True Stories
Tiny catamaran makes amazing 469 mile journey up michigan coast.
Few boats smaller than 20 feet are considered capable of undertaking a 469 mile trip across some of the most hostile waters the Great lakes have to offer. But such a journey is exactly what a tough little 11-foot power catamaran recently accomplished.
An 11-foot, four-inch CraigCat®, piloted by Adam Gursoy and Trevor Baykowski, recently launched from Grand Haven Michigan, on that state’s west coast on Lake Michigan. It traveled north to Mackinac Island, Cheboygan and the inland waterway, ending up in Conway eight days later.
Along the way, Gursoy and Baykowski encountered seas up to 12 feet, torrential rains, thick fog. dangerous rocks and hundreds of questions from bystanders at every port of call.
“People were just plain amazed at the feisty little CraigCat®,” said Gursoy, who operates a CraigCat® dealership in Grand Haven.
The high-performance boat features sleek, sporty looks and nimble handling in virtually any conditions. With a 25 hp outboard, it reaches speeds up to 30 mph and uses just a gallon of fuel an hour. Its twin pontoons, made of foam-injected polyethylene, connected to an elevated fiberglass deck. The pontoons bank independently, like the legs of snow skier, so they can move up and down waves easily and maintain a stable, relaxing ride.
Rugged first-class and a patented design help ensure the boat would withstand the rigors of this journey. And the crew appreciated the cushioned, side-by-side seating and ample legroom.
At one point, the two crossed 30 miles of open lake Michigan water to reach Beaver Island, halfway between the state’s upper and lower peninsulas. Heavy rain and fog severely reduced visibility and the waves were treacherous.
“We were climbing what seemed like mountains and rolling down the other side,” said Gursoy. The crew used a small hand-held compass to navigate.
Between Leeland and Northport, Michigan, the rescued a family whose boat had run out of gas a mile offshore. They gave the stranded group their reserve tank so they could make it back to shore.
After the trip, Gursoy said, “This CraigCat® is an amazing watercraft. It handles the water like no other craft I have ever been on, and I have been caught in some very nasty storms on both the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Michigan. Never once did I have second thoughts about the ability of the CraigCat® to get us to our ports of call.”
The CraigCat® is lightweight, tows easily and offers many convenient optional features, such as an electric trolling motor, fishing rod holders, dive tank holders, and storage racks. With a suggested retail price that is less than other small boats.
Courtesy of: Rhode Island Boating News Paper
AMAZING TRUE STORY ABOUT A LOVELY COUPLE, A CRAIGCAT®, AND SOME VERY VIOLENT STORMS AND HURRICANES!
We acquired our CraigCat® late in 1991, as a novelty item. For many years after that it was just that — an electric water novelty used for everything from a fishing platform to a floating raft and diving board for the kids. We have also had it in all of our local custom events like “Anything But A Boat Float” and “Christmas On The River” where all of the boats are decked with Christmas themes and lights.
Yes, for the first five or six years we heard everything from “what is it” to “look at the baby pontoon boat.” For all of those years and even to this day I have told people that there is nothing more beautiful than taking this electric boat, which makes no noise, down the river in the early morning hours as the mist rises from the water or back up the river at night with the full moon and stars as our only light. The sights and sounds of the wildlife that you will see during these quiet times are unforgettable.
This may sound dangerous to some because our electric CraigCat® didn’t come with lights back in 1991. But when you live on the river as long as we have, you learn the river like the “back of your hand.” Living on the river in our area means living in houses that are built on top of concrete block columns or wood pilings. It also means learning to live with little nuisance floods. Two or three days of steady, heavy rain usually cause these floods which causes the river to come over or out of its banks into low areas. On rare occasions, very strong winds out of the Gulf of Mexico push the water up into the rivers and cause nuisance floods.
These nuisance floods generally cause little to no damage other than some small items floating off and covering the roads in low areas with six inches to a couple feet of water. This means parking the car or truck on higher grounds and walking through the water for a mile or more. The other choices are to take a boat up or down the river to get to the house. This can be very dangerous during a flood. The other option is just to stay at a friend’s house.
This brings me to a short story that my wife likes to tell. Years ago on a Friday in October, the river was rising after two days of steady rain pouring down. The road didn’t have any water from the river running over it so we decided to go to work. If the river rose over the road by quitting time, we agreed to meet at the road where it became impassable. You see, this day was our wedding anniversary and this year we were going to do something very special. We were going to celebrate it alone, just the two of us having a nice dinner in a romantic restaurant followed by a quiet evening and night.
