Eastward 24 Catamaran - 100 Hour Update - Likes/Dislikes and Would I Buy Again?

[@donmeola5862]

Great review John! I’m very impressed with these Cat boats. I haven’t ridden in one but I can tell through your video that it appears it’s a dry and stable boat. Good luck with your new ride and keep those videos coming!

[@edgewater210]

John: Thank you for posting this video. Pure, awesome fishing boat!

[@RhodeIslandSportfishing]

Honest overview right there. Thanks capt! Boat looks great btw.

[@tlfu6836]

I was out on a friend's new Eastward 30 in early July. We went offshore on a fairly snotty day and the ride was great. Very stable boat for sure. I was sitting in a bean bag behind the console facing aft and was taking some spray, but I had my bibs and rain gear on. We were cruising between spots at 30+ and I was literally falling asleep because it was so comfy. :-) I did notice the sneezing at times! I did not notice the "snap roll" in the Eastward, but we were trolling much of the time, so we didn't do much drifting in bigger waves that day. Great boat for hitting the nearshore tuna grounds and beyond. I've also been out a few times on another friend's 29 Sea Vee. Cuts through the waves beautifully at speed, but definitely rocks and rolls much more when at rest in beam waves. It has the forward seating / storage so it is nowhere near as roomy as the Eastward.

[@walterwatkins8599]

Terrific review of your rig…really enjoyed it!

[@thomasschaefer505]

Amazing Boat John. My 26 ‘ Shamrock can sit a bit low with full fuel tanks. However when I hit the throttle the boat gets up and goes. Nothing like the solid ride of a straight inboard. 🎣🇺🇸

[@thebleeb1681]

Yahoo! Mine too. With full tanks, my scuppers will take on water when we get some chop. However, when trimmed down, she is a beast.

[@bayesian2007]

John, this is a fantastic look into the performance of a cat. Thank you. I don’t mean to be a downer but please wear a PFD and locator when you’re out alone.

[@jiggingjerks]

Yes, I bought one THT looks like a fanny pack that I will wear when solo

[@timrudy4359]

Glad to see you are enjoying the boat. That ride looks amazing. I envy you for no longer having land sickness. My wife laughs at me when I tell her I feel shitty after fishing all day 😂

[@jiggingjerks]

@@timrudy4359 it’s a real thing Tim - show her this video lol

[@kkatzburg]

I loved my first trip on the Eastward 24. Was a lot roomier than I thought it would be after you downsized from the 32 SeaVee. We were easily able to fish 4 people and never once seemed like we were on top of each other. Was super impressed with how it cut through the water and the ride in general when we were trucking back to the dock.

[@keithwallace5698]

Hunter and I were extremely impressed with the ride and speed, excellent platform for sure

[@stephenleone2375]

I'm glad to hear that you're happy with the new boat. I could see how the water pooling like that could be annoying. As a kid, we had a 20 ft Wellcraft Step-V with the v-4 115 hp Johnson, which wasn't enough weight to get the water to pool and drain out of the back, but at least it had full covers on the boat which helped. Being that I've not seen much commentary about cat hulls (other than the ride and leaning in a turn), I wasn't aware of the "snap roll" that you spoke of in this video. If the opportunity presents itself in one of your drift fishing videos, I'd love to have you show us what you mean.

[@jiggingjerks]

I'm gonna publish a striper video soon that shows it

[@richardjohnson33755]

Give and take. I’m amazed when you slowed down how nasty it actually was and how amazing it really does cut threw and soft re entire. In rough water tho the deep v will always be best at rest or on drift. On plane tho it’s a game changer on your boat I have to say. Every instinct in me could never give up my 24 degree dead rise but every time you run these videos I get more and more curious lol. That drainage issue would drive me crazy tho. I feel like that’s something they absolutely need to fix. A sign of quality build is how she drains at rest. Love the thoughts and videos on this boat.

[@sapelesteve]

Nice update of the CAT boat John! As an owner of a CAT myself, I would agree with your assesssment. The one difference is that I don't have the problem with any forward weight and water issues. 👍👍

[@patdghop]

Great video review of your beautiful boat. I call it boat-head when I return to shore after a long day.

[@firefightergarcia]

Thanks for the great and honest review..

[@duffmeister6480]

I’m drooling ! That comfortable ride is so important, I took me two days to recuperate for Wednesdays trip in the Sound on my Baby Grady. I couldn’t imagine chartering as much as you do on any else. That’s a tremendous fuel capacity, if you keep it half full wouldn’t it help with the sneezing, fuel consumption and water buildup ? Great job. Good luck.

[@jiggingjerks]

Thanks Duff and yes on the 1/2 fuel. With the number of trips I have in a row though, it helps to keep mostly full to save time on refueling. I added 200 gallons yesterday after running six straight trips

[@unkledookieful]

I want one of these. I wish I could afford it 😩

[@jerseyfreshfishing6613]

Glad to see your happy with the rig John! That inside finish though...sorry 😂

[@edgewater210]

I have watched this video three times and I am totally in love with your boat. Would you mind commenting on why you added the Garmin depth finder? I understand the Hummingbird Unit as it communicates with the trolling motor. Just curious why you did not go with two Hummingbird units? Thanks,

[@jiggingjerks]

I'm a big fan of Garmin radar and mapping and have had Garmin on every boat I've owned (this one is number 8). I love the Humminbird's connectivity with the trolling motor and its sonar but prefer the Garmin mapping and radar

[@Tommy.OrginalvideosPhilly]

LOVE CATS... SO STABLE, IVE HAD THE PRIVELEGE TO FISH ON A WORLD CAT 260, Honestly my dream boat. I'm 32 years old, so one day in the near future!!

