Robin, Thanks for the comment on the Owners Board. The rest is just part of the territory, however as always let me give a bit of history here. You hardly ever post in this format and this deserves a bit more than a thank you. The Owners Board was started over ten years ago with cooperation of Kevin McAllister. Kevin also runs the Owners Gallery with a moderate fee for his services. He wanted to start this board on his own along with other boards he ran on EZ Board at the time. He was very insistent and kept saying you dont have to do anything. He was persistent and felt he could monitor the monitor the board without our input or concerns of Bass Cat. We had wanted it all along, even before Kevin wanted it, though we also knew the time it would require to do this the way we felt necessary. And we were all learning the Internet then. We did not want to begin an Owners Forum until we could be participatory. The thought of a comment forum without us having time or a way to meet potential expectations for Bass Cat owners was unacceptable. We held Kevin at bay until we could organize Gary and others at BCB to become involved in the forum, as there is no way one person could spend that much time on a forum. If there were a question that required immediate needs, then we have to figure out who and how to handle that. Often a call the factory tomorrow is not a satisfactory response to our expectations. Even though no other company offers a similar service, we just had to step up a notch. We also realized the exposure that we were going to place Bass Cat under and we had to have time to handle those contacts who have a ten or twenty year old boat and comments on problems here would reflect on our current product without often the age of that product ever being mentioned. All of this was a potential challenge to embark on a totally new social frontier others were not willing to challenge. And sometimes it is a large challenge. So we finally got our nerve and time allocated and here we are. This forum started off a bit rough with problems on older boats being a major undertaking as some tried forcing our hand on three term ownerships and problems they bought from abuse. Often those problems were just plain abuse, while some were really valid. Though overall most were a problem blown out of proportion back then to leverage BCB into an invalid warranty position. We never buckled and we eventually got the point across that if Bass Cat were at fault we would do our best to cover those issues. Then we had those comparisons of not liking the look of a 1984 model Bass Cat and not realizing that it was over 20 years old. Like comparing a 1984 Ford F150 to a new Ford F150 in 2012. Reality was hard to express many times, though through it all we managed to get the details out there. And GOLLY! Where did all those we hate the hand rails or Bass Cat stripe posters come from, and where did they all go to? Finally we never hardly hear that one anymore. Those seem to have become a part of history and folks accept these as a part of BCB. The forum has really been a great tool for us all. The friendships across the country where an individual in Alabama can hook up with a gent in Texas and they meet at a reservoir is amazing. There are dozens of similar stories on the owners getting together and the Owners events across the country all have a varying level of participation and support. Some are meet and greets, whereas others are more serious affairs. Most of the success of this forum is attributed to the quality each of you brings to the Bass Cat Family experience. While we all enjoy the many facets of this forum, it is each of you that makes this forum what it is and elevates the level of Bass Cat ownership above all others. Thank You for all you and other Bass Cat “Family” members do to make this Owners Board truly unique and a quality experience for all. Rick Pierce
