Catch FAQs
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Ask the questions a captain asks
The Crossover Concept
What a crossover is, and why one boat can do both jobs.
A crossover center console is our new approach to the traditional hybrid bay boat. The idea behind the Catch 27 was simple: eliminate the compromise that has historically existed between true shallow-water capability and offshore performance.
Most hybrid boats are forced to lean one direction or the other. To achieve a shallow inshore draft, you typically give something up when conditions get rough offshore. Build more toward offshore capability, and you generally sacrifice draft and shallow-water performance.
The Catch 27 was designed from the beginning to do both. With a 12-14 inch floating draft, it can access the shallow water you'd expect from a serious inshore boat, while its hull design, construction, and offshore running characteristics give it the capability to confidently leave the inlet and run offshore.
That crossover approach carries through to the layout. Extra-wide gunnels and bow casting platforms give you room to move and sight-cast when fishing inshore, while a true offshore fishing cockpit gives you the space to work when you head offshore.
That's what we mean by crossover: a new approach to the hybrid bay boat, designed around zero compromise between inshore draft and offshore capability.
Absolutely - doing both well comes down to how the boat was designed from the beginning.
The Catch 27 was engineered specifically to eliminate the traditional tradeoff between shallow-water access and offshore capability. With a 12-14 inch floating draft, you can fish the shallow water you'd expect to access with a serious inshore boat. When it's time to head offshore, you're not simply asking a bay boat to do something it wasn't designed to do.
The hull was developed to deliver the ride, stability, and confidence we wanted offshore while maintaining the shallow draft that makes the boat so versatile inshore. The layout supports both kinds of fishing, too. Extra-wide bow gunnels and bow casting platforms give you room to move and sight-cast inshore, while a true offshore fishing cockpit gives you the space to work when you head offshore.
That means you can fish shallow water in the morning, run offshore when the conditions and bite call for it, and do both without feeling like you brought the wrong boat.
That's really the idea behind the Catch 27: one boat that's equally at home on both sides of the inlet.
Look beyond the features you can see at first glance. A lot of boats can look impressive sitting at the dock. The real differences show up in how they're built, how they perform, and how well the details have been thought through.
Start with the hull and construction. Understand how the boat is built, what materials are being used, and why the hull was designed the way it was. Then look at the systems you don't immediately see - wiring, plumbing, hardware, access for maintenance, and overall serviceability. Those details become increasingly important the longer you own the boat.
Fit and finish matter, but they should be backed up by real-world functionality. Look at storage, helm ergonomics, fishing features, deck layout, and whether the boat is actually designed around the way you intend to use it.
Most importantly, get on the boat and run it - and don't just run it in a straight line. Pay attention to how it behaves in turns, at different speeds and running attitudes, and in different sea conditions.
Hybrid boats in particular can have handling characteristics that won't show up on a spec sheet. Some bow steer in a following sea. Some slide or cavitate in a hard turn. Others have a tendency to porpoise.
A premium center console should feel predictable and confidence-inspiring throughout its operating range.
You can learn a lot about a boat from its specifications, but you have to run one to understand how well the hull really works.
The Catch 27 was designed differently from the beginning. Rather than starting with an existing bay boat or offshore platform and trying to make it do more, we started with the goal of building a true crossover - serious shallow-water capability without compromising the ride and confidence we expect offshore.
One thing you'll find with a lot of bay boats and hybrids is that they tend to have a quirk somewhere in their running characteristics. Some want to bow steer in a following sea. Some can cavitate or slide through a hard turn. Others have a tendency to porpoise at certain speeds or running attitudes.
You may also find a wet ride, excessive bow rise, or freeboard that's too low for comfort in rough conditions. Those were all things we considered when designing the Catch 27. The Catch has just one degree of bow rise, and we paid close attention to spray management and providing the freeboard we wanted for offshore use.
Eliminating those compromises was a major focus when developing the Catch 27. We spent an enormous amount of time engineering and refining the hull so it behaves predictably across different speeds, turns, loads, and conditions.
