.I have a good friend who is wanting my opinion on buying a new boat. Im helping him weigh the pros and cons because this will be his first glass boat.
He is set on buying new and staying local.
I am a previous Basscat owner but currently own a Ranger. So I get dragged into this 🙂
Where I live Ranger service is SKETCHY , well to be honest it’s s**t to say the least. I told him this and he’s not concerned because he has both a Ranger and Basscat dealer close that he feels will take care of him and he’s probably right, both dealers are well regarded.
He’s looking at a 520R and a Puma STS both 2025 models which I feel are very comparable.
As a current Ranger owner I feel he’s looking at 2 great boats that will serve him well. Ive told him about Rangers short comings in some glass quality, trailers. and speed. He’s not to concerned because he fishes very local lakes and when I mention Basscat’s vacuum processing and exceptional glass work, his answer is, I get a lifetime hull warranty with both.
He’s wanting one of these 2025’s because they have pretty good discounts now.
Here’s the confusion, both boats have 2 12″s hyd. plate, poles, ghost/garmin’s really equally equipped.
The basscat is almost $13,000 more than the Ranger. I couldn’t believe this but he has been to these dealers and showed me the paperwork. He has also looked a lot online and these numbers he has are real close. He sends me links all the time lol
My next one will be a Lynx and he’s so picky I think he will be happier in a Basscat.
Is he missing something on these prices?
We do think something is amiss in that comparison, or dealerships pricing.
We haven’t priced the boats by comparison head to head, but we have strolled showrooms and show pricing where we seem on par to that brand. Most consider the Caracal STS more in line with the 520, while a Puma STS is more aligned with the 521R. And the Lynx STS is a new model in that segment. The ride of the newer STS series has been well noticed and documented by others. They are impressive from the Jaguar STS to the Caracal STS.
No doubt prices on any are higher than ever now and equipment can boost those. Be sure the boat equipment lines up is one question. Another could be on trailer options. Go deeper than 2-12” graphs, and research how the side scan transducer is mounted and etc.
The Bass Cat Premium line up does have HD gelcoats, 60% of the overall build in pure Vinyl Ester AME-6001 resin, All Fiberglass hull, floor stringers and transom, 28 ounce carpeting (Reflex option), Horizon by Sunbrella vinyls (seats), #4 tinned and soldered trolling motor harness, dedicated #6 tinned graph harness, 6 bolt custom BCB jackplate, the trailer is all USA steel in a higher carbon request, wheels & tires standard are 15”.
We won’t delve into the other brands patterns or issues, but we can say what we have that might be different and impact quality in a positive fashion.
We would be interested in assisting your friend also, if he needs any clarification.
BCB
