Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › Cougar lift
Tagged: Lift midrange cougar
Hi all I have a question about my 2017 cougar. I’m having a hard time getting the boat to lift like I want it to at lower speeds in super rough water. I’ve ran a stock fury 25 and 26 and now have a 25 worked by mark croxton as well as one worked by Ronnie Gilbert. The one worked by Ronnie is by far the best of anything I’ve tried. I also tried a 28 bravo on the boat but I think I should’ve moved the jackplate up more for that. It lifted the whole boat and wasn’t drivable past 72mph. my prop to pad is 3 1/2 inches. I’m running lithium trolling batteries and have power poles. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions to some more low speed lift out of these hulls. I know they lift great once they pack some air but with all the boat traffic this time of year on my lake that’s just not an option. Thanks. (Do I need a hydraulic plate or maybe a tempest or another brovo with the plate moved?)
Assuming you dont have 8000 pounds in the nose, 4 Blade prob if you want high lift at slower speeds. I swap between 3 and 4 depending on the weather
I carry about 20 rods in the boat a kvd 40 worm worm bag in the back center hole and my spinner bait and buzz bait box. The rest of my tackle in is in the back hole behind the passenger. The boat is loaded pretty light and it has lithium batteries. What 4 blade do you run @Rich12?
We would not spring for a hydraulic plate in most cases.
@basscatboats do you have any suggestions? Should I try a different type of prop or dropping this one 1/4” to get more bite? Thanks. Best boat company out there!!
Does the bow seems to be digging in that sloppy water? If so, drop the engine. Don’t be shy to try 1/8”-1/4” below flush on the plate for those type of conditions, and that’s with any prop you like. Prop likes vary from person to person. Fury is usually the fastest on top end from my experience. Tempest lifts good and runs soft. Bravo should be an easy driving experience unless the motor is jacked up too high. I’ve ran those 3 props on the Puma and now Sabre I have. For me in the sloppy conditions, both boats ran/run better with all 3 props lower on the plate than most people’s jackplate settings I’ve seen. I always run extra light in gear too. From my experience, Cats don’t like the motor jacked up. They lift just fine with the motor lower than any other brand boats I’ve driven. Run the sloppy to rough water great as long as I don’t jack the motor up. Everyone has their opinions though.
Generally low speed lift and midrange is improved by lowering the plate, that is if you have a hole shot.
So if I am ordering a New 2023 Puma STS do you recommend NOT getting a Bob’s or Atlas Hydraulic Jack plate? That using the factory installed manual jackplate is all thats need for overall performance??
thanks for your recommendation and feedback!
I dropped the motor 1/4” and I’m going back to the lake to try and run it this evening. If it handles the slop better but still keeps it’s speed it’ll be set how I want. If it handles better but looses speed I will be ordering an atlas from bass cat to get the most of everything out of the hull. I’ll post an update tomorrow. Thank you everyone for the input the bass cat community is always the best.
JKelley:
So if I am ordering a New 2023 Puma STS do you recommend NOT getting a Bob’s or Atlas Hydraulic Jack plate? That using the factory installed manual jackplate is all thats need for overall performance??
thanks for your recommendation and feedback!
It’s just a matter of preference on hydraulic plates. The manual plate if fine though most go hydraulic and even Kevin Shorts said the Puma STS doesn’t need a hydraulic.
Hole shot suffered a little not a lot but the back of my boat is fairly light I’m running all lithium. The mid range handling in the excessive slop was exactly what I was looking for. The mid range seams to have as good or better acceleration. There was so much wash from wake boats I never got to open it up much but for me right now 3 3/4 below pad seams to give me what I want out of my boat. Thank you all again.
Thanks for all the information!
JKelley:
Thanks for all the information!
JKelley,
we would make the decision based on the length of ownership and your preference. Most would be more satisfied owning a Hydraulic Plate. On brand we suggest Dometic SeaStar and Bob’s usually, and we do install more Atlas plates.
Ran a 26 tempest today in super rough water from all these dang wake boat and all I can say is I will be purchasing a 27 tempest. Best handling and ride in the slop the boat has ever had by far.
© 2024 Bass Cat Boats