this insufficient, I bow to your rod-bearing ambitions.
What about those tackle-bearing ambitions? The back of the leaning post has two pull-out drawers, one with knife holders. In both sides of the post there are compartments, each with three tackle boxes, a bulk stowage drawer, and leader spool holders on the inside of the door. Additional tackle can be stowed inside the console head compartment. Rather than blow up the console to make some sort of cabin with a berth — and eat into fishing space as the result — Caymas keeps the console relatively svelte, incorporating just the head. But forward of that head it also boasts a huge amount of stowage, with six large drawers and pair of shelves behind a hatch.
Wait a sec — we walked away from that leaning post a little too quickly, because there’s one other nifty feature you’ll want to hear about. You know those slide-out cooler trays often found under the posts? The ones you have to wrestle with until they pop off the track and don’t work anymore? Instead of one of those joyous inventions, this cooler slides out electrically at the press of a button.
The 34 CT isn’t just designed for the fishermen, it’s designed for the fish, too. There’s a 70-gallon livewell in the transom (fed by a Hooker sea chest system with a pair of 2500 GPH variable-speed pumps) and options for additional 25-gallon wells to each side and/or two additional 60-gallon in-deck wells. Then once the gaffs start swinging, there are six insulated and plumbed compartments in the deck. The forward fishboxes are large, and the amidships fishboxes are large enough to lie down inside of. Literally.
Being armed to the teeth to fish and fish hard is great, but being able to get to those far-off fish in comfort is even better. And on top of the silky ride, the 34 CT has a leaning post with cushy flip-up bolster seats and arm rests which is protected by an integrated three-side enclosure, plus a folding transom bench seat. But it’s the bow seating that should set off the shocker alarm for we anglers. Ninety percent of the 30-something center consoles out there have flanking seats in the bow, which is great for seating but limiting for deck space, and thus, for fishing. The 34 CT, on the other hand, has fold-out seats to either side. Close ‘em up flush with the gunwales like the transom seats we’re so used to seeing, and you have a huge foredeck that’s wide-open for angling action. You’re approaching fish thrashing on the surface? On most boats only one angler can get all the way forward to cast at them initially but on the Caymas two anglers can get into prime positions right from the start, and there’s room up there for at least four anglers in total to cast into the melee.
Of course, no boat is perfect. So, what are the downsides, here? Well, this boat doesn’t come cheap. And while the 10’10” beam makes for acres of deck space, it does eliminate trailering from the equation. Still, these seem like small potatoes for a boat that burns almost 20 percent less fuel than the competition. For one that has more rod holders and as much tackle stowage as most boats with 10 feet more LOA. For a boat that makes you say… “waves? What waves?”
Caymas 34 CT Specifications
- LOA – 34’3”
- Beam – 10’10”
- Displacement – 11,800 lbs.
- Transom Deadrise – 18/22 degrees
- Fuel Capacity – 436 gal.
- Max. Power – 900 hp
- Area Dealer – North Point Yacht Sales, in Annapolis MD (410) 280-2038, and in Gloucester Point VA (804) 885-4090.