Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › A little tutorial for those on set up and driving.
Hemifun.
We put this on another site and the description was one we though some here might enjoy the read.
BCB
Questions on engine height, trim and set up.
Engine heights should be raised for hole shot and lowered as soon as the nose drops to improve performance. The engine heights are easily managed with the hydraulic Plate. Steering wheel torque running on the top end (full out) should be just tension to the right, not pulling hard right requiring you to hold or hang onto the wheel. The Gen1 Case is a good efficient case and allows you to manage the torque and gauge it easily. If your having to use your left forearm to hold or pull excessively, your too high on the plate. To stat run it way down, all the on the bottom, till you pick up the handling and seat time.
The height is easy, though overtrimming is the task at hand more so as you will want to play too much with that side, and that is more tapping in VERY short bursts. You have to allow the hull to develop performance which is why the description of driving your Bass Cat with trim and not the throttle comes out in conversation. As the nose drops over, tap the trim up in fast bursts to ‘free’ the hull, quit when you just ‘free’ the hull allowing easier bow control with the steering. Now start tapping the trim, tap run a 1/4 mile, tap it again, another 1/4 mile or so, tap it again and keep that process.
Torque is slippage and you want this controlled and lowered to manage prop rotation, which is always pulling the engine right.
Continue taps on the trim slowly till you have no torque and wheel control, holding slightly left. The nose will point just a little bit left, crabbing slightly left when running hard and pushing the envelope. That is propeller rotation compensation in the set up. Since the prop rotates right, the holding it slightly left should be no challenge.
Adjustments to the steering wheel are very slight once you have learned and have the plate and trim adjusted properly for your weight loads. It will require such a slight input from your left hand, held at 10:00 to 10:30 on the wheel, that you barely move the wheel. Movement is extremely soft for straight line operation as long as you don’t overtrim.
The fatty portion inside of the heeled your hand, behind the little finger and ring finger, is extremely sensitive and should feel the movement as the propeller slips slightly and the motor mounts compensate. That is when the slight pressure is felt. You will eventually learn to adjust the trim and pressure to keep that bow just slightly, 1” to 2”, left of center.
Its all about keeping the engine low, torque manageable and trim to a low enough level you can drive, with your skill set. Driving anything requires a different skill set than jumping in the same vehicle every day.
Last you mention this to be a Gilbert modified propeller, which is great if the prop was modified and blueprinted as spec’d to improve performance. If that was a propeller that had been sand barred, gravel tuned, rock hammered or stump improved, all bets are off as returning it to the original operation is very hard. You usually loose tension (hardness) in the metal, change the blades where Ronnie is shooting to get it right and more is going on than anyone can say.
Theres a chance they had Gilbert improve the prop to improve performance with those Tallons which BCB does not suggest. They simply weigh too much on the hull rotation for hole shot and keep the bow higher.
Cutting a bent and chipped propeller very seldom returns one to like new operation. They can if the damage was slight, though overcutting and already thin metal (7 alloy on Fury) and loosing its blade shape under power. It’s metal and heat, thickness and more are making his job hard.
For now thats enough and good luck!
BCB
Very good write up.
The biggest problem I see when trying to help someone is that they want to hit the gas, trim up to the stops and just lock in on the wheel because that’s how they drove their last brand of boat. You need a long stretch to bump the trim until it gets uncomfortable the bump it down till it settles and bump it up again until you get the feel for it. It’s a seat time thing and when it clicks you won’t even realize that you are correcting it.
Chris Coupel
Paulina, La
This is one of the best write ups I have seen about these boats and driving them.
Shap from La wrote: Very good write up.The biggest problem I see when trying to help someone is that they want to hit the gas, trim up to the stops and just lock in on the wheel because that’s how they drove their last brand of boat. You need a long stretch to bump the trim until it gets uncomfortable the bump it down till it settles and bump it up again until you get the feel for it. It’s a seat time thing and when it clicks you won’t even realize that you are correcting it.
Chris Coupel
Paulina, La
It took me a long time to realize the runs folks were describing to obtain optimum speed/trim were miles long. Where I boat, long straight run might be a mile long usually less. So hole shot and fast acceleration is way more important where I fish (south Champlain, and smaller lakes in that area) then ultimate top end. Thankfully, the old Classic is the perfect tool for those kind of runs and frequent turns. Runs where you can “let her settle for a quarter mile and then bump trim and wait another quarter mile” just isn’t an option for many of us. And failing to reach those speeds some do with their Classics/PII’s isn’t a matter of not having the skill set, it’s just the nature of the road we travel. But it sure is fun playing. And getting to 68-69 with a tournament load/two anglers faster then anyone else(66-67 with full live wells) is a satisfactory in my book.
This is good read too for those interested that don’t venture on other sites…
http://www.bassboatcentral.com/new_page_2.htm
I have a 2018 Caracal with a 225 SHO and a SHO Vmax 25-T2 151/8 prop. With 2 people in the boat the most I can get is about 4900 RPM and 50-53 MPH with the motor trimmed about half way up, by myself on flat water I can get about 5200-5300 RPM and 60-62 MPH with the motor trimmed all the way to the point of chine walk. Is this normal?
Hemifun, that would get more input on its own post. No that is not normal and we would suggest you visit your selling dealership.
Bass Cat Boats wrote: Hemifun, that would get more input on its own post. No that is not normal and we would suggest you visit your selling dealership.
I have spoken to my dealer about this several times and every time he blows me off with the same response that “I’ll talk to the factory and get back to you” , and of course I never hear back from him.
Hemifun wrote: I have a 2018 Caracal with a 225 SHO and a SHO Vmax 25-T2 151/8 prop. With 2 people in the boat the most I can get is about 4900 RPM and 50-53 MPH with the motor trimmed about half way up, by myself on flat water I can get about 5200-5300 RPM and 60-62 MPH with the motor trimmed all the way to the point of chine walk. Is this normal?
That 225 SHO should be turning close to 6,000 rpm at wide open throttle and properly set up and trimmed. Chine walk IS going to happen when you are trying to get the last 4-5 mph out of the boat. The only solution for that is learning how to drive. ALL high performance hulls will chine walk. However, you need to know your prop to pad measurement if you are running a manual jackplate before you can begin to know what is happening. With the SHO and the 25″ T2 prop, a PTP measurement in the neighborhood of 3″ below would be a good starting point. There are several articles on how to measure PTP, both here, and other forums. Your dealer SHOULD be able to help, WITHOUT having to call BCB, if they have a clue about setting a BCB up. You cannot possibly know where to go if you don’t know where you are. Also need to be certain that the throttle, whether hot foot or standard, is opening the butterfly plates all the way up. That would be a dealer issue, if you are not comfortable doing it yourself. Should take maybe 30 minutes, at most, to look at that. As BCB stated, what you are experiencing is NOT normal.
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