It doesn't have one of those characteristics you simply have to learn to live with. It just runs right.
But the difference goes beyond the hull.
From construction and rigging to storage, systems, service access, helm ergonomics, and fishing features, we think about how the boat will actually be used and owned - not just how it looks sitting at the dock.
Our Captain's Grade Standard philosophy follows the same idea: start with the equipment and systems we believe belong on a boat of this caliber, then customize from there.
We didn't build the Catch 27 to fit neatly into an existing category. We built it around how we wanted a boat to perform.
Hull & Ride
How the boat rides, floats shallow, and holds a turn.
The Catch 27 was designed to give you the confidence of a larger offshore boat without giving up the shallow-water capability that defines an inshore boat.
A big part of that comes down to how the hull behaves in real conditions. We wanted a boat that comfortably slices through waves, tracks predictably, stays composed in a following sea, bites instead of sliding through a turn, and gives the captain control over the boat's running attitude as conditions change.
We didn't rely solely on feel to get there. During development, Computational Fluid Dynamics was used to repeatedly simulate wave conditions, analyze hull behavior and impact forces, and make changes to the bottom design before validating those changes on the water.
The engineering also looked at spray management, weight distribution, turning behavior, and how pressure develops underneath the hull.
But ultimately, the result is much easier to understand from behind the wheel than from an engineering diagram:
The Catch 27 doesn't have a handling quirk you have to learn to drive around. It just runs right.
That's one of the fundamental engineering challenges we set out to solve with the Catch 27.
Traditionally, getting a boat to float shallow means making compromises that can show up once you head offshore. Rather than accepting that tradeoff, the Catch 27's hull was developed specifically around achieving both shallow-water access and true offshore capability.
A major part of that comes down to hull geometry and how the boat carries and distributes its weight. The Catch 27 is designed to float level and efficiently, with a 12-14 inch floating draft depending on load, while still maintaining the hull characteristics needed offshore.
But shallow draft alone doesn't make a great inshore boat, just like a sharp entry alone doesn't make a great offshore boat. What matters is how the entire hull works together - how it enters the water, generates lift, tracks, turns, manages spray, and responds as speed and conditions change.
Computational Fluid Dynamics and real-world testing allowed those characteristics to be developed together instead of optimizing one at the expense of another.
We didn't achieve shallow draft by taking capability out of the boat. We engineered the hull around having both.
The Catch 27 has a 12-inch floating draft under a light load, increasing to approximately 14 inches under a full load.
And rather than giving you a draft number without telling you how the boat was loaded, here's how we measure it:
That shallow draft is a major part of what makes the Catch 27 a crossover/hybrid. It gives you access to shallow fishing grounds while still having a hull designed for offshore use.
We tested ZipWake interceptor blades against traditional trim tabs in computer simulations and found that the interceptors were far more efficient. Not by a little, but by a lot.
The interceptors don't just use the blades themselves to control the boat. They also change the pressures underneath the entire bottom of the boat, radically improving efficiency.
ZipWake also has some great automatic features that help the captain enormously. The system automatically controls pitch and roll, and one of the coolest features is how it holds the boat at the perfect angle in a turn.
You feel like you're being pulled directly into the floor instead of to the left or right. This is called a coordinated turn. With that automatic feature on, you feel much more secure in the boat through a turn.
Power & Range
Single vs. twin, engine options, fuel and range.
There isn't one right answer. Choosing between a single and twins really comes down to how you use the boat and what you value most.
A properly powered single has some significant advantages. You're carrying less weight on the transom, there's less equipment in the water, and you have one engine to purchase and maintain. It also keeps the transom cleaner for fishing. With a single engine, you have more room on the swim platform and easier boarding for divers and swimmers. You also have more room for twin Power-Pole shallow-water anchors if you choose to add them.
Fuel consumption is another consideration. As a rule of thumb, we'd expect a twin-engine setup to use about 8-10% more fuel than a single with the same total horsepower.
Twins bring a different set of advantages. They give you additional low-speed maneuverability around the dock, and one of the biggest reasons people choose them is the safety, security, and redundancy of having a second engine.
