Captain Shares Why He Loves the New C7.1 Engines 

When Captain Ed Kattel learned that his vessel, the 36-foot-long sport-fishing boat Cool Cat, would be the first to debut new Cat® C7.1 marine propulsion engines, he admits to being a tad nervous.

“We were all kind of holding our breath,” he says of the repowered boat’s initial day on the water in July 2016. “But right out of the gate, from the very first sea trial, she performed just perfect—and we haven’t had any problems since.”

For Kattel—who captains the Key Largo-based vessel for Cat dealer Kelly Tractor/Pantropic Power, taking customers on fishing trips around the Florida Keys—the performance and durability of Cat engines isn’t new. Built in 2002, Cool Cat was initially powered by 3126B engines and then C7s.

“Each one has been a positive step forward,” Kattel says. “I was very happy with the C7s—we got 6,000 hours out of them. But these new C7.1s are just fantastic. I’m thrilled to have them.”

Here are the top four reasons Kattel is no longer a tiny bit worried about running the new Cat C7.1s: