Who is in charge of the Bass Cat Engineering Design?????

[Dwayne]

The openness of this forum is a fantastic way to monitor the QA as well as provide for some innovative R&D.

I’m reminded of how Timex responded to a customer who introduced them to an electronic digitally controlled time piece. The folks at Timex laughed and replied that they build quality time pieces out of gears and spring, there is no market for an electric watch….

Opportunity for innovation often comes from the trenches.

Personally I would like to have seen more information and images of the customers issues before I read the quick response.

[Rich12]

Perhaps the argumentative and sarcastic tone of your original post????????????????????????????????????????????????   Question marks, seriously?   Its an easy thing to fix.

 

You claim to be a designer.  I am not, but I can fix that in 15 minutes for 5 bucks.

 

[Wade Langston]

I am going to jump in here. Have had some of these same problems and MORE. I am a BASSCAT fan and have had one since ’93 so do not think I don’t know a little of what I am talking about and not trying to bash them at all. Put your loose fire extinguisher in that unfinished box and see what happens when it slides to the front and gets stuck in the wires at the bow. I have photos. The box should be FINISHED or there should be something that blocks items from going in to the hull from that box or water from getting in that box. The bow drain is SUPPOSED to have a drain hose attached to direct it to the hull/bilge. I bet it is disconnected. Boxes leaking. My ’19 is better than the others I have had concerning this. BC needs to up their game on finish and final inspection.

[BillBo]

What Wade said. The drain tubing sections for the cup holder and TM recess, which direct water down into the v of the hull probably came off. I found that to be the case on the 2015 Puma I bought recently. That tubing can swell and become a loose fit. I installed new pieces of tubing  on my Puma and presto, no leaks into lockers.

[JPCAT]

Wade and BillBo,

How is the drain tube supposed to be connected to the bulkhead fitting? What size tubing is it SUPPOSED to be? My bulk head fitting drain is cut off flush to the nut that screws on under the deck. How is a hose supposed to connect to it? The only fix I felt was appropriate is to buy a new bulkhead fitting that has a threaded portion that extends past the nut such that I can clamp a tube to it. As far as the cup holder, if it is the same as the one by the helm, One is it is not easy to take out without damaging the gelcoat, two how does a hose attach to it? Mine just has a hole in the bottom of it. The other small hole in the trolling foot pedal recess, I will just put a plastic plug in.

Thanks

[JPCAT]

Don,

This is not the first time the water has been in the lockers. I had a time when I was driving home in a torrential rain storm for almost 2 hours and when I got home I left the boat outside and found them flooded with about a foot of water in them. I did not have problems with the other lockers. I do not normally leave my boat outside and if I do it is covered so water problems can’t happen.

My only other water issue was the piece of furniture foam in the flimsy plastic bag twist tied closed under the floor. It shifted backwards and blocked water from draining out of the floor to the bilge. It is a really bad design that I feel was a cobble fix and I certainly hope it has been updated by now. If not a check valve flap at a wall would fix it.

[BillBo]

The cup holder has a nipple on the underside of the hole. Should be able to pry the cupholder off with minimal damage to gelcoat using a wide wood chisel. I like that cupholder there and it actually serves as  a convenient portal to underneath the TM. I apply a small bead of marine grade silicone around it when reinserting the cup holder so it is easy to pull it out again if needed. When you see the nipple it will be clear as to the tubing size needed. Sorry for your troubles.

[m0ssie3]

My ’14 Puma’s bow drain looks like the one in Keymaster’s post on his 3rd link. I don’t see how water can get from the drain or cup holder into the rod box in mine. It’s dammed and directed and sloped to enter into the bilge channel.

I found the rod holder grommets to be too small for rods with bigger butt ends, both for the passenger, and inside the rod box. I did find some grommets that fit the existing holes in the boat with larger inside diameters to accommodate these rods.

Now, there are some things I don’t like on my boat like the cheap looking carpeted step box, the bushings for the seat posts which allows the seat posts to wobble, and not having a better integrated designed tool holder and rule holder. I am always fighting my trolling motor cables getting in the way of the pedal or graphs, I think due mostly to the forward trolling pedal design, which also limits dual graph mounting options. I think I would prefer more traditional shaped livewells that would allow for larger rear compartments, with larger lid openings. It’s hard to even fit some plano boxes in there. I don’t like the terminal block setup in the bilge with all the jumper wires, and would much prefer a more reliable bus bar. A master cutoff switch to cut power to the engine to eliminate its parasitic draw on the battery, and to be able to switch if needed to the trolling motor batteries to start the engine would be nice. I think some of these things have been addressed in the later models.

[cb2structural]

In my opinion, here’s the real issue:  BassCat is supposed to be a premium product with unmatched customer service.  If you don’t believe that, go to the dealership and ask them.  Ask them why a BCB costs more than a comparable unit of a competitor, and they’ll tell you quality and service costs money.

That said, the issues this gentleman is dealing with is no better workmanship than any other brand.  I own an engineering business myself, and I totally agree with this gentleman regarding his frustration.  I understand his mindset and I understand his frustration.

Over 17 years, I owned BCB product (Jaguar and PIV).  I found the quality to be generally good, but not perfect.  I always had water in my compartments:  It has not and will not be solved.  I finally gave up on solving that and placed chamois cloths in my boxes to absorb water both on top of and below my lure boxes, rods, equipment, etc

I had numerous other issues like these.  Wiring issues, panel issues, etc.

