my first trip in my 08 puma likes/dislikes

First off congrats on the new ride!! As for the water in the compartments, first make sure the latches are secure and it takes a little bit of downward pressure on the lids to lock the latch. Next as other have mentioned on here before is to take brown paper bags and place them in the compartment and pur a LARGE quantity of water over the hatch, then open and see where it is wet. The other place that I just recently found on My P4 was my starboard rod locker was doing the same and filling up with water when trailoring in a heavy rain. There are two bolts that hold down you rod lockers actuator arm bracket one of the two bolts was loose and allowed for a steady stream of water to come directly into the rod locker, it would only happen while towing in rain, I assume due to the vibration, because it would not leak while out fishing in heavy rain, only when trailoring. Even if they appear to be tight I would take them out and silicone them back in as they seem to elongate the hole from being opened and closed over a period of time. I would be willing to bet it is either those bolts or the latch itself. As for the trailer, BCB makes a step that bolts to your trailer, can even add a stripper pole…oops I mean a grab pole to help in in out and for hooking u the bow eye.

It leaked because you have not changed your name yet!!!

I had the problem with my 07 Puma. One of the rear compartments would accumulate water when it rained. It turned out to be because the drain fitting in the lip of the compartment wasnt completely sealed and allowed water to run under it into the compartment. A little silicone sealant took care of that and no problems since. C.

Your name change is a creation of a new login on your Yuku personal profile page. Then you can opt to login with the new name and same password. Now for the “Dislikes”! Water in the boxes is a never ending boat issue, as we all know. Your boxes are not drained, nor do we, which means we hold water in those boxes as they are sealed. The lower is sealed and glassed as a one piece unit, which means water must com in the top. The most common is through the lock assembly, and they can leak profusely if the seal is not in place over the lock area. JLaw has mentioned the washers that can loosen in time, and the bolts that hold the actuators, which can leak. Make sure your trim is all in place, and your boxes are latched. Keep your bilge dry also. If the bilge collects water, it can run forwards and will splash around the nose to one side or both sides. The ends are open to the nose, and the center drain almost gushes forwards through the Vee channel we use for wiring access and as a drain for the recess foot pedal. When that water comes forwards as you stop it tends to splash around and get in the box. Thus you need to remove the drain plug in travel conditions. If the center boxes ever get wet, they are totally sealed at the bottom and that water must be coming from the top. No doubt we like the grab post and step, and we understnad the step you are missing is one on the front bow. We never preferred those mentioned because they get slick, and we do use the small sand paper steps on some models to ease this. Part of this is we use the whole bow area for fishing, which leaves little other front bow room in the nose. You are right in the nose, which we will hit again. We saw your post on the grab post, which is a good idea, and you will really like. The stepping on the trim buttons you will not notice in a brief few trips as you will second nature learn to not hit them. That one is more of a natural progression to learning your rig. They are located where they are easy to get to for access. When you want to use them you are bound in a creek and trying to make that last cast to that one log or stump usually. That area needs your focus for your flip or spinner bait casat, and not trying to find those buttons to trim your engine up. There is always method to our mad(e)ness, yes we made it that way for a reason. The first time you need those buttons in a situation for access we just mentioned, it will all make sense. As for “Those latches suck”. Well, while we dont totally agree, we do and have known there were better ones. You have mentioned the post regarding those and why we could not justify the cost of the better latches earlier. So this one you know. We would have gone ot the more expensive latches years ago, though we could not be the only one with so much more in latches. We spent plenty of time and money trying to develop one, as you know, which would work the same with less cost. Though this was and is the fastest option on the Southco Latches. Some of this we bring on ourselves as we latch the boxes tight to compress the trim seal on the box lips, trying to better seal the boxes. Which means you must press down on the boxes to gain more freeness and easier latch operation. This also puts pressure on the latch cam arm, and can keep the T handle seal from engaging. So check this. We know Perko latches are not Southco, never have been, and again they are not nearly as expensive. Though we do not like the Plastic latches of other brands uses, those plastic cam arms are absolutely sub standard . Nor do we like the built in latchesof another brand which we designed by their deck and lid manufacturer. One slamming or dropping of a lid, and they bend the U lip that allows them to patch. Thus they latch no more. And of course the Bar Latch system of another brand was a valiant attempt to improve the systems on marine, though it was plagued with problems. So we at the time preferred Perko latches for reasons of Price, Quality and Feasibility. We just could not justify that major percentage of raw material costs verses the competition at the time. Boats are already enough money without having to charge even more for them. Though we now have accepted that to have a boat worth the $50k they are now costing, that the equipment must match that. So you have Southco latches on the newer models. Which was a major part of the price increase in 2009. And all of this has again been discussed briefly again, for those who were not aware. We are glad you like the colors and that you are out enjoying your new rig! We hope it serves you for many years to come. We hope it outlast your use of it and that you get to enjoy every minute in it. No for that secret handshake, tell your buddy no handshake necessary. We all just try to get together and have some fun! Now you folks all get tot he water and catchem while that early spring bite is on! Most areas are having some really great catches and things have come into full gear for most. Here the crappie are biting, the bass are on and the stripers are just starting. The creek smallmouth are not quite ready yet, though they will be soon. Things are really shaping up for a year of fishing like many of us have not seen since the 80s. As for those Trout guys on the White, Norfork and Red rivers, shucks theyve had an amazing year already with all the high water. They have caught them like no tomorrow! And now the wade anglers are able to enjoy the new river bottom that the spring floods caused. Those little whimpy buggy whips with floaty lines are coming out in force. You know the ones with those nitty fly, smokie streamer fancy named baits. Now go Fishing! BCBLast edited by Bass Cat Boats on March 28th, 2009, 7:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.