Ten or fifteen years ago, that was a bigger consideration. Modern outboards are much more reliable, and in our experience, we just don't see the breakdowns we used to. Twins still offer redundancy, but we think that advantage is smaller than it was a decade ago.
Having two engines also doesn't protect you from every problem. Water-contaminated fuel can affect both engines when they share the same fuel supply.
On the Catch 27, there's an interesting difference between how the two setups float and how they run. Twins add approximately 400 pounds, so the boat floats about half an inch deeper. But the propellers sit approximately three inches higher in the water column, so the twin-engine setup can actually run a little shallower.
The important question isn't simply, "Are twins better than a single?" It's whether the boat performs properly with the configuration you choose.
The Catch 27 was designed to do that. Our recommended setups are a single Mercury V10 425 or twin Mercury V6 225s. With a single, you're not choosing the lesser version of the boat or using a second engine to compensate for a hull that needs it. For the owner who values offshore redundancy or simply prefers twins, we can build the boat that way too.
Don't choose twins just because somebody told you an offshore boat has to have twins, and don't choose a single just to save money. Choose the configuration that makes sense for how you're actually going to use the boat.
John Slattery, the man who designed the Catch 27, favors the Mercury V10 425 for this boat. The Catch 27 is also available with twins, and twin Mercury V6 225s are another great match.
We chose Mercury as our OEM supplier because of the incredible amount of support they gave us throughout the design phase. But that wasn't the only reason. We believe in their products. We think they have some of the best engines on the market, and in our view, the V10 425 is by far the smoothest, quietest, and most fuel-efficient engine in its class. It's also approximately 270 pounds lighter than the competing engine we compared it with.
Those are our recommended setups, but we're a custom builder. If you prefer a different Mercury horsepower configuration, we'll talk through what you're trying to accomplish and what makes sense for your boat.
Mercury is currently our only factory OEM engine option. We are open to discussing other manufacturers with customers who have a strong preference.
In real-world use, we're seeing our best fuel economy at around 30 MPH, getting approximately 2.8 miles per gallon.
You can cruise the boat anywhere from 25 to 40 MPH. Even at 40 MPH, we're seeing approximately 2.3 miles per gallon.
The Catch 27 carries 107 gallons of fuel, which is all it needs for the way we designed it to be used because it's so darn efficient. For those who like to run farther offshore, we can add another 50 gallons.
And if you want even more efficiency, consider a Sharrow propeller. With Sharrow's cutting-edge technology, we're seeing fuel economy climb well over 3 miles per gallon in real-world conditions.
Yes, Sharrow propellers are expensive, but the fuel savings can cover the cost after about 200 hours of running time. They're a great way to extend your range without increasing fuel capacity.
Features & Systems
The systems and fishing features built into the boat.
The hydraulic jack plate is standard because shallow-water capability is a fundamental part of what the Catch 27 was designed to do.
A 12-14 inch floating draft only gets you so far if the engine is still hanging deep below the boat. The hydraulic jack plate allows the captain to raise and lower the engine vertically as water depth and running conditions change.
That becomes particularly useful when you're moving through shallow water, where raising the engine reduces how far the lower unit extends beneath the hull.
But the benefits go beyond shallow-water clearance. Because every Catch 27 comes standard with a jack plate, we were able to design the swim platform without an engine well. That gives you more usable space for boarding, swimming, and diving.
And because we expect the Catch 27 to transition between shallow and deep water, we don't treat the jack plate like an unusual shallow-water option. It's part of the standard setup.
Jack-plate controls are located at both steering wheels, and the plate comes pre-drilled to accommodate optional Power-Pole shallow-water anchors.
If we're going to build a boat that truly fishes shallow, the propulsion setup needs to be designed for shallow water too.
The Catch 27 was built to have all the features an avid fisherman would want without sacrificing comfort for the family. We could go on and on about the details, but these aren't features we tried to find room for afterward. They're designed into the boat.
