Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › rough water
TxTradman.
Recently got caught in some big water during a tournement. Wanted to see how others deal with boat handling in big water (4-6ft waves). Speciality when you have them on your stern. Ended up spearing one wave. What is some suggestions on how to limit that when you have this specific condition (following seas). Zig Zag pattern or someother procedure. 2001 19ft Classic. tks BigAl
I would have to say the Bass Cat Pantera IV, its a 19 5″ boat with a 200hp motor, I have an 08 but do to me and my boat being in two seperate locations havent been able to ride it yet, but I hear the rough water ride is unbelievable.08 Bass Cat Pantera IV 08 Mercury 200HP OPTI 08 NISSAN TITAN CC 4×4 07 POLARIS OUTLAW 500
What size Champion were you in? Just curious. I love my Sabre, but no doubt it is not the model of choice for rough water.
The PIV handles the rough water at Lake of the Ozarks pretty well; rougher water than most lakes. It handles rough water better than a Pantera or Sabre. If you have the space, get one of the 204″ boats. By the way the Champ 198 works well also. Is this what you rode in? LOZman
I just came out of a 187DCX Champion due to garage size. I now have a 07 Sabre FTD. I would say the 18 Champion ride is a toss up between the two brands. Ive also owned a 181 Champion and gave demo rides int he 183. Keep in mind while your 18 Sabre takes 20 to store the 18 Champion takes 22 due to transom design. Champion rough water ride is TOUGH to beat, I never thought I find a boat that would keep up with one in the rough foot for foot!!! I cannot speak to the big Cats, never been in one in rough water. I have been in most every modern day Champion made in rough water including the beast 223. If you are going to make the switch strictly for ride, Id find a 203. If you are staying with Cat the P4 is designed to do what you are looking for. Which brands and sizes of boats have you owned in the past?
I have a Cougar FTD and I have been caught in some pretty big water on Kentucky Lake and Sturgeon Bay…handled it very well. One of the best rough water boats I have been in. Just my 2 cents!
Cougarftd wrote: I have a Cougar FTD and I have been caught in some pretty big water on Kentucky Lake and Sturgeon Bay…handled it very well. One of the best rough water boats I have been in. Just my 2 cents! Id have to agree with that. My Cougar is the best handling rough water boat Ive ever been in.
A P4 is the best riding 19 boat in the line up. Comparing apples to apples, Bass Cat boats are hard to beat in rough water ride and will blow away all competition in the dryness category!
Thanks everyone for the comments. I appreciate them. I was in a Champion 198. It sounds like a P4 is the boat. Thanks again, Jeff
Hi Jeff, This early summer I sold a Pantera 4 with a 200 Opti, Kevin came out of a 1995 Pantera 2, he would never even test drive another brand, and you know how that is….Everyone is right about the Champs ride,but WET>>>> I can have you talk directly to Kevin Johnson anytime, he does not work for a marina, he is not pro staff, he is just a enthusiastic Bass Cat owner….When it came in, and you cant miss his p4,its Purple cap,sivler hull,silver cap insert,purple hull insert,charcoal pins,charcoal consoles,black bottom, I dont like purple but its amazing….anyways, I had our 08 Cougar FTD right next to the P4, the P4 is positively the largest fishing platform in the 19foot category, its HUGE….the ride is like a Ranger or Champ,not as aggressive as say a Pantera Classic or p2,it still runs 70-72mph, believe it or not, Rick and Ivan at Bass Cat actually prefer the Evinrude 200HO Etec on that hull, Rick says it is the meshing of the Bullet lower unit, TORQUE of the etec, and the hull design, that is the hottest motor for that hull, and that comes from MERC guys…..anyways, the ride,fishing platform,hole shot, and just the killer look of the boat and hull is 2nd to none, but you also can buy a Cougar Advantage Elite for the same money,last year the Cougar was actually cheaper, though this year with the locks,new hull and more equipment changes the price jumped a hair, but where else can you buy a FULLY loaded 20 footer with a 225 for only $40,000, now shipping etc may bring it up a hair, but its the most boat for the money in the whole bass boat industry…and if you put the 250 HO on it or 250 Pro xs its gonna be a 80-83mph boat, depending on load,Pucker factor, and you…..but all day long at 78mph with a 225 HO or 225 Pro xs………I have a customer with a 08 Puma with a 225ho and he has sent me his GPS reading and that thing FLYs, a couple MPH slower than the 250s, but where talking 25hp difference, 225ho=248hp at prop+280ft lbs of torque, 250 HO=274 at prop+300 ft lbs of torque, Mercs have been a little more sporadic in #s, anywhere from,225pro xs,240hp-250hp,245 ft lbs of torque, 250 pro xs,260-270hp, 269 ft lbs of torque, ALL NUMBERS POSTED THERE CAME DIRECTLY FROM MERCURY AND BRP, but I would recommend a Cougar Advantge with a 250 HO or 250 HPDI 2,or 250 PRO XS, if speed is not a factor put one of the manufacturers 225s on them and let her fly…….I prefer and my customers prefer the ETECs, especially with the revisions,new lower unit,and TORQUE, if you like Yammie or Merc get what you want, and think long and hard on size of motor,bigger will help resale value etc….and please for gods sake think about your color combos, some of these I wonder whos been drinking what? for the record, Pewter,yellow and red does not go good together……..If you would like to talk to some very good and fair guys that will tell you both the positives and negatives give me a shout day or night, CELL-920-295-2069 MARKS QUALITY MARINE-920-787-5873 tuesday-saturday 9am-5pm, [url=mailto:email-worner_brannon@yahoo.com]email-worner_brannon@yahoo.com[/url] GOOD LUCK BUDDY AND IF YOUR SERIOUS I CAN SELL YOUR SABRE WITH NOT 1 PENNY GOING TO ME, I HAVE A GUY READY TO BUY A SLIGHTLY USED 1……BRANNONYour Signature …
