Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › 2008 Cougar FTD Silhouette/ Optimax 250 Pro XS
First let me say as a business owner myself I am very impressed with the Basscat company. I recently purchased my first Basscat, actually it was Randy Allens from LA, and I didnt think much at first as he was telling me that the company was great and stood behind their product and supported their owners beyond what I would expect. He was right. I have ordered some parts and also brought to their attention some warrantty issues and they have been quick to respond and have been supportive completely. In fact because Randy had set out on for a round of tournements the day that I bought the boat I have not been able to get all the manauls etc so Scott at Basscat has been exceptional in helping me with some of the learning curve to be able to use the boat for the last month or so until I can get the info. I do have a question or two right now for this group, I purchased the boarding ladder for the boat and wondered if someone might be willing to do some measurments for me for reference to drill the holes to install it. I think using the fuel well vent would be the best area. I own a collision shop with 25 years experience so I am pretty particular and really dont want to have to ream the holes bigger to adjust it……. This discussion board is great I have had a chance to really read some information that I would not normally see when buying a boat. I am going from a Ranger Z21 with a long story and have been a boat owner for over 22 years, of course being from Maine boating can take many forms….my last boat was a 25 Formula with twin 350s so you can see I have changed my focus a bit… I am trying to figure out also if this boat has had any changes made since the factory set up. It has a manual slide master jack plate with no written measurements I can see and is right now set so that the slide area is even with the top of the plate. I have had about 72 mph out of so far and there is allot of trim left but it starts to chime walk at 70 and gets pretty bad. What is a good starting point of reference on this boat and I suspect it might be best that the measurement be made at the center prop with the bottom of the boat but you can correct me if I am wrong… Thanks for all your help in advance and great to see such a supportive group of boat owners…..BCB is really onto something, I hope I might be able to bring more Bass cats to the state of Maine…..
We will have ot have someone at the Factory get in touch later on the ladder install measurements. MOst hold it up and fit it carefully, though a solid measurement would be nice. Since they are down on Vacation, there is not a support staff in house. We will see if we can reach someone to get you a number on this at the shop. We hope you enjoy your BCB Ownership for many years to come, and that you truly feel like a part of the “Family”! BCB
We got a hold of one of the installers right off the bat. This should make some sense once you measure it. Using the top corners of the radiuss on the top of the deck above the chamfer rising from where the cowl vent fits flat, and the back radius behind the cowl vent itself. Please double check these measurements with your ladder. And this is a NEW 2008 Cougar FTD fit Only! Left side fit. 1. Using the rear of the radius for the plane that the Cowl Vent (flat plane) it is mounted on, move forward of the radius behind the cowl vent, left (Starboard) side 3 11/16″ (3.6875″ ) in front of the center of that radius. Then position that hole to the left side of the top deck radius 2 1/2″ (2.5″ ) out to the left of the axis of that radius, on the chamfer areas, top corner at the crest in the deck. 2. Using that same rear radius on the right Cowl Vent flat plane, where the vent is mounted to, go right and forward of the rear radius 4 1/4″ (4.25″ ) and mark the right line at that point. Now using that top radius on the right of the left Cowl Vent, in a line between these two points, move that right hole 1 3/8″ (1.375″) to the right of that radius. Now mark it out and see how you ladder looks before you drill. Tape the deck and slowly drill the holes to match. We hope this makes sense to you! BCBLast edited by Bass Cat Boats on June 30th, 2008, 7:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
I appreciate that I think I can make it happen from that…Again thanks for the quick response your help is invaluable……. MEASUREMENTS WORKED PERFECT….TIGHT AROUND VENT HOLE WORKING BUT OTHER THEN THAT NOT A BAD INSTALL. BCB MY DAUGHTER THANKS YOU IMMENSELY… Last edited by Mark5795 on July 1st, 2008, 12:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
Mark, I have a Puma I put the ladder on. Before you drill, make sure you hand fit the ladder to the hull. The angles of the ladder will fit REALLY close to the angles of the hull. When I put mine on, the were off quite alot. After calling about this, we found out that I was sent the wrong ladder. It was for a Puma, but a different hull than what I had. Fortunately, I had not drilled the hull yet. BC sent me the correct one asap and it fit perfectly and covered shipping the old one back. Mistakes happen, but it could have been ugly. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE FIT! I would have hated working with another boat company.
I have set it up there best it can but this ladder has the studs on the top sticking out and I assume they are welded or at least thread locked in place so it is impossible for me to set it on the boat for an exact fit at this time. Looking at the angles they are real close for as close as I can set it to the boat now so I feel confident that this is the right ladder and will fit if I drill the top 2 holes in the right place the first time……I agree with you what a mess it could make to someone that cares about their boat…..BCB has been great with this info and should insure a correct fit the first time….
Mark, is this the same yellow/black FTD EKs marine had in their show room? Glynn
Why do you ask?
Guys, We are SO happy to have EK as a BCB Dealership! BCB
When I purchased the boat EK handled the transaction because Randy had left for the Decatur tournament. EK was very helpful and allowed me to get this done quickly. I was in and out of TN (Randy and his brother were able to get it to TN a bit closer to home for me) picking the boat up literally 4 or 5 days after making the deal. Things clicked and Ek answered some valuable questions along the way…Nice guy to talk to….I tried to get him up this way to fish some Salmon….maybe I can convince him some time in the future…..Bass are biting good right now…..I just need to convince my son that you cant troll at 70+mph so I can get into some of the banks and rocky areas to find the bigger one….lol I do want to know who at BCB used it to go perch fishing the week before I bought it and left it dirty…..you all owe me a good detailing………
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