We Say: Tideline’s 19 runs with a soft ride. It is laid out for serious fishing but looks good enough to go out to dinner. Our test boat even sported an optional teak helm pod.
Twin modified V-hulls with super-sharp entries, shallow deadrise aft and hard chines bracket a center “pod” that runs from stem to transom. This minimizes a cat’s tendency to blow spray while shaping and compressing the water flowing to the prop. The design maximizes waterline length, allowing the hulls to slide through seas efficiently at low speeds while providing enough buoyancy to rise to oncoming seas. Rounded entries prevent “tripping” when running downsea. The chines provide lift and did a great job of sending spray outboard during my test.
Construction is high-tech, with vinylester resin infused to biaxial and quadraxial fabric. Methacrylate bonds hulls, stringers, bulkheads and liner. Its strength showed in our sea trial, where the 19 ran confidently at all speeds and directions through a variety of seas up to three feet.
Who’d Want One: Boaters seeking a small, elegant utility vessel that can fish, picnic and tow as well as draw attention and envy pulling into a waterside restaurant.
Another Choice: Carolina Cat’s 18CC ($34,151 with a 115 hp Yamaha) is a proven single-engine catamaran. It’s lighter, with fewer high-tech, yacht-grade refinements.
Bottom Line: $39,900 with test power; tidelineboats.com
