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I have a 13 Cougar and today I noticed large cracks in the fiberglass on the back side of the live well in the bilge area. The cracks are on both sides and rather large. I am heading to the dealer tomorrow to show them It was somewhat sickening to see this on my boat. Has anyone ever experienced this kind of problem? Im sure BassCat will take care of it, but its disappointing.
Have a Merry Christmas ! (EDITED image) by BCB Last edited by FTDoo7 on December 23rd, 2013, 11:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
Please visit with your dealership and get them solid pictures which are not too close. We feel these are the “tell tales” which are located right on the lower corner of the livewell. IF they are sheared it is one issue, if they are cracked the factory will read those images. That one area is designed to flex. BCB
If these guys are babying their boats and getting this what is that tale telling you?Dan
These “tell tales” as others have said are a way for the factory to read stress on the hull after the fact. Rather than assume this is a way for BCB to deny you coverage, concider that R&D is ongoing at Bass Cat. With new regulations on VOCs and resin changes being implemented at the factory this is one way to see how their product fares in real world application.Depending on the angle of crack it is possible to know the direction of force being applied,ie vertical,horizontal or maybe a combination and how the hull is reacting to those forces. Where is that point in the manufacturing process that has enough fiberglass,thick enough stringers,enough resin,yet is strong enough,light enough to merit the BCB branding? I suggest that is a moving target year in and year out. Think of yourself as part of the R&D. At this point your saying…well I paid x$ and I damn well dont want cracks or shortened deck life. I get that. the tells can be “fixed” easily. My Puma has a few cracks on the tells from some rough days on Champlain. I havent touched them. To be truthfull when I do notice them I remember a few of those rough days.Im not drinking the “cool aid” here, My experience with Bass Cat has been top notch since I purchased my Puma in 05. They have gone out of their way to stand behind their product and their product has exceeded my expectations.My boat still puts a big grin on my face when I hook it up to go to the lake. My Puma has held up so much better than other boats of the same age. It still looks like new to me. Just my experience…your with the right companyBob
I got to check mine in the spring. I had two very rough days back to back on Champlain this past year too. She can get ugly. Four foot plus waves but the Classic handled it other then valve opening in live well emptying the well. May not have had valve completely closed too. But pumps filled it back up so fast, still had a hard time getting fish out because they were so lively. Ive never had a fish die on me yet in 4 years.
My 99 Classic spent the first years of its life in Oklahoma , where we all know the wind hardly blows ?!?!? — It shows no signs of cracks in the areas described . It does however have the gel coat worn through at the rear of the flipping insert , as well as at the rear deck lids . — What year did they start with the tell-tale seams ???
I know this subject has been talked to death. I have read all the posts about the “tell tales” and what they are for but, one of the reasons I choose a Puma FTD is because the way they handle rough water. Where I fish 90% of the time, it is very common to have 2-4 footers. How much does it take to break the flex peace? I take very good care of my boats, some laugh at me because of how anal I am with them. I just dont want any issues with warranty or downtime due to this. Basscat is a great company and build the best boat IMO, Im just worried now after reading all of these.
I pretty much feel the same way!DanMainliner61 wrote:I know this subject has been talked to death. I have read all the posts about the “tell tales” and what they are for but, one of the reasons I choose a Puma FTD is because the way they handle rough water. Where I fish 90% of the time, it is very common to have 2-4 footers. How much does it take to break the flex peace? I take very good care of my boats, some laugh at me because of how anal I am with them. I just dont want any issues with warranty or downtime due to this. Basscat is a great company and build the best boat IMO, Im just worried now after reading all of these.
There is no worry on the tell tales. Those are a designed flex point that 3 to 4 footers could break. They only stress from mid hits at the hull and rough water which is not cutting waves, though running those waves. The area is well supported and fiberglassed together. The factory can read those and would be best to view them, though a dealership would be our first direction. They are altered annually or as the designs change and resins develop. These are more in depth than they were in the earlier years and thicker as resins and materials have changed. They also have changed the laminates in the tell tales. And yes they can read the direction of hull impacts from the tell tales. BCB Admin.
Ok. I just dont want any problems. I know there are times that a big roller can sneak up on us. Thanks BCB.
Bass Cat Boats wrote:There is no worry on the tell tales. Those are a designed flex point that 3 to 4 footers could break. They only stress from mid hits at the hull and rough water which is not cutting waves, though running those waves. The area is well supported and fiberglassed together. The factory can read those and would be best to view them, though a dealership would be our first direction. They are altered annually or as the designs change and resins develop. These are more in depth than they were in the earlier years and thicker as resins and materials have changed. They also have changed the laminates in the tell tales. And yes they can read the direction of hull impacts from the tell tales. BCB Admin.When you say, “The factory can read those and would be best to view them…” and “yes they can read the direction of hull impacts from the tell tales”, what happens next? Does the factory then make decisions on hull repair warranty due to the “direction of hull impacts”?
Those look familiar. Call the plant Troy, thats my best advice. To many wanna be big timers on here that will read your cracks and slap your wrists.BassCat was very understanding and easy to deal with over the phone and assured me there would be ZERO issues in repair.Best of luck.Brad
Macsimus wrote:Bass Cat Boats wrote:There is no worry on the tell tales. Those are a designed flex point that 3 to 4 footers could break. They only stress from mid hits at the hull and rough water which is not cutting waves, though running those waves. The area is well supported and fiberglassed together. The factory can read those and would be best to view them, though a dealership would be our first direction. They are altered annually or as the designs change and resins develop. These are more in depth than they were in the earlier years and thicker as resins and materials have changed. They also have changed the laminates in the tell tales. And yes they can read the direction of hull impacts from the tell tales. BCB Admin.When you say, “The factory can read those and would be best to view them…” and “yes they can read the direction of hull impacts from the tell tales”, what happens next? Does the factory then make decisions on hull repair warranty due to the “direction of hull impacts”? Thats like reading tea leaves .
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