It was shortly after I arrived at work at the National Weather Service. They had just issued a small storm warning in the Gulf, which meant that the tides were going to be higher than normal and would be pushing the water up the river. I decided to take off work the rest of the day and go home. On the way home, I stopped by the store to pick up some wine and flowers for our special evening. The long winding road to our home had water crossing over it in many areas; however, it was not too deep for my big truck to go through — yet. It was obvious that this was not going to be a normal nuisance flood. The rainwater was flooding the river and the storm in the Gulf was pushing water up the river at the same time.
Once home, I checked everything under and around the house to make sure it was secure and would not float away. I had the 16-foot aluminum skiff on the trailer ready so it would be just a matter of towing it out for later use to get into and out of our property if needed. I packed clothes for my wife and me to change into for our special evening. With this completed, the last thing to do was to check the securing of the 28-foot pontoon boat to the pier and secure the floating dock with the CraigCat® tied down to it.
It wasn’t until I got to the pier that I realized just how fast the river was rising. The floating dock and the CraigCat® was already up to the top of the pier. Looking around I knew this was not going to be a normal nuisance flood. The river was rising faster than I or anyone had anticipated. In fact I wasn’t even going to get my truck with the skiff out and that we would have water under the house and over most of our property. I parked the truck on the highest part of the property and walked to the back of the house. As I sat on the porch drinking a cup of coffee, I knew I had about two hours before my wife would be calling me on her cell phone from the point of the road where the water was making it impassable. She would be calling me on my cell phone not knowing that I had taken off from work early and was stranded at the house.
It was shaping up to be a wedding anniversary that she would never forget … if I didn’t think of something, this was going to be the first time we were separated on our wedding anniversary.
My options were not looking very good.
My wife would not want me to take one of the boats down river during a flood. The last time this was attempted was to rescue a friend with motor problems. The result was that both us got stranded because the lower end of my motor snapped off on a magnolia log floating below the water.
I could go up the river with a bigger boat and bigger motor but that was also very dangerous. This is very difficult at best and dodging all the obstacles in the water is all but impossible.
Walking through 4 inches of water on the high areas of the road would be easy enough, but the low areas would be 6 to 8 inches deep with water. Swimming these areas is possible because there is little to no current on the road. The woods on the far side of the road and the houses, fences, trees, bushes and all of the other obstacles build up areas between the road and the river. This protects the road from the river’s currents. Who wants to walk and swim for a mile and a half to two miles to get out of a flood along with the other wild animals and snakes, some poisonous.
Taking a boat on the road in the low areas may be possible but how do you drag a boat through the high areas in only four inches of water?
I was still sitting on the porch trying to figure out what to tell my wife and the best way to tell her. Looking out over the river I noticed that it did finally quit raining. More importantly, I noticed something else. There tied up to the floating deck was our floating electric novelty, the CraigCat@. The two marine batteries were still on the back of the boat and the trolling motor was situated up front on the deck sticking up in the center like a miniature flag.
If I were going to do anything, it would have to be real soon. My wife would be calling me in about twenty minutes. The CraigCat® was small enough and light enough. It drew very little water. The trolling motor would be strong enough to go through what little current was on the road. But, most important, the CraigCat® was unsinkable! It would be easy to raise the motor in the high spots of the road and lower it in the lower spots where the water was the deepest.
After telling myself all of this, I decided to try. I grabbed the bottle of wine and the flowers. I walked through knee high water and placed them on the passenger’s seat of the CraigCat®. In about twenty minutes I was over halfway there when the phone rang. It was my wife and she sounded very disappointed as she told me how far up the road she was. After she explained to me all the ways this unexpected flood was going to ruin our wedding anniversary including the fact that she had no clean clothes to change into, I told her to RELAX that I was on my way.
She still didn’t know that I was on my way in the CraigCat®. The CraigCat® was coming up the flooded road as though it was designed for this. Everything was working perfect. As I came around the last bend, I saw my wife standing there looking up the road looking for me to come down in the truck. Just as I pulled up to the end of the flooded road, my wife turned around and saw me. The look on her face was both one of shock and priceless. The wine, flowers and the very slow trip back home created the most memorable wedding anniversary ever to date. As we pulled up to the porch, my wife commented that we would have to reward the CraigCat some how. Three days later we purchased a new bigger 55-pound trolling motor to use on the CraigCat® and had the boat bottom coated.
Some other history tidbits of our CraigCat:
In 1997 a major hurricane broke the floating dock away from the pier. (The CraigCat® was tied down to the floating dock.) The floating dock was found several miles down the river but the CraigCat® was no longer tied to the dock and could not be found in the area. About two weeks later we received a call from our state marine resources stating that they found a strange looking small boat floating upside down and was entering the Gulf of Mexico.
