Airborne in a Zapcat

Bajan · 27 May 2004, 13:41

Here a few pics taken of a Zapcat effortlessly defying gravity a couple of weeks ago. That's me in the yellow, enjoying the view from above. It was quite flat that day so we had to wait for Red Funnel and anything else with a wake to pass by. The pics are us coming off of a Red Funnel's wake. At one point a guy in a Gin Palace came by and did a few circles around us to create wake and watch the fun as we made full use of his wake. What an absolutely great buzz!! I'm hooked!!

Richard B · 27 May 2004, 14:31

Hey Bajan, aren't you supposed to be sat at the front to keep the bow down!?!

Only jokin'!

Are you going to race in that Zapcat?

Bajan · 27 May 2004, 14:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard B

Hey Bajan, aren't you supposed to be sat at the front to keep the bow down!?!

Only jokin'!

Are you going to race in that Zapcat?

I asked that question funnily enough and the driver said it depends on what you wanted to do with it. ie In waves more forward, slightly backward in other situations etc.

I would love to be racing one of them, but my work takes place mainly on the weekends at the moment so not looking promising. If I can wangle it you can bet I'll be there.

Manos · 28 May 2004, 14:16

Nice photos Bajan and just thought you might also find these photos interesting

Sonam · 28 May 2004, 14:35

Hi Manos, welcome back!

Manos · 28 May 2004, 15:43

Cheers Sonam

Mark Halliday · 28 May 2004, 15:57

Hi manos
Welcome back - .................................I think.

How do the engines cope with a dunking like those?

Bajan · 28 May 2004, 15:59

Hi there Manos!
Welcome back!
Cool pics! Are they in Greece and is one of them you?

It's great fun for very cheap comparatively speaking.

Tim M · 28 May 2004, 22:17

There's a guy trying to sell them on ebay for £1995 a pop.

Manos · 29 May 2004, 19:16

Hi guys

Unfotunately is not me in the photos. These are taken from the races during 2004. Just thought that they were interesting action shots. The guys who drive those zaps are quite mad (at times) trying to win the race and this is just a small sample

I'm glad you liked them.

PS Zaps are relatively cheap in SAfrica (400-600 pounds or so) and this is one of the reasons that they are very popular.

Tim M · 29 May 2004, 21:09

Do you think it would cost a hell of a lot to ship one oer here (ie. less than about £1000?). Would it be worth it?

Manos · 29 May 2004, 21:12

It depends how you decide to do it. If you put it in a container with other goods (GROUPAGE SHIPMENT) it will cost about 200 pounds or so for shipping costs.

Bajan · 02 June 2004, 23:09

That's very interesting that you both mentioned the cost of buying and shipping etc. I was about to call Gemini RIBs in S.A. to enquire re: price and to check on shipping charges. They're about £8,000 from a dealer here in England(Race ready) Approx 4,000-5,000 second hand.

They break down to a very small size as the middle is made up of 4 seperate parts and of course the 2 hulls get very small when deflated. It's apparently very easy to transport. Engine would be the most cumbersome, but not the end of the world.

Richard B · 03 June 2004, 00:01

Bajan, are you intending to race a Zapcat in the UK?

Manos · 03 June 2004, 05:27

Bajan form the little I know about importing RIBs and boats in general from SAfrica, I think that GEMINI SA will not sell to you directly unless you buy the boat (any boat RIB or Zap) in SA and give an SA address. This means that your craft will not have a CE mark on it and it will not have a CE certificate which makes it illegal in Europe.
The reason they do that is like most boat builders in SA, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Brazil, Mexico etc they have an exclusive agency agreement with their agents in Europe and therefore not allowing others to import directly from the country of origin. Unless, of course, there is no agent in the country you want to import the boat and if an agent in Europe does not have exclusive European trade agreement with that builder.
The price you mentioned for a Zap Cat in the UK (I think) is quite expensive.
This more than the money we paid for the rescue 5 mtr RIB (WATERCRAFT) we have with engine, trailer etc and is Cat A.
Does this price include the engine and everything or just the boat? (race ready?)
In any case since there I cannot see that you have any alternative and GEMINI has the monopoly in racing (i.e. have to have a GEMINI Zap Cat, GEMINI prepared engine etc - for which I do NOT agree) so if you have made up your mind go 4 it

Good luck

Bajan · 03 June 2004, 13:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manos

Bajan form the little I know about importing RIBs and boats in general from SAfrica, I think that GEMINI SA will not sell to you directly unless you buy the boat (any boat RIB or Zap) in SA and give an SA address. This means that your craft will not have a CE mark on it and it will not have a CE certificate which makes it illegal in Europe.
The reason they do that is like most boat builders in SA, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Brazil, Mexico etc they have an exclusive agency agreement with their agents in Europe and therefore not allowing others to import directly from the country of origin. Unless, of course, there is no agent in the country you want to import the boat and if an agent in Europe does not have exclusive European trade agreement with that builder.
The price you mentioned for a Zap Cat in the UK (I think) is quite expensive.
This more than the money we paid for the rescue 5 mtr RIB (WATERCRAFT) we have with engine, trailer etc and is Cat A.
Does this price include the engine and everything or just the boat? (race ready?)
In any case since there I cannot see that you have any alternative and GEMINI has the monopoly in racing (i.e. have to have a GEMINI Zap Cat, GEMINI prepared engine etc - for which I do NOT agree) so if you have made up your mind go 4 it

Good luck

I realised this for my own purposes, however I was enquiring for a friend who doesn't live here and there is no distribution where he lives.

Re: The price. That is the price for a race ready Zapcat (with engine), completely assembled and inflated including trailer.

Cheaper versions are available with less horsepower on the back.

Richard B!
I am quite keen to race, however I work every weekend so it doesn't look good.

Richard B · 03 June 2004, 14:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bajan

I am quite keen to race...

OK, be careful about imports... I think Manos has covered it, I don't think that an imported ZapCat will be eligible for the UK races.

Bajan · 03 June 2004, 16:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard B

OK, be careful about imports... I think Manos has covered it, I don't think that an imported ZapCat will be eligible for the UK races.

Thanks for that Richard!
I would definitely look at getting one here if I were going to race it, but it's going to be quite handy for my buddy who wants to have one back where he lives.

Regards