2008 Puma/Cougar FTD Performance Difference

ChuckThere is a possibility that the FTD is a little faster than the Puma and this has been the case since the Puma was introduced in 2005. The reason being is the amount of weight in the bow of the boat. Load down the FTD up front and it equals out. Remove all the gasoline under the seat in a Puma and it equals out some. Im not too sure about the 5 mph though. The only evidence that I have to go on is my boat compared to Judd Lasiters boat. Ive driven his and mine on the same day. His 08 FTD did 78 and my 08 Puma did 77. My 77 was with “one fish Gould” aboard and “one fish” is pretty good sized boy compared to Judd! Air temp was in the upper 80s -90 which were not good. There are way too many aspects to consider when comparing one against another. Different days, different lakes, different weight conditions, different weather, etc, etc. As long as your prop slip is in the range of 10% at close to max rpms, then thats about the best you can expect. Assuming that youre turning a 27 Trophy at 76 mph and 5900 rpms then your slip comes out to be 11.8% or so. Lets not forget that the max rpms with your 250 is 6000 and probably quits making most of its power at 5800 or so. Not the best and can be improved. Ways to improve slip…… Lighten the load, lighten the load up front (FTD v. Puma), lighten the boat (not practical, but maybe the case between FTD v. Puma), lower the engine without losing rpm, try another prop, or have your prop tuned. You want 80? Several things to do……….Reduce the prop slip, get a larger pitched prop, or throw a few more ponies on the back. With your prop you will have to get down to 8% slip and thats turning 6K rpms. An easier task may be one of the following scenarios. Add extra horsepower by waiting on Winter (less than 50 deg F w/ low humidity). The colder the air is, the better! That alone may give an extra 25 hp. Another way to gain speed is running with the wind at your back in a chop. This puts air under the hull and the driver can use less less trim and thus reduce slip. Find you a river with a good 20 mph wind at your back and let it eat during the winter and that could equal 5 mph. Better yet, find those same conditions going downstream! As you can see there are ways to get your boat to go faster. Some ways are legit. Others arent. When someone gives a top end speed all you have to do is the math. Ask for the rpms and prop pitch and you can figure if its possible or not! You already know the rpm range at which the engine quits making hp, the gear ratio is 1.75 on 99% of the Mercury outboards on standard bass boat setups, and a great slip % on any Bass Cat Boat would be 8% with 10% considered good. The difference between 8% and 10% is less than 2 mph. The difference between 8% and 12% is around 4 mph just to give you an idea.Last edited by PhilAddison on November 8th, 2007, 4:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

Thanks Phil, I was waiting to post until you did because I wanted to see what you would say I do agree that you could almost flip a coin between the 2. I love my 08 FTD and w/ Marc Schilling (schillster1) and me this past weekend it ran 79 w/ 1/2 tanks of fuel. The 27 Tempest was 1-2 mph slower when I ran it too. It is also not near as stable in waves. It still loads on the trailer better (Trophy is much improved from my 07 in this area though) and has a faster hole shot but it just depends on what you want from your setup. You also have to “drive” the Tempest a lot more at WOT than with the Trophy. Needless to say I put the Trophy back on (feel free to say you told me so Phil, I deserve that ). I do have a fair amount of tackle in this boat but it is all in the front rear most box, I just have a rainsuit in the front box. The boats ride is amazing and lift is incredible. Did I say I love this boat? It is AWESOME!!!! Judd Lasiter

Phil, Wow, great explanation. I have it about where its best. I can get 76 with the 27 T at about 5750 RPMs…at least on my last outing. I can probably get 77 now. By the way, if you have a Det hydraulic jack plate and measure the distance of “rise” on the plate, where are you on your rig? I went to the 27 after your recommendation and did lose a few RPMs, it is a little faster top end, and I maybe be crazy but mid-range is saving me a little gas…not as many rs. The boat rides and performs super. Fastest I have ever run my boat is running north on Pickwick with a good tail wind and current. GPS looks real good then. Very few of us run full out in most tournament situations anyway. At least on the TN river with all the traffic we dont. Im still passing most folks at 3/4 throttle. Thanks for taking the time to explain. Ive been setting up boats for a while but was seeing these incredible numbers from the FTD guys. Im loving my Puma and I do like the tank under the seat even if it does cost me a mph or two.

Phil, Great explanation, but you forgot one trick to get better numbers….LOOSE SOME BODY WEIGHT… I have some good numbers in the FTD because of that. I am only 5-7 and weight in at 170. I feel like a Bass Boat Jockey… I try to down size my tackle to what I think I will need. I have taken everything in the past and have never used half of it…ever. I never knew I had half the stuff I did till I cleaned it all out. Now I keep it organized in the garage so I can see what I have. Like Phil said “lighten the load up front” the more weight you have forward of the console the less MPH you will have.This is where the Puma has an advantage with the big behind the seat storage. Bottom line–Its fun to get some good numbers but what really matters is that you are Comfortable, Stable, and SAFE. It wont do you any good to drive 80mph to your first hole and never get there. Jamey

Maybe Basketman will want to slow me down and send me some pork..umm umm.. Jamey