Pure Bred: Advantage's 27 Party Cat joins the builder's vaunted line of custom deck boats.

During our deck boat roundup last spring, we got our first look at Advantage's 27 Party Cat. The first model out of the mold, the new 27-footer acquitted itself well. But that didn't stop a company representative from telling us how much better and more refined the next one we saw would be. He actually pointed out areas, such as the fit of cabinet doors, that he promised would be better the next time around.

Turns out he was right. Though we liked the first 27 Party Cat we saw, we loved the second one that Advantage delivered to the Parker, Ariz., leg of our 2006 Performance Trials. Everything, as promised, fit better and was more refined. The 27 Party Cat deserved its place in the Party Cat line, which ranges from 22 to 34 feet.

PERFORMANCE
The hull for the 27 Party Cat had four mild steps, none taller than 1 inch, and a center pod. Advantage went the mellow power route with a 425-hp MerCruiser 496 Mag HO and the aforementioned Bravo Three drive with a 2.5:1 reduction and two 28"-pitch, counter-rotating propellers.

With the engine working at 5,100 rpm, the 27 Party Cat reached 66.3 mph. Acceleration was steady and appropriate for the propulsion package. The boat came on plane in 5.2 seconds with minimal bow rise and reached 58 mph from a standing start in 20 seconds.

In 7.6 seconds, the boat ran from 30 to 50 mph. Power delivery faded predictably near the upper end of the engine's operating range, as the boat took 14.5 seconds to run from 40 to 60 mph. But the catamaran was efficient. It ran 47 mph at 4,000 rpm, and at that speed it still got better than 2.5 mpg.

The Bravo Three-equipped 27-footer stayed connected to the water at all speeds and remained, whether our test driver was getting on or coming off the power.

Overall handling marks were good. In low-speed slalom turns, the catamaran did transition noticeably from sponson to sponson and, as such, leaned to the outside. But the boat leveled off in midspeed drills and started leaning in during higher-speed turns. Regardless of speed, it never felt loose or sloppy.

WORKMANSHIP
Mold work and graphics, all done in gelcoat with green pinstripes separating the brighter colors, were strong and in line with Advantage's lofty standards. In a much-appreciated nod to detail, the builder used white screws to secure the white plastic rubrail that protected the shiny hull.

Lamination materials included 1 1/2-, 2- and 3-ounce chopped fiberglass strand, 1208, 1708 and 4800 knitted fabrics, Coremat and vinylester resin. End-grain balsa was used in various areas of the boat, including the sole.

Not lacking for hardware, the 27 Party Cat had bow and stern boarding ladders, cat-eye-style navigation lights, four stainless-steel pull-up cleats and an array of stainless elliptical handrails.

Advantage did an excellent job reconfiguring access to the boat's engine compartment. With a bottom cushion for the L-shape lounge removed, a section of the sole and the bench itself raised so that the reach to the front and sides of the power plant was easy.

In typical custom performance-boat fashion, the big-block was mounted on L-angles, and those brackets were through-bolted to the stringers. Wiring was logically routed and properly supported.

INTERIOR
The sheer number of amenities Advantage builds into its Party Cats always amazes us. No exception, the 27-footer had all the requisite goodies including an electric freshwater sink, a good-size head locker with a portable head unit in the helm console, and a 10-disc CD stereo system with a 600-watt amplifier. And all of it came standard. Optional equipment, all much appreciated, included a high-pressure washer, an electric blender and a cockpit table.

In the cockpit, there was an L-shape lounge and a dual-person seat at the center-located helm. On the port side of the lounge, the builder created a walk-through with a stainless-steel gate. Ahead of the console was a pair of contoured lounges. There was plenty of space to sit and the configuration left lots of room to walk around on the nonskid sole.

Thanks to lockers in the cockpit gunwales and below the bottom cushions for most of the seats, the 27 Party Cat didn't lack for stowage options. One of those lockers was home to a cooler, and another held a flip-out wastebasket. In addition, there were compartments in the entertainment console, which was home to the sink, as well as a large locker in the sole of the bow area.

That the dual-person helm seat slid fore and aft impressed our inspectors. More often than not, such seats are mounted on fixed stands and cannot be moved, so if you're too tall or too short for the seat placement you simply have to make do. About the only less-than-ideal ergonomic aspect of the helm station, which was supplied with privately labeled gauges, was the vertically mounted throttle. Both our test drivers found it a tad awkward to use. But they also said that they'd eventually get used to it.

OVERALL
The Party Cat series is Advantage's foundation, so any new introduction to the line must, at the very least, meet the standard of other models in the line. Stylish and refined, loaded with features and able to deliver good performance on mild power, the 27 Party Cat does all that and more.

TEST RESULTS

TEST CONDITIONS

HULL INFORMATION

PRICING INFORMATION

ENGINE & PROPELLER

OPTIONS ON TEST BOAT
Upgrade to MerCruiser 496 Mag HO engine ($6,900), three extra gelcoat blends ($850), stainless-steel pull-up cleats ($500), halon fire extinguisher ($450), offshore controls ($400), high-pressure wash ($360), electric blender ($350), depthfinder ($310), cockpit table ($235), hour meter ($150) and transom trim button ($110).

ACCELERATION

MIDRANGE ACCELERATION

RPM VS. MPH

TOP SPEED AT RPM

PLANING

FUEL ECONOMY

FUEL CAPACITY
110 gallons

TEST CONDUCTED AT
Parker, Arizona

MANUFACTURER
Advantage Boats, Dept. PB, 1000 N. Lake Havasu Ave., Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403, 928-680-2628, www.advantageboats.com

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