2012 meeting behind us and it was Great!

The Excellence In Action 2012 meeting is over and we now can get back to routine.The meeting was absolutely phenomenal! We had a good business meeting. We let the dealers know our thoughts on where our company and the industry was heading. We are positioning our company to move forward and after the meeting, dealer comments, product comments and the tone in general, it seems we are on track to go forwards strong! There were no unexpected glitches and we never really ran into any factors beyond our expectations. The product was spot on what we presented and the dealers expected. Sure we have a couple of tweaks to do, though we know the tweaks and where we needed to head before meeting. Now that the meeting is done and the dealers return home this morning I have a few comments.I can honestly say this! If money and rules were no object to me as a casual fisherman. And I wanted the best riding, most comfortable, most impressive bass boat there was. There is no doubt you should put the Jaguar in the garage with the 350 CSi Verado. That is absolutely the finest bass boat combination I have ever had a seat in. There is not anything that is within the range of offering what this rig does with that combination. It is simply AWESOME! There is nothing out there that compares to this set up. There is nothing that has ever been close to being the ultimate bass fishing ride! Yes its very expensive for a bass boat, though so is a Mercedes. The Margay with a 150 is a really good rig, though it offers something different and more affordable than the Sabre FTD and Sabre. Then we have the range from a 75 up and that is nifty to run with a 1400 (these rigs) pound boat at 32-35 MPH with a 75 HP engine. With a 150 Pro XS the boat probably could have been set up to touch 70 MPH, though we never went there. It did run right on 69+, that was before we lowered the engine to run with a load. The Cougar FTD was accepted every bit as well as we had hoped for. It has a few neat tweaks like the SS cup holders, pliers holder, larger mats for foot rests, the Eyra telescoping ladder and other things along with the graphics. People just liked the updates it received and we think it will be more of a player. The rigs we had there ran from right at 80 max to 82 with the 250 engines. They really were set up mid level on conservative and we just let em fly some. The Cougar Adv. Elite at the meeting had the stock cased 225 Pro XS on it and that engine ran very well. The rid went into the 75 range with one person, though itr really did not change other than the console. This one has lighted rails, though stainless was not done yet and we just put lighted rails on it for meeting as time was pressing. It will be a 70+ rig and comes with 36 gallons of fuel in one 26 and one 10 gallon kicker. You can up grade if you prefer. The dash will hold the HDS 8 and 998 series. On the Puma FTD the crew wanted to have mutiny if we went there on design. That rig is not touched in 2012, it is not in plans to touch. Other than the new Premium option of a dash with an HDS 10 in dash and better accommodating the 1197 Humminbird units, it remains as it was. A Pantera IV model is now an Advantage model in 2012 and we really tried to put this rig into pricing where it can shine. The model has almost a cult following, though sales were less than we have hoped for the last few years. It must perform better to receive a facelift or update. If you want a Puma, then its still there as a Premium model and thus offering the mid boat fuel tanks for those river anglers that want more level fishing for access. Sabre FTD models will still be the efficient rig to have with a 150 and those at meeting did well, as did the 150 four stroke which eventually we all have to accept. No way around that guys! In time we all buy four strokes. The Pantera II and 200 SHO hit the mark at 70+ MPH and that rig is in line with expectations from a 200 and no major changes. Both the Sabre FTD and the Pantera II will have larger dashes to accept larger units in dash. We are getting there guys! We accept that its your money and if you want to spend it on TV screens in dash, so be it. The Bay Cat got quite a working out and we are hoping it rallies in 2012 to where we have enough production for it to remain on the floor. Other models like the Pantera Classic and Sabre are still in the line. They received almost no changes. At the meeting we put our focus on our dealers and how they can better work in their markets as well as tools to assist them in accomplishing those goals. Things are changing and we are changing with them, trying to stay ahead of the curve going forwards. Overall it was a great meeting and we look forward to 2012 and a season on the water! Thanks guys,Rick

This topic has 9 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 8 months ago by derek4one.

Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

Author

Posts
August 10, 2011 at 1:59 pm #363710

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

Is the larger dash for the P-II available now or are those modifications happening in the next year?

August 10, 2011 at 2:11 pm #363713

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

We ourselves cant answer that one. We have to check, though we think it may be done. The meeting boats were the narrower consoles.We are checking with Rick, Gary and the tooling crew.Last edited by Bass Cat Boats on August 10th, 2011, 2:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

August 10, 2011 at 2:14 pm #363716

GRR884
Participant

Well Im close to ordering a P-II and would like that larger dash. I would likely wait if its not going to be too long.

August 10, 2011 at 2:55 pm #363719

BamaCat
Participant

Rick thanks for that personal one to one insight and company update. You have not idea as how that makes a user of your product feel when the “head man what is in charge” takes the time to provide such information. That is why I am a firm support of BCB.

August 10, 2011 at 4:36 pm #363722

Daddy Rabbitt
Participant

BamaCat wrote: Rick thanks for that personal one to one insight and company update. You have not idea as how that makes a user of your product feel when the “head man what is in charge” takes the time to provide such information. That is why I am a firm support of BCB. +1

August 10, 2011 at 4:39 pm #363726

billius
Participant

It sounds like things are quite in order for the coming year. Thank you for the info Rick!

August 10, 2011 at 5:41 pm #363729

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

Is the cougar advantage the same hull and layout as the current cougar ftd just without all the bells and whistles or is it the same layout as the older cougar advantages like the 2008 and 2009 version?

August 10, 2011 at 7:24 pm #363732

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

The Cougar Advantage is the Version #2 deck assembly with the Advantage console, on the original BCB stripe hull of the 2009 season. BCB

August 10, 2011 at 8:01 pm #363734

derek4one
Participant

So its close to the same as the 2009-present Cougar FTD with the advantage console and the origional stripe.
Author

Posts

Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login Register