[@edgewater210]

John: Thank you for this review of the Eastward 24. The one question I was interested in was with the drift fishingof the boat? You mentioned it during the review on how a Cat Boat reacts differently to a side to wave. Is is a motion you adjust to or are you constantly surprised by that motion? I would love the ride of the boat and thanks so much for the review.

[@jiggingjerks]

You definitely get used to it and to be clear, it's only in a short interval steep beam to sea like a rip or the wake of a big yacht and only at rest

[@gypana]

The snap rolling as he calls it, is more like a jarring action and it happens because the hulls fight each other for buoyancy where mono's roll side to side, it can feel strange if you ain't used to it but believe me mono hulls have nothing on cats for stability and ride..I fish out of Sydney Australia in a19ft cat and always feel safe offshore, the jarring doesn't happen very often, only in those instances when you get hit by swell form different directions so don't let it discourage you from buying a catamaran you'll be amazed at how stable they are.

[@robertwestrom6878]

Add a forward drain over the winter

[@angelinalorenzo864]

It handled great the day we went out in that hurricane😂

[@Diablo14077]

Nice boat and great review. Was wondering, at 2+ mpg what is the need for 300 gallons of fuel? A 600 mile range seems a bit excessive.

[@jiggingjerks]

It really has more to do with the number of days I charter in a row and not scrambling to fuel up after a charter. I filled 200 gallons yesterday after running six straight charters.

[@thebleeb1681]

Dressing for Easter is milder than dressing for golf. I dress for golf when I'm boating.

[@joshuafigueroa6]

Awesome 💯💪

[@longstrangejourney4776]

The only thing you didn't show is how it behaves, compared to the monohulls, in those conditions cruising with quartered seas. I went on a dive trip here in FL with a friend's 30+' Worldcat and the course had us heading into the seas on pretty decent angles. When we came down from the larger sets of swell, as a passenger it would heave you sideways. I didn't have enough experience with the different hulls to know if it was worse with that hull.

[@jiggingjerks]

I don't experience that in my boat. It could be different cat styles - my cat is semi displacement and not planing and I find that it mostly tracks true even in a quartering sea

[@terryclark3937]

Your vids are awesome so.e of the best ty

[@jiggingjerks]

Appreciate that!

[@MrZdiddy82]

Have u seen the green downeast on the main road for sale in jamesport

[@jiggingjerks]

@@MrZdiddy82 I have, thanks for thinking of me!!!!

[@MrZdiddy82]

@@jiggingjerks i actually pulled over an took a pic of the info

[@IFeelfishy]

When drifting, does the boat slightly slide to a 40 degree angle to the wind? On other cats that I have fished this would happen when trying to have everyone fish a single side (port or starboard) and it would cause any line to scope towards the next person aft. We call it 'riding the rail". Do you have that issue as well? If you do, does the trolling motor mitigate the issue?

[@jiggingjerks]

It actually likes to drift bow or stern first a lot.

[@RStout59]

If you were going to buy another identical boat, could you have the fuel tanks moved further aft to eliminate your water pooling issue?

[@jiggingjerks]

Good question and I don't know

[@SneakyPeteNJ]

Where are your trolling motor batteries? Slide them back might make some difference. But the fuel is so much heavier. What was the final price for this boat?

[@jiggingjerks]

Just one lithium 36v in console. 164 with trailer but no electronics which I added after delivery.

[@slange455]

Forgot the T-top looks like it provides a lot of cover

[@Evan721sxm]

Every eastward I've ever seen sat bow high....even my forward cuddy. Did you move the fuel tanks forward or the console?

[@jiggingjerks]

Yes, console is forward. I do make that point in the video that I had a unique build

[@Evan721sxm]

@@jiggingjerks im building my second 30 now....I had a forward cuddy and realized forward weight really hurts cats in general. I'm actually thinking about moving my console back quite a bit. Still trying to decide how far. All of the lighter horizons have always run smoother with less pounding and sneezing from all the owners I have spoken to, I think thats all cats in general though. They like to have the bow high.

[@doug2202]

Would filling the rear livewells with water help drop the stern enough to drain

[@jiggingjerks]

It might. Didn't think of that

[@deantravis6217]

How do you feel about your decision to down grade to the 24 from the 30 Eastwood? Was it the right decision?

[@jiggingjerks]

From a budget perspective yes. Better fuel burn, cheaper dock, etc

[@josephdoran1399]

Like a tank

[@throughmyeyes...]

I'm a little concerned John, don't know what the date is, don't know what the day is, then tell us gasoline is 6 gallons a pound, then brain cramp up about the snap, I don't know brother, little worried... little bit... (I'm teasing of course) Thanks Capt!!

[@jiggingjerks]

Hahaha, oops :)

[@user-dc9bq1nn9n]

how do you like sailing from that marina?

[@jiggingjerks]

It's ok. A bit more crowded than I'm used to but everyone is nice

[@thoma015]

Can you get the boat on plane with just 1 motor?

[@jiggingjerks]

Yes. I did it full of fuel the first week I got her.

[@thoma015]

@@jiggingjerks that's awesome one more reason to love cats. Love the boat. Congrats on the first 100hrs and many more.

[@thomasschaefer505]

Is That Bug light?

[@jiggingjerks]

Yup

[@superstarr-hs4tn]

Do Not Buy The Self deploy!!! It’s a bitch getting it back on the boat in poor condition. Especially the longer ones like my 87 inch. Having said that I love my quest. Can’t live without it going forward

[@thebleeb1681]

I wish I had the self-deploy function on my Riptide Terrova. It's tougher manipulate on a Cuddy.