These things I know: Seat time will cure all as far as this goes. There is a right speed for every wave. You see guys going too fast and they are the ones wet and/or broke when you get back. They get back before you but at what price? Too slow can get you also. Nothing worse than drifting into a big one. Cool looking for a second or two but it usually breaks stuff and even in August, it is miserable being soaking wet. This is where guys sink boats. Stick one, boat wont get on plane due to the weight, another big one kills the outboard. Dead meat. If you havent speared a wave then you have been lucky or smart enough to stay home when it blows. If you fish tournaments and invest time and money, you will get caught in some bad stuff. Following seas are the worst. If they are bad enough, make it so they arent following. Run the troughs and quarter them so it is like riding up and down a hill but not at a 90 degree angle to them. Zigzag your way from point A to B. It doesnt end up taking any more time overall by doing this and not having to stop to let bilge pumps empty a whole 6 footer out of the boat. Running straight with following waves of the size you are talking is just waiting for stuffage.Bill Spence St. Albans, VT [url=mailto:billspence@yahoo.com]billspence@yahoo.com[/url] http://www.twinstatebassin.com Bass Cat Boats http://www.basscat.com Vexilar Marine Electronics http://www.vexilar.com
Following seas I cut my teeth on Santee Cooper with a 17 boat. I learned what most call the “zig zag” method, as mentioned above there is NO way to teach this over the net. Heck everytime I really need it these days its a learning experience. Years ago a severe thunderstorm warning all day would not have kept me home, knowing I have a 18 boat it kept me off KY Lake today. I normally order my boats with two 1000GPH bilge pumps, you cannot pump water fast enough but once again as mentioned above you only have short stints in the through or surfing the face to get any water you have in the boat pumped out. Lastly, if you are going to learn and use this method you MUST have your boat set up to handle sharp turns, this may cost you a MPH on top end. If your prop blows out due to high JP settings as you go to Zig and you end up totally sitting back down. I call those “Maloox Moments” SEAT TIME
Our suggestion is stay on the throttle constantly. Dont get to going too fast, as you can not react to the jumper. And seat time is a start. This is the first key, throttle control. You must not over speed when things seem to smooth out some, and we all do, because one will jump up on you and you will be too fast to slow down. Which results in either tipping a wave, you hope, or totally spearing one. The second key is using your trim angles constantly to control bow rise. This changes in all wave conditions. The third key is to watch way ahead, and stay aware three waves in front of you so you are able to react to their height, trough and width. This really helps to get through them without spearing one. The fourth key is the maneuvering through them, and cutting angles as you work your way through large waves. Dont let a boat passing you intimidate you. There are no races in large water, just safety and get all home without beating your rider, yourself or your equipment up. Take your time and plot the course necessary to work your way through each set of waves, and they tend to come in threes. If you take your eyes off the water for a period, or just quit paying attention, it will happen. If you stay slow, take your time, and watch your path you should not spear one in your rig. It may take a while to get home, though you will be home safe and as dry as possible. You cant keep those thrown out the side from blowing back on you, so dryness is not always able to be achieved no matter how big your rig. Hope this helps! BCB
Some of the best advice Ive ever read!!!
I fished a Tourney on Amistad this past week. We arrived Saturday to 30 mph winds and 3 ft waves. My partner had a Basscat Puma which handled like a dream. I could tell he had plenty of practice in these situations. Monday was even worse and once again the boat handled these 2-3 footers with ease. I own a smaller Basscat Caracal and hadnt driven much in these type of waves but he offered both days to let me drive back to the dock.Needless to say at first i was so excited yet once in the middle of it all i was intimidated a little. BUT with this Basscat, it sure made it easy. he talked me thru the entire process of driving in rough water which made it easier. Im sure he was a nervous wreck since he wasnt driving but the BASSCAT ruled the waves with ease. We barely even got wet at all. I rode in a Skeeter Tuesday and was totally soaked.Some of it was the driver, some of it was the boat. I sure wanted back in the Basscat ill tell ya. Ill post a few pics PS NOTICE THE DRY DECK EVEN Last edited by TxTradman on March 31st, 2009, 2:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
© 2026 Bass Cat Boats
