.jcarring,You ask a bunch of questions here so let me try and answer them in order.1) The question I have and the main concerns that I have are that I want a boat that is going to last a while. This boat is going to need to get me through to retirement which may be a few years away.As many have stated here, you won’t find a better built boat in the industry. If you’re buying used, BCB has a hull warranty transfer and the hull is warrantied for 35 years. No other boat manufacturer has a hull warranty like this so tat says how well built BCB makes their boats.I’ve owned three Cougar FTDs since 2005 and before that it was Skeeters and Champions. The Bass Cat has out performed the others hands down in construction and when it comes to small parts. Although I’ve never had a problem with small electrical parts, I know if you do have something go bad, BCB service will take care of you faster than you can believe.2) So having said that the main concern I have is the quality of the boat, motor and trailer.You will not find a better trailer in the industry. BCB makes their own trailers on site to fit each model they make. That’s huge because most boat manufacturers have another company make the trailers and then they fit them to their boats.Motors, on the other hand, are a crap shoot. If I was buying used, I would make sure to buy a boat that still had warranty on the motor. In the case of Mercury, most Mercs have 5-year warranty. So, you could buy a 2-year-old boat and still have 3 years of warranty left on it.3) Im looking at a Cougar FTD, but really wanted a Puma. Other than the storage layouts and lighted hand rails are there any real differences in the two?It depends on what year you get and what model Puma. There have been a couple different Cougar models and Puma models over the years. Pre 2008, there was only one Puma model. In 2008, they came out with a Puma FTD. The Cougar FTD and Puma FTD have storage under the passenger and driver seats. The standard Puma doesn’t because of the placement of the gas tank under the seats. Because the standard Puma has the tank under the seats, it rides a little better in rough water but it’s also not as fast as the FTD versions.4) I just got out of a Nitro 912 which is a long and wide boat. Is the BassCat going to be noticeably narrow to me after having been in that tank for a couple of years. And if all I do is fun fish mostly is that going to be an issue anyway.Yes, the Cougar and Puma will be noticeably narrower than the Nitro you just got out of. But, there’s no problem with their stability. In fact, what you’ll notice is that the Puma and Cougar are a lot more maneuverable while on the trolling motor because of this.5) By the way customer service is important to. I like the Skeeter boats and am considering one, but I have heard that the customer service isnt that great which is a consideration since I plan to keep the boat for many years!One of the reasons I left Skeeter was because of customer service – and I was on the Skeeter Team! If anything broke on the boat; livewell pumps, switches, valves, you name it, it was a major pain to get replacement parts from the factory. I mean one time it took me 6 months to get a dang dash switch. And, when you call their factory, it’s a royal pain to get anyone in customer service.Bass Cat, on the other hand, you call and you get to talk to someone who actually knows what they’re talking about. Tell them your problem and 2 days later you have a box, with the replacement part, on your doorstep. This even goes for boats that are 20 years old. If that’s not customer service, I don’t know what is. 
If you have any other questions, post them here on the board and they’ll get answered. This is a pretty tight-knit group and everyone is here to help. Buying a boat is a major life decision. Good luck!TerryTerry Battisti