I told them that I didn’t think it could possibly be our CraigCat® but that I would come down and look at what they found. As I left the house I told my wife not to get her hopes up too high. I explained to her that even if the CraigCat® had somehow floated all the way down the river and through the Back Bay to enter the Gulf, some 30 plus mile by water, upside down there couldn’t be much of it left. After the boat was up righted, to my shock and everyone else’s the only damage was the loss of the battery and the trolling motor’s control head. Even the bimini top was in perfect condition. It had been strapped down for the hurricane so the wind would not rip it apart. To this day, no one knows how it got turned upside down or how it made this long trip without damages to the boat itself.
In 2005, the “worst natural disaster in American history” occurred and it was called “Katrina”. To this day, some 14 months after she hit the coast, I don’t believe anyone knows the total number of homes, building, vehicles, boats and lives that have been lost and or destroyed forever. The boats were placed on their trailers and taken to high areas. Only the CraigCat® was not. Her trailer has been destroyed many years earlier by another hurricane and never replaced. We felt no need to replace the trailer because the CraigCat® has proven itself to be unsinkable and we believed indestructible. Not only that, but it seems like it is always in use by neighbor, friend and visiting family members.
Our home, two new vehicles, pier, floating dock and boats were destroyed. One boat strapped down to its trailer was flattened down by the wind. The other had a giant tree land on top of it and crush it. The CraigCat® could not be seen or found anywhere. It wasn’t until 14 months later that the house was completely rebuilt and we started to clean up the property. The pier was completely destroyed. The floating dock was more than 60% destroyed and had sunk. Only the two extra lines that I had tied to it and the two big trees that had fallen across it kept the dock from completely sinking or floating away.
The two big trees were cut away and removed from the floating dock by a track hoe and to our complete shock and everyone else’s, guess what popped up. OUR CRAIGCAT ® !
Fourteen months under the water and we are very happy to report that the total damage was:
- One missing seat
- The trolling motor
- The battery
The rest of the boat was in outstanding condition.
Now over the years and even to this day, even with the CraigCat@ electric boat in the condition that it is in, we have people try to buy it from us. In fact, we have had people offer us more than a new one with a trailer would cost. My wife tells me that to sell our boat would be like selling a member of the family. “This is just dead wrong.”
So here is October again and our anniversary has come. So I asked by wife what she would like. I was not shocked when she stated that all she wanted was the CraigCat@ electric fixed up like new. I don’t know when it became hers but her request made me very happy.
I was even happier and shocked when I called the company (Craig Catamaran Corp.) to learn that they would in fact replace the seat and fabricate a new top for her boat. Just imagine her 15 plus year-old boat with countless hours, thousands of hours, on it — a small electric boat that somehow has served what no other make or model boat has served — looking like new again!
I decided that this year’s anniversary will be very special for another reason: I’m going to the Craig Catamaran Corp. in Florida, about 9 hours away, and buy a new gas-powered CraigCat ® . Something that was never offered when we got our electric one.
By Henry R. of Gulfport MS
YANKING & BANKING WITH THE CRAIGCAT® by Sports Boat & RIB Magazine, U.K.
When Alex asked me to go and have a look at the CraigCat®, to be honest, after his description, I was totally flummoxed! — “Two surfboards attached to each other with an engine,” is roughly what he said, so I am relieved to report that the CraigCat® is far more than that.
The closest thing I can describe it to, is a peddelo, but that’s where the similarity ends. The hulls are constructed from two one piece polyethylene seamless urethane foam filled pontoons, with the deck carriage made from hand laid GRP. Two bucket type seats sit side by side, aft of which is the double A frame housing the CD player — yes CD player, two watertight storage boxes, NAV lights, docking lights, bimini cover, battery and fuel, oh not to mention the electric start Mercury 25hp outboard. One’s feet sit on a GRP footplate that is part of the deck carriage, where a see through screen is designed to deflect spray.
The steering is achieved by the movement fore and aft of the “Stick Steering” control arm that is mounted between the two seats, a sort of vertical tiller. To say this is a unique looking craft is an understatement, but I think it’s pretty funky. Sitting alongside the Harbourmaster’s pontoon on Lymington river, I first wondered what I’d let myself in for, is this going to work? I found myself asking!
Jon Robinson, or JR as he is affectionately known locally, is responsible for the importation and distribution of these craft in the UK and Europe, an affable and enthusiastic character, JR wouldn’t mind my reporting that he is of a substantial build — 17 stone to be precise! Yet when he hopped aboard, to my amazement far from loosing a hull underwater she sat rock solid, her trim adjustment could only be measured in centimetres. My turn then, and being a more modest 11.5 stone, the CraigCat® didn ’ t even know I was there. So I jumped into the helm seat and off we went.
