Annual State of Bass Cat and Yar-Craft Boats – July 4, 20

2017 Annual State of Bass Cat & Yar-Craft The 2017 model year is about to close and its been a whirlwind season. Bass Cat sales were up thankfully and we grew to sales numbers we had almost a decade ago. It was a great year in growth though a frustrating year for all associated towards meeting demand. The last quarter the BCB brand had grown to 17.8% in annual registrations, for the last 12 months. Quest got a major upgrade in January as we moved to a maximum $5,000 incentive for a win in sanctioned events on new boats. Then we added the $500 maximum for the highest finishing Bass Cat in the Top 20, should a BCB owner not win. Then there are hundreds of jackpot fruit jar events we sanction also. You can even sanction any event you want, and with others you can sanction most everything anyone could compete in. While we are on Quest, Michael Murphy recently scored big as he won a BFL with more than 125 boats. His BFL winnings were $4,610 and his Quest winnings were $5,000, for having his apparel in order on stage. Add Steve Kennedy to that and his win on Dardanelle, Quest had a great reward year for Bass Cat anglers. You can see those images on our new BassCat.com site under the tab for this. http://www.basscat.com/info/literature/quest-winners/Be sure you read the rules for Quest and get signed up! In 2017 we continued to see strong sales as June closed. Lead times stretched out and the marine industry was ticking hard for our vendors. This kept the ability squelched some as backorders on vendor items were behind more than normal. Items like engines, propellers, dash assemblies, trolling motors and many more were hard to come by at times. For Yar-Craft we spent 2017 positioning it to grow more in 2018 and the brand was definitely shorted by late order take up. We simply got off to a late start in 2017 and orders were slow to hit our files. This shuffled production backwards early in 17. Those numbers were simply lost and never recovered. When the orders came together we could not meet demand on either brand, thus we fell behind. Then, Yar-Craft also suffered vendor issues from Verado engines, propellers, windscreens, foam decking, and other items. After announcing model plans in July things got rolling as inventory grew fast. That apparently worked out well as dealers had a solid sales season. Fuel is cooperating as is interest, and credit levels are within range for financing. Of course many are in good position to simply pay the balance. Right now the inventory in the field is around 17% of sales. A really solid position with limited non currents closing out the model year. We started off growing the Elite and FLW staff with some solid team members added on the professional ranks. We continued our support of the MLF Cup and Select events. And overall our season was solid with several in the FLW Cup and more shooting at the Bassmaster Classic. Speaking of the Bassmaster Classic we had a great event in Houston, to release the Lynx and final Pantera Classic designs. We had a huge presence at both the Expo Center and “The Bass Cat Experience” on Lake Conroe. From the Jaguar and 350 Vrod to the 250 Honda and Puma FTD, on the water demonstrations, at Wolfies, kept us rolling those 3 days. Our volume was larger than other demos and we wanted to make this a marquis showing. We know several wanted to see the Lynx on the water, though we did our best to just get it in the show. We are glad we accomplished all of that. As for the Lynx, it will be in final format for 2018 and we will present that at “Excellence In Action 2018” on DeGray, July 23rd. Public showing will be July 25th on DeGray from 10:00 AM through 3:00 PM. Everything from the Lynx and 400R Carbon, to the Lynx and Sabre FTD will be on display. The Lynx is one everyone wants to know about and this one we are seeing 70 plus out of with maximums into 75 plus depending on loads. Changes are fuel capacity, rod box lids reversed as originally intended and they have completed integration of Flambeau/Plano boxes in some new storage areas for another first. There are several new tweaks for 2018 and we have anew items to add to where we were. Yar-Craft will see new dashes on the 209 TFX and 219 TFX models. Adding onto the new hulls they received in 2017. This followed the redesigned 2095 BTX in 2016 and we hope to continue and improve the line into 2018. The Premium line will get two (2) new front Captains pedestal chairs on the windshield models. Yar-Craft has a lot of potential up north and we have to support that brand from Quest up through new product tweaks. The Bass Cat owners events and Regionals to qualify for the NTC in Mountain Home are underway with two teams now qualified. Then this fall we qualify one of twelve (12) for the Lake Picachos, Mexico adventure. California is next and soon we will have a field. The Owners Invitational on Lake Guntersville was a success and the area stepped up great for our owners. The Marshall County Convention and Tourism Bureau was extremely accommodating and we hope to revisit there in the future. Everyone had a great time and Alabama got to see what its all about. Enthusiasm to return sometime was very positive.Our dealerships have grown at a pace stronger than our sales and we are making moves to support the new dealers. Plans are in place to increase capacity and those are ongoing as construction plans are underway. Everything from increasing material storage, reorganizing production flow, to shifting everything around to accommodate smoother and cleaner operations. A considerable amount will be invested soon to meet the growing needs a growing sales staff is bringing. We engaged the west coast more than we ever have since we sponsored Anglers Choice, with Dave Davis joining us out there and he is having an excellent level of success. Dave has Arizona and California Bass Cat owners replacing their aging models and apparently the west is finally rebuilding good in the post recession era. Add the new VP of Sales and Marketing, Dallas Hodges and we are building a formidable staff. We have other needs we are seeking to fill and within months we will have the main frame in place for the next steps. The of course Ed, Charlie, Ivan, Jason, Michael and Paul are all well entrenched in growing those markets they support.From here we go to product and no doubt as always there will be something new in the hopper. The R&D staff will soon close on the Lynx and we move to the next projects for both Yar-Craft and Bass Cat. There is a healthy plan on new product stretching out into 2023. It includes redesigns, new models and new added features for options. As always the Lynx and Pantera Classic will bring a new generation behind them to bass, and the 2095 BTX will see more join it in walleye boats. We cant improve in some areas as the raw materials are literally the best we can buy in most areas. USA steel, Marine Town SS latches, stainless dual spring draw latch, Owens Corning glass, AME-6001 resins, Syntec Vinyl and 24 oz. Syntec carpeting. The list of things we do for you no one else does is a long list of things competitors have no cost in. Then some they simply have less costs in, though few items actually cost more in a production bass boat. You simply can not buy a better built bass boat or one with better products in it. We make our mistakes, though we do a lot of things right too. Add to that our legendary customer service and the customer will never have to wonder our stance on his care. Just over two (2) years ago a big question came up on how things would look for Bass Cat (1971) and Yar-Craft (1969) now that they were no longer just family owned. It was internet chatter on the forums. By now that answer is in practice as I still remain as President of Bass Cat and Yar-Craft. While we have our corporate moments, we also run this production facility as we did before our transition. All with the Correct Craft staff supporting our brand to grow. Not once in those two years plus have we been asked to reduce quality on any raw material or component. They want to offer what we do, the best in customer service and quality as do we. Falling short will happen, though its how you step up that matters. We continue to step up tall and long with customer service. For now weve rambled enough. Weve touched the high points and left lots on the table for discussions. If anyone has more questions we will do our best to answer them.We hope everyone here has a happy and safe Fourth of July. Its our Independence Day 2017, Lets all get on the water and celebrate! God bless the USA and thank you all for a great season! RickLast edited by Bass Cat Boats on July 6th, 2017, 8:14 pm, edited 6 times in total.