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PhilAddison.
Want to be new to the Bass Cat Boat Line. Want to know if the 20 4″ Beam of the Bass Cat ( Cougar or Puma) will perform in big lake rough water like the 21 footers from RangerZ-520 or Skeeter21-I? How does the position of the gas tanks under the seats or in the rear effect the performance of the boat? Appecriate any info
I have a 08 Puma it is my first performance bass boat. I love the boat. If you want a great answer the winner of the Bass Eliete series on Lake Erie was in a cat. If you can catch a repeat of the casting the you can see it in action first hand. One fella on here asked BCB how they performed at that particular tournament on Erie and BCB answered, we had a rub rail come loose. Many will think it is a big deal. I that tournament there were other manufactures that had thier large motors comming of their boats in the same conditions. There is allot of experience on here, when you say rough water what do you expect? How big is your lake and how big of waves are you looking at?
In general the biggest waves have been at Lake Amistad or Sam Rayburn 4 to 5 footers. Anything bigger I need to get to the house. Thanx
Ive been running a Bass Cat Puma and Cougar FTD for the last 6 years on Rayburn and Toledo Bend. Ive seen my share of the big waves there. Saw them a little over a week ago and the Puma FTD performed perfectly.
What about the gas tank under the seats vs. the rear of the boat? How exactly are the gas tanks located on the Puma and the Cougar FTD and how does it effect lift of the respective boats? And the pros and cons of hydraulic jack plates on these boats?
my 18ft sabre handles big water confidently. search torture tested at the tennessee river i posted it about october 5th
On Amistad and lakes like Sam Rayburn either would be fine. The rear tanks are going to offer more buoyancy on the bow for running, though more buoyancy when fishing also. Some of the Elite staff prefers the Puma with the seat tanks as they fish abut flatter. Though the decks are different angles also. These have been adjusted for the weight distribution in their design. The performance on top goes slightly to the rear tank models with the variance being the distribution again. The hulls are full body and well distributed with more distance to fish from. Some competitive brands depend on offset to measure, and these are not really sometimes larger boats, though are perceived as such. Some competitive brands are accurate in their dimensions. Do consider the usable fishing space and layout. Plus the livewell dimensions are a major plus in a BCB. The Cougar FTD and Puma FTD models have very large livewells and other BCB wells are larger than competitive models as well. There are many factors from the trailers on to consider. All Bass Cat trailers have 15″ wheels and we really work hard to build a better product here also. Each brand has its bright spots, and some brands are more hype. Construction wise BCB models were the first all fiberglass hulls and remain the only ones. No composite transoms or laminated aluminum knee braces. Just a full one piece full width transom which is vacuum molded fiberglass in one piece all the way across the hull beam. Not just acenter transom or foam transom. Each stringer is individually molded for that hull and not cut to fit from a generic fits all mold. The stringers dont end sit putting point pressure vertically on a square cut edge inside the hull on those straight edges. They are molded with flats that contact the hull and more evenly disperse pressures. The decks and hulls on BCB models are glassed together one piece style construction and not floated from the hulls. The box petitions contact the hulls for strength and they are all fiberglass. They also have all fiberglass boxes and not poly rotation molded plastic boxes to split. We try to make BCB models to last for years and most of our owners keep them a number of years. BCB is also the only full bass boat company with a consistent heritage of 37 years with one ownership by one family.Last edited by Bass Cat Boats on November 26th, 2008, 4:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
I think the best advice I may provide to you is to ride and decide. I have driven the Bass Cat Puma and it is a great ride. It was fairly rough one of the days that I drove the Puma and it handled the white caps with aplomb. Mr. Pierce, Ivan, Phil, and the others will treat you as friends at all times. It simply is that Bass Cat is a great boat backed by a great company. Do your research, make sure that you test drive the top three or four boats in which you are interested, talk to those representing the boats in which you have interest, and work with a dealer that you get to know and trust. If you decide on a Bass Cat, you will have made a good decision. Corky
I posted in your other post before I saw this one…sorry. Judd Lasiter
tschooler I replied to your IM with some contact info. Look forward to the call.
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