Now, in my lounge at home, I’ve got and old armchair where the footrest pops out, but I have to say the CraigCat® now rivals my favorite seat. It’s like being at home with the best panoramic wide screen view ever! And trolling slowly out of the river, stable and dry. I gave her the gun and she popped onto the plane quickly and easily and we shot off across the Solent at 30 knots. The steering is fun and easy to manage, yank the stick and bank the boat, actually her attitude does heel over, but being a catamaran and flat hulled, not that much — one aspect of her steering. As there is literally nothing in the water until the very aft end of the hulls, it’s more comparable to driving an air boat, but a great laugh. Jumping over swells she felt well balanced and following the swells didn’t result in the stuffing I’d expected — and dressed for! Instead she just drove up the back of the next one. This really is a unique ride — a motorized armchair that can nip you around safely and cheaply. In fact the 25hp outboard, only burns four litres an hour at full chat! Which I think for thirty knots is pretty good. The CraigCat® comes in a number of guises all with differing roles in mind. Starting with the basic package with electric motor at $2499, up to the model we tested the E2 Elite which comes with everything, including a beer — sorry drinks cooler that straps onto the footplate.
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Contact the friendly crew at Craig Catamaran Corporation for complete details, information, sales, and rental fleets. WE PUT FUN BACK IN BOATING! After 34 years the new models are the best fun machines produced yet! Loaded with amenities the new CraigCat E2 Elite features a premium JBL high definition sound system with USB and Bluetooth ...
Family Owned and Operated. Headquartered in Central Florida, the Craig Catamaran Corporation is family-owned and operated, designed and manufactured in Orlando, Florida. The owners have placed their commitment to excellence above all else. Every boat is crafted and designed by expert boat mechanics and artisans.
Boating is an experience, and enjoying the journey is the best part. Contact Us Today To Get Started! If you would like more information about any of our quality catamaran boats please visit our Contact Us page or call us at 1-877-999-4228. We look forward to working with you and providing an exceptional experience at a reasonable price.
Tohatsu 30HP - $13,985 | 25HP - $13,785, Mercury 30HP - $14,985. E2 Elite Fully Loaded Gulf Stream Edition (seafoam and white) Tohatsu 30HP - $14,484 | 25 - $14,284, Mercury 30HP - $15,484. E2 Elite Fully Loaded Tahitian (tan and beige) Tohatsu 30HP - $14,384 | 25HP - $14,184, Mercury 30HP - $15,384. E2 Elite Fully Loaded Key ...
Read these CraigCat Customer Reviews that our customers have sent us! "Good morning to the Craigs, I am 6'4″, 258 lbs and soon to be 59 years old. I bought your CraigCat without a sea trial or even seeing it up close. Upon delivery, it sat on my property for two weeks with thoughts of what the hell was I thinking.
Just bring it to our showroom in Orlando and depending on the condition of your CraigCat Catamaran Boat, we will give you top dollar for it. We need pre-owned CraigCats. ... Craig Catamaran Corporation reserves the right of refusal to purchase and to set the value of the preowned CraigCat regardless of second party opinions.
TINY CATAMARAN MAKES AMAZING 469 MILE JOURNEY UP MICHIGAN COAST! ... (Craig Catamaran Corp.) to learn that they would in fact replace the seat and fabricate a new top for her boat. Just imagine her 15 plus year-old boat with countless hours, thousands of hours, on it — a small electric boat that somehow has served what no other make or model ...
In business since 1991, Craig Catamaran Corporation operates in Orlando, Florida producing some uniquely compact powerboats. Suited for a pair of occupants, the fast and highly maneuverable watercraft created by Craig Catamaran Corporation are catama ...
Company profile page for Craig Catamaran Corp including stock price, company news, executives, board members, and contact information
CRAIG CATAMARAN CORPORATION is a Florida Domestic Profit Corporation filed on August 20, 1990. The company's filing status is listed as Active and its File Number is L98690. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Craig, Evana M and is located at 4333 Silver Star Road, Orlando, FL 32808. The company's principal address is 4333 Silver ...
Craig Catamaran Profile and History Craig Catamaran Corporation (USA) - was founded in 1976 to design and develop an inexpensive, comfortable, and stylish boat. The original CraigCat had an electric motor, and the side-by-side seating made it the perfect solution for safe, inexpensive, and pleasurable boating on lakes, rivers and waterways.
A boat's history affects it's value—check the history of this 2023 Craig Catamaran Corporation and avoid buying a previously damaged boat. Check for storm damage, accidents, loss, theft, registration history and more. Don't get stuck with an unsafe boat needing costly repairs.
The Craig Catamaran Corporation, headquartered in Central Florida, is privately owned and operated by the company. The boat is designed and manufactured in Orlando by the company. The company's owners are committed to excellence at all times. Founded in 1976, Craig Catamaran Corporation's vision is to offer consumers an affordable, easy-to ...
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