Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › The ultimate newbie questions!! *Sorry*
Jon83.
I purchased my first Bass Boat last summer and its been an amazing boat so far!! Im a boat newbie in general and I guess im really not a “manual” type of person.. Here are my concerns/questions: – Sometimes when I try to launch the boat on plane it feels like the prop spins free. If I dont “floor” it, it will usually get on plane fine. Im just a little nervous that maybe it could be something wrong with my gears. I have a 4 blade 26″ prop. – If I trim too high it starts beeping (this only happens when I trim it a bit higher then usual when I know its shallow and I want to make sure im not going to hit anything. – When my trailer is empty and im backing up at the launch it starts making a weird clunking noise. – When im hauling the boat and its a bumpy road it makes a lot of noise… I know my bearings are fine ( I check em all the time and they were replaced recently). – When I brake I feel like there is a “slack”… It feels like the ball has a 1″-2” loose and when I brake it makes a weird noise.. Same thing when I leave from a stop sign or a light. Nothing major but I just want to make sure I dont lose the boat!!! Thanks!! Here are my dad and I in the BassCat at a recent tournament: Last edited by Jon83 on June 29th, 2009, 3:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
– Try lowering your jackplate 1/4- 1/2 inch and give it a try, also you did not state if you had PVS vent plugs in your prop, this might be your issue also, make sure you motor is trimmed all the way down when taking off, as the bow begins to break over ease off the gas a bit and begin triming her up -You are getting into the rev limiter (or overspeed), lowering the plate should help this. Most BCB do not like to run at full trim, trim all the way up then bump it down once or twice -I assume it is a tandem axle trailer? If so they All make those kinda of noises when turning, The newer models do not as the changed the suspension on them. – Same as above, remember the trailer does not have shocks only springs and it is going to make some noise when traveling over bumpy roads. -You may ned to bleed the brakes and add fliud to the resevoir on the tounge for the surge brakes, or it could be time to replace it. All sounds pretty normal to me, you will need to experimentwith the jackplate
Great pic man. Tell your dad to button the seat next time before you take off! Give us some speeds as well. Itll help. Be sure and tell us the load on the boat with the speeds and the temps outside when you did it. Looks like a newer 200 opti on a pII? BTW the rooster tail looks nice but its a tad high if thats a mid run pic. Try to get it at cowling height or lower at full speed. Ill also add to Jslaw as I have learned the trailer actuator thing- First of all most all of them have some “play” in the trailer brakes. It should be anything more than a slight soft bump when taking off and little or none when braking. First thing Id do with the give in the trailer nose(acutator) when stopping/starting is to pop the cap on the trailer tongue and see how the fluid looks- if too low then I believe you need to add some DOT3 fluid. Dont get that on anything! If the fluid is fine then Id disconnect the trailer from the truck and see if you can push the sliding part of the trailer in. If you can press the actuator in by hand then you likely have air. If you cannot push the actuator in then the shock in the actuator may be bad. Usually though if it has slop in the actuator going both directions(stop and start) its usually air in the lines. If you have air in the lines theres a way to bleed it on your own but my advice to you is to just take it to a dealer and they can easily bleed them and refill them. No big. Not expensive.Last edited by clownshoes on June 29th, 2009, 4:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.C.O.D. Jr. III
Check the brake coupler and fluids, and it does sound like either the equalizers or the brake coupler that is making noise. The propeller should break loose for a second or so when you floor the throttle for hole shot. Just let it pull through that range and dont back off. BCB
I have a 1990 basscat pantera 2 and my trailer makes noise too. It also has a jerky hitch to it, but that is because I need to replace my brake solenoid and rebuild them so that the solenoid will help stop trailer. I hope this helps.