You have extra-wide gunnels you can walk on and sight-cast from, a true offshore fishing cockpit, and a standard stand-through tower with room for a 12-inch multifunction display. The hull is designed to keep bubble-free water flowing across the transducers for clear fish-finder readings.
At the transom are 39- and 20-gallon livewells with Gemlux plumbing that allows you to adjust water levels or pressurize the wells. The openings are large enough to clear a cast net, and the wide non-skid lids also serve as a rear casting platform.
There are two 60-inch insulated fish boxes in the cockpit floor and another large insulated fish/coffin box beneath the forward console lounge. The cockpit boxes use diaphragm pumps rather than macerator pumps.
Storage was designed around fishing too. Compartments were intentionally sized for 5-gallon buckets, and under-gunnel storage can accommodate as many as 10 rods, gaffs, a boat hook, or other long equipment. It can also be configured for spearguns.
Then there's the dedicated under-gunnel trolling-motor storage, reinforced gunnels for additional hardware, and factory preparation for optional equipment including trolling motors, Power-Poles and electric reels.
We thought about how fishermen actually use a boat and built the Catch 27 around that - with room for the family to enjoy the day, too.
Trolling motors are incredibly useful on both inshore and offshore center consoles. What we didn't like was having a large piece of equipment permanently sitting across the bow when you're not using it.
So we designed a dedicated under-gunnel trolling-motor storage compartment into the Catch 27.
When you need the trolling motor, it's there. When you don't, you can remove it from the bow and store it securely under the gunnel. That gives you a clean, unobstructed bow for fishing, casting, handling lines, anchoring, or just moving around the boat.
We also designed the bow so the trolling motor, windlass, anchor and access hatch work together rather than fighting for the same space. The access hatch can operate without interference, and the folding anchor pulpit lets the anchor tuck tightly against the hull instead of sticking out where fishing line can find it.
If a piece of equipment doesn't need to be in your way, why should it be?
It's amazing how much more you can see from the higher vantage point of a second station. Whether you're looking for fish, reading shallow water, spotting structure or debris, or navigating, that extra elevation gives you a completely different perspective.
Once you own a boat with a second station, you'll never want to own another one without it.
But we didn't want a second station that felt like an afterthought or took away from the rest of the boat. The upper helm is integrated into the hardtop and accommodates two large people, with its own 12-inch Garmin MFD, digital Mercury steering and controls, jack-plate controls, and access to the boat's digital systems.
Access is through recessed steps built into the console rather than a bulky ladder taking up walkway space. We designed the climb to be easy and comfortable, including for larger adults and older boaters. The design also remains below roadway trailering-height restrictions.
You can stay at the lower helm when you want protection and comfort, then head upstairs when that elevated line of sight becomes an advantage.
It's another tool that makes the boat more capable - and once you've used it, you'll understand why we made it standard.
Build Quality
How it's constructed and what comes standard.
The Catch 27 is a 100% wood-free, vacuum-infused fiberglass boat, but construction quality goes a lot deeper than simply checking those boxes.
Every fiberglass component is computer-designed and CNC cut for consistency, fit, and finish before being vacuum infused using vinyl ester-based resin systems. The materials and construction method are intended to provide durability while also helping absorb energy and sound for a better experience underway.
But some of the construction details we're most proud of are the ones you'll probably never notice at a boat show.
Take the fuel tank. The Catch 27 uses a 3/16-inch high-grade aluminum fuel tank coated in Targuard Coal Epoxy for additional corrosion protection. We don't surround the tank with expanding foam, helping minimize the risk of moisture retention against the aluminum.
Or look at something as simple as a hatch hinge. Friction hinges eventually wear - that's reality. Instead of putting a nut somewhere behind finished fiberglass that becomes a nightmare to reach later, Aquasteel is embedded into the laminate and the hinge is attached with machine screws threaded into it. When the hinge eventually needs replacement, you can simply unscrew it and replace it.
We take the same approach underneath the deck. Wiring uses tin-coated marine-grade wire, waterproof connectors and labeled circuits. The boat is also factory prewired for available options including trolling motors and Power-Poles. Digital switching simplifies operation, while manual backup switches are provided for additional safety and control.
