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MeanV2.
I wanna be really clear if someone is looking at a Bass Cat boat dont judge the workmanship or quality of this company from a horror story like this…. Theyre a great boat and in no way shape or form do I blame the manufacturer. This boat was neglected, extremely neglected by previous owners. I will not hesitate to buy another Cat in the future when I can afford it. As Bass Cat said to me in my first post regarding my Eyra I have quite the albatross. What I once thought was a jack plate and prop problem turned into a blown powerhead turned to what I thought was a prop jack plate height problem turned I dont know what? I replaced the mariner magnum 150 with a freshly rebuilt Merc xri 175hp and a new Detwiller manual JP. The XRI is turning 164hp at the prop is the dyno reading I lowered my JP all the way down borrowed my friends Tempest plus prop which is what Bass Cat recommended and actually they recommended a 24 but I figured a 23 would certailnly get it on plane. I started with the JP all the way down and worked my way up half an inch at a time same results boat wont get on plane just pushes water, I raised the JP all the way to the point of the prop blowing out. It just wont get itself on plane, wont go over 3000 rpms just pushes water. Called a friend whos in my fishing club and he came out to take a look at it. pulled the front floor drain cover and the gutter that runs front to back was dry, put my ear down in it and he pushed the boat side to side and it sounded like a 5 gallon bucket full of water with a lid on it and a little gurgling sound as well…. He said thats really bad not a good sign at all shes waterlogged bad…. So with my initial purchase price of $6000 plus $3300 for the XRI, $500 for the Detwiller another $450 for all new wheel bearings on the tandom trailer plus another $600 for engine swap, dyno Im in this boat beyond the point of return like way beyond it and I still have the same problem, I bought one hell of a lemon. Obviously thats the risk you take when buying a 20 yr old boat and Im not blaming anyone but myself here. BassCats are awesome boats I am just the sucker who bought one that should be in the scrap yard. Obviously the boat had a rough life and wasnt taken care of I will never know what kind of neglect this boat was put through but I certainly know it was neglected. So at this point Im trying to figure out what options I have left? Do I put a smaller pitch prop on it like a 19 or 21 just something that will get my titanic out of the water and then just keep my eye on the tac and make sure I dont overrev the engine? Do I try and figure out some sort of vacuum system that I can draw the water out? From what I have read online it is really hard to do and can be very costly and might not even work…. Even if it did work how did the water get in the sealed area in the first place? Honestly Im sick to my stomach about this and am feeling defeated by my own stupidity and ignorance. Im planning on getting it weighed next week at the local farm coop to determine just how much extra weight it has in it. My question for BassCat, what is the weight of my rig or what should it be boat, trailer, engine and tandom axle trailer? Dont know for sure what Im gonna do I wish more then anything I could go back and kick myself and say hey stupid if a boat doesnt get on plane right away you have a problem I should have walked but its now my big ugly $12000 problem. Trust me it is humbling just writing this post…. Last edited by 94eyracat on October 24th, 2014, 9:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
First thing check the seal around your plug retainer. They have been known to lose the sealant around them and allowed water intrusion. I would take the drain plug retainer out and see if water will release from the stringer section. You will probably have to jack the front of the boat up higher than the back of the boat and let gravity do its thing.BrianBrianHAWG Hunter2013 BassCat Eyra2013 Mercury 250 Pro XS Gen2 L/U
So removing the retainer will allow access to the sealed stringers?
Another question, from what I have read the water if it has saturated the flotation foam in the hull wont drain out? Not sure of what foam BC used in my boat if it does get exposed to water does it soak it up or will it eventually dry out? Can I cut into the stringer fiberglass and look and see or is that a bad idea? Will it compromise the strength of the stringers?Hoping BC chimes in here and can give me a close estimate of what the boat engine tandem trailer weighed when it rolled out of the plant. I am down right terrified to pull it onto a scale in fear of actually knowing how much water it has retained but I do know its enough to lug the boat down so much it wont plane out.
any soft spots in the floor , if not need to look at the bottom for a crack . had an 84 pantera that cracked on the edge of a stringer. found it when i let the trailer jack all the way down. you can put a hyd jack on the back corners of the boat so you can inspect the edges where the bunks are. if the stringers are dry , repair crack , foam boxes are sealed.
If you have not read this string if posts yet, you should. http://basscatowners.yuku.com/topic/971 … -Good-Post
There is a plethora of information covered in the 15 years of this owners board. A search in the top right corner (log in) will find more on your topics often. This one has not been greatly covered however, still the information exists. Ater a decade of posting previous covered topic links, we find ourselves today just reposting the same information over and over again.
BCB what was the weight of the boat engine trailer? Im going on Monday to weigh the boat and trailer
Doing a search when logged in… not a lot of info, cover it with a huge sealed plastic bag and get a commercial vacuum pump might draw out 200lbs of water. Im pretty certain I have more than a couple hundred pounds of water, I say that because with 5 gallons of fuel in one tank and NO tackle in the boat it wouldnt get on plane with just me in the boat…. Like I said thats with a 23 tempest plus prop sits at around 2900 rpms and just pushes water like a barge. The floor drain between the seats is soft and rotted, honestly at this point I dont have the money to spend on this project nor do I have a place to wrap the boat and try and suck the water out, Im going to find a high five prop thinking maybe a 21 pitch and just run it I dont think I have any other options I can afford or do. I wont sell the boat as Im a guy who realizes how terrible of a feeling it is to be had by some ass hat that unloads his trash on a sucker yes Im the sucker Im really beating myself up over this one… Im honestly considering selling all my gear parting out the boat and just quit fishing Im not wealthy enough for this damn sport.
94eyracat wrote:Doing a search when logged in… not a lot of info, cover it with a huge sealed plastic bag and get a commercial vacuum pump might draw out 200lbs of water. Im pretty certain I have more than a couple hundred pounds of water, I say that because with 5 gallons of fuel in one tank and NO tackle in the boat it wouldnt get on plane with just me in the boat…. Like I said thats with a 23 tempest plus prop sits at around 2900 rpms and just pushes water like a barge.The floor drain between the seats is soft and rotted, honestly at this point I dont have the money to spend on this project nor do I have a place to wrap the boat and try and suck the water out, Im going to find a high five prop thinking maybe a 21 pitch and just run it I dont think I have any other options I can afford or do. I wont sell the boat as Im a guy who realizes how terrible of a feeling it is to be had by some ass hat that unloads his trash on a sucker yes Im the sucker Im really beating myself up over this one… Im honestly considering selling all my gear parting out the boat and just quit fishing Im not wealthy enough for this damn sport.I feel your Pain Man!! There is nothing worse than a thief! Yes!! A Thief! Which is exactly what some Arse Wipe is that would have sold you a boat like that! Dan
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