1990 models do not have a solenoid, as they are drum brake trailers and only disc have solenoids. BCB
JSLAW wrote: – Try lowering your jackplate 1/4- 1/2 inch and give it a try, also you did not state if you had PVS vent plugs in your prop, this might be your issue also, make sure you motor is trimmed all the way down when taking off, as the bow begins to break over ease off the gas a bit and begin triming her up -You are getting into the rev limiter (or overspeed), lowering the plate should help this. Most BCB do not like to run at full trim, trim all the way up then bump it down once or twice -I assume it is a tandem axle trailer? If so they All make those kinda of noises when turning, The newer models do not as the changed the suspension on them. – Same as above, remember the trailer does not have shocks only springs and it is going to make some noise when traveling over bumpy roads. -You may ned to bleed the brakes and add fliud to the resevoir on the tounge for the surge brakes, or it could be time to replace it. All sounds pretty normal to me, you will need to experimentwith the jackplate I dont have a manual jackplate so I will check the other things first. I just checked and its Merc Trophy Plus, 4 blades, 26″. It has 2 PVS vent plugs and 2 out of 4 the are off (opposite sides). My motor is always trimmed all the way down when im taking off and I usually dont have a problem. Just a few times where it seems to spin free or something.. RPM goes up but I get no grip. The only way to go around this is to take off slowly but it takes a lot longer to get on plane. I just checked again and I see weeds stuck in the prop from yesterdays trip. Ill remove them and see if that was it.. Im sure its different with everybody but with the digi dash I stop triming it up when I get to 2 bars. When I know its shallow and im on plane I will trim it up to 3 bars and thats when its starts heating up I think. Maybe its not taking the water properly when trimmed to high? I will change the water pump soon so well see if that was the problem. Yes it is a tandem axle trailer. I thought it was normal but I was wondering if there were a few things I could grease to help with the noise. I have a loud squeek everytime I go and I stop. No biggie though! The new noise when I back up sounds more like a problem though.. Its a loud intermitting clacking every 2 feet when I back up. It kind of goes away if I brake and back up again. Thanks a lot for the tips!
ward wrote: Great pic man. Tell your dad to button the seat next time before you take off! Give us some speeds as well. Itll help. Be sure and tell us the load on the boat with the speeds and the temps outside when you did it. Looks like a newer 200 opti on a pII? BTW the rooster tail looks nice but its a tad high if thats a mid run pic. Try to get it at cowling height or lower at full speed. Ill also add to Jslaw as I have learned the trailer actuator thing- First of all most all of them have some “play” in the trailer brakes. It should be anything more than a slight soft bump when taking off and little or none when braking. First thing Id do with the give in the trailer nose(acutator) when stopping/starting is to pop the cap on the trailer tongue and see how the fluid looks- if too low then I believe you need to add some DOT3 fluid. Dont get that on anything! If the fluid is fine then Id disconnect the trailer from the truck and see if you can push the sliding part of the trailer in. If you can press the actuator in by hand then you likely have air. If you cannot push the actuator in then the shock in the actuator may be bad. Usually though if it has slop in the actuator going both directions(stop and start) its usually air in the lines. If you have air in the lines theres a way to bleed it on your own but my advice to you is to just take it to a dealer and they can easily bleed them and refill them. No big. Not expensive. Hey Ward, The seat was button up but it had just been wd40ed and it was spinning like crazy. I was holding it but my dad dedided to take over as I was driving with only one hand. Im not sure which speeds you are asking about? Depending on the load I usually cruise at 60-65mph. With full fishing gear and my girlfriend I often hit 68-69mph with half of gas. The motor is a 1999 200 Merc EFI with a new powerhead. About the rooster tail… 98% of the time its way down.. Only when Im afraid ill hit something I jack it up a little. I just checked and I have a grey cap for the oil.. It says hand tighten on/off with an arrow… I tried to open it but im assuming it takes a screwdriver to pop it open? I dont want to force it open so ill wait for your answer… I also wanted to know about the Towing Position/backing up position switch no the trailer.. Mine has always been on towing but when should I use this? I will try to find a trailer place for a general checkup. Thanks for all the tips!
another possibility with backing up could be loose calipers on your brakes. The RPM at holeshot does sound like weeds …just put in reverse..rev a little and that should clear the weeds. Bob
Thanks! I will check the brake fluid but whats the brake coupler? When the propeller breaks loose it doesnt catch after unless I ease on the pedal… Like I said, I had weeds in the prop. I will remove them and check if it does it again.
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