Plumbing gets that same attention, with premium pumps and components, heavy-duty 316 stainless-steel hose clamps, and a large lazarette that gives you actual access to the mechanical and plumbing systems when they need service.
It's easy to make the parts a customer sees at the boat show look expensive. We care just as much about what you'll find when you open a hatch.
Pumps wear. Hinges wear. Equipment gets upgraded. Boats live in a harsh saltwater environment.
A well-built boat shouldn't just be built to last - it should be built to be maintained.
Captain's Grade Standard means if a professional captain would want it in their boat, it's standard.
It includes things like premium Garmin electronics, digital Mercury steering and controls, lithium batteries and onboard charging, digital switching with manual backups, premium pumps and plumbing, 316 stainless-steel hardware, an upper helm station, freshwater and seawater washdowns, extensive fishing storage, and a long list of other equipment we've chosen because we believe it belongs on the boat.
You'll also see names like Garmin, Mercury, Gemlux, Groco, Lumitec, Abyss Battery, Sunbrella, and JL Audio throughout the boat. Those choices are intentional.
That doesn't mean every Catch has to be built exactly that way.
We're a custom builder. You can add equipment, take equipment away, change the way the boat is configured, and make it fit the way you're actually going to use it.
Captain's Grade Standard is our starting point for what we think a properly equipped Catch 27 should look like. From there, we make it yours.
Ownership
Living with the boat, pricing, and coming to see it.
The Catch 27 is absolutely a serious fishing boat, but we never wanted fishing capability to come at the expense of enjoying the boat with your family and friends.
That's another part of what crossover means to us. You can fish shallow in the morning, run offshore when the weather and bite are right, and finish the afternoon at the sandbar - all in the same boat.
The layout gives you plenty of usable deck space while still providing comfortable seating where it matters. At the helm, the captain and passenger sit upright in a premium bench seat with fold-up bolsters, armrests, and an adjustable seat slide. Forward of the console is a large two-person lounge with folding armrests, and the seating throughout the boat uses durable Sunbrella upholstery.
The center console itself is large enough to use as a changing area and can be equipped with either a removable portable toilet or a plumbed gravity-fed head - which becomes pretty important when you're spending an entire day on the water with family.
And because so much of the fishing equipment has a dedicated place to go - rods under the gunnels, trolling motor stored away, tackle and gear in dedicated storage - you don't have to spend your family days climbing over fishing equipment.
We didn't try to turn a fishing boat into a family boat. We designed a serious fishing platform that you can actually enjoy the rest of your life on, too.
If you want to compare apples to apples with our competitors' base pricing, a base Catch 27 costs $199,000. But realistically, nobody is going to buy one that way. It doesn't have enough of the things you need.
A well-equipped Captain's Grade Standard boat costs around $300,000, including the equipment and systems you should expect on a premium, custom-built fishing boat. That's how we like to build the Catch 27.
From there, you can add or subtract depending on how you plan to use it. Maybe you want to change the electronics or power configuration, add optional Power-Pole shallow-water anchors or a trolling motor, or increase fuel capacity. We'll go through the boat with you and figure out what makes sense.
You can expect your Catch to come in somewhere between the high $200,000s and the low $300,000s, depending on your configuration.
The best way to understand the Catch 27 is to get on one.
You can visit us at our facility in Stuart, Florida, see how the boats are built, walk through the Catch 27, and get out on the water for a sea trial.
We're just five minutes from the St. Lucie Inlet, so within a short ride we can show you the boat in the kind of environments it was designed for. It's a beautiful stretch of water and a great place to spend some time behind the wheel.
We encourage people to come run the boat. There are a lot of things we can tell you about the hull, the ride, the layout, and the way it handles, but at some point you just have to run it.
We also routinely conduct sea trials around the state of Florida. If getting to Stuart isn't practical, give us a call. We'll talk about where you're located and see what we can arrange.
If you're seriously considering a Catch 27, we want to get you on the boat.