Summer Madness

Sep 21st, 2011

With Cheetah Number 300 well under our belt, the Cheetah workshops are busier than ever. July and August saw the delivery of several boats, designed and built for a variety of applications and delivered at various stages of build.

Fishing: Bad weather led to Cheetah order
Fed up with cancelling too many fishing trips Jonathan Batt based in South Wales ordered an 8.5m Cheetah. 'Little Kat' left the workshop as a Stage B build and Jonathan has since fitted twin Suzuki 90hp outboards. He reports excellent sea keeping and fuel consumption at an average of 1.3 litres per mile. He now fishes the banks comfortably in a force 6-7. He will continue to fit her out over the winter.

Island Lifeline
A similar 8.5m, 'Arripay II' left the workshops as a completed boat and was delivered to Round Island, a small privately owned island in Poole Harbour. Arripay II replaces two vessels, a 6.9m Cheetah and a larger Lochin. She will be used for transferring guests and supplies between the island and mainland. Drawing less than 35cm makes her ideal for running passages at all states of tide within the shallow lagoons.

Hydrographic Survey: A perfect fit
Also working from Poole Harbour is 6.5m ‘Shoreline’. Emile requested a catamaran which provided the benefits of a wide beam without the need for the full 7.2m length. Cheetah worked hard throughout the build keeping ‘Shoreline’ as light as possible and Emile reports very easy launch and recovery as well as general towing. Although predominantly an inshore survey cat, ‘Shoreline’ doubles up for family fun and has already been across to Scilly on a camping expedition.

Highland and Island 7.9m
Gilbert Johnson who has been boating around Shetland for more than 75 years says his 7.9m Cheetah is excellent in every way. Gilbert will be using the Cheetah for a range of workboat duties around the islands. Gilbert has been following the Cheetah story for many years, reading articles and looking at launch photos as the models progressed.