I finally concluded this:  BCB is a good company with a good, not great, product.  I couldn’t accept paying a premium price for a normal product anymore, so I left the brand this year.  Who knows, I may come back in years to come, but the reason I list this is this:  This gentleman has a legitimate disappointment that is not being addressed.  It’s my hope that he will be helped more…..and fought less.

[SteveS]

Ive bought 3 Bass Cats that were all new and I had problems with all 3. Water in boxes, key pad issues, hand rails, electric wiring sloppy in the bilge and dash, trailer carpeting coming off, stickers/decals shifting  and other problems. Bass Cat was great in taking care of these issues and I think the world of them. The water in my boxes was never resolved but I just dealt with it.

Ive also bought 2 new Rangers and I am currently in a Ranger and they have had their issues as well but not as many as my Cats had and I received decent service from Ranger on my first new one I bought.

I have to agree with the above post, Bass Cat makes a good boat with great service but I cant say after owning 3 that they have been any better than my Rangers.

Im wanting to get in a new Jaguar and after pricing them, I am having a problem justifying the cost/quality of a Bass Cat.

The Jaguar comparably equipped to a Ranger or most other brands is $10,000 +

I think the problem is as we all research this major purchase of a bass boat we read a lot of Bass Cat owners stating how perfect and how problem free their  Cats have been and I think that sets a un-realistic high bar. Future owners read all these opinions and expect perfection. Its almost like there is a un written rule that no one post problems they have had with their Cats?  And when no one post problems even resolved problems the expectations become to high.

My 3 Bass Cats had plenty of problems but I couldn’t complain because they took great care of me.

Current service with my in warranty Ranger absolutely SUCKS and im back looking at Bass Cat but I just cant see the cost compared to quality any more.

 

[Bass Cat Boats]

The Jaguar has no real boat competing in that category and it comes with equipment, including The Siren system, JL Audio top end stereo and more items which other companies do not have. From the docking light on the cost is higher in many areas.  Resin and more come into play and there also could be a different price structure between your pricing dealers, if the options all are the same.

Please let us know if we can assist in any manner.

 

BCB

[zethkinnettfishing]

Looks like the compartments on my P Classic. Heavy rain or stuff a wave and I have 2-6″ of water sloshing around and have to remove everything and dry it out.  Nothing like having tackle boxes full of water rusting hooks. I think this guys suggestions are spot on.

[screamn1550]

I am on my 4th Bass Cat, and the 2020 I have should have never left the factory before it was delivered to the dealer. After picking the boat up and having it for a little over 1 week it had to be taken back to the factory. It was there for 5 weeks, and then delivered to me with the problems corrected. BUT after getting it back there are now other problems that is going to require a 2nd trip back to Bass Cat to get fixed/corrected. Most are new and involved the employees who worked on the boat, and others are things that I did not notice when it was brought back to me because I am not supposed to inspect every inch of the boat…top to bottom inside and out.

My previous 3 Bass Cat’s were perfect, with no issues whatsoever. Never had a warranty issue with any of the previous 3, but my 2020 is a mess.

There are 2 things that have changed with Bass Cat that is disappointing to me.

1. There was NO QA or inspection done on my boat before it left the factory both times. Either that was the case or whomever did inspect it could care less about what was wrong because everything was obvious. When it was delivered to me from going back to the factory to my home I was told that, and I quote “If you want it to go back to the factory again just use it until the end of the season and we will come get it when you are done”. That struck me as weird to have told me that, and that is when I went through the boat thoroughly. At this point I am not going to get into the specifics for both instances, and Bass Cat has acknowledged that my boat needs to go back to the factory again. All I care about is it getting fixed/corrected.
2. I can deal with the problems as I believe Bass Cat will finally get my boat straightened out. The biggest thing that disappoints me is the lack of communication. All I need to know is when I should expect it to be picked up so I can have everything ready and to make sure that I will be available. I am not bugging anyone on a daily basis, I am giving people 1-2 weeks to respond to return my call or respond to an email. After that 1-2 weeks I try again, and still get nothing. I am nice in my inquiries, no attitude, and just looking for information.                         Communication is just as important in taking care of the problems as getting the problems fixed.

 

[zethkinnettfishing]

TonkaCat:

JPCAT, I’m on my 5th BassCat and have not once had an issue with any water intrusion in any compartment that is deemed watertight. I know a few  have had water come in thru open latches or when the boat I’d left parked in a bow down position some water could get into rod lockers but that’s and easy fix,just don’t park boat bow down and make sure latches are closed.  I have fished in pouring rain and never had water get in rod lockers thru the holes for passenger rod butts/holders. I believe those holes simply drain into the bilge.

One of the main reasons I like BassCat so much is because of how well these things are thought out. Everything has a reason, and usually it’s a really good reason.  Personal preference is different for everyone.  Some like hotfoot position high some like it low, many don’t like it at all.

I think you will find that those on this board want to help. I’m thinking any of the issues you brought up are pretty easy fixes with the exception of lowering the hotfoot but I’m guessing guys will have a fix for that too.

im pretty sure that your suggestions/comments are being read by the design team right here on this board so no worries about them going unheard.

Enjoy your BassCat!

 

Any time I fish in very heavy rain or stuff a wave all of my front compartments fill up with 2-4″ of water and if the wave is big enough I’ve had them fill up almost completely. I just keep a shop vac near by now.

[JPCAT]

I wanted to show this engineering excellence in design. This is the piece of open cell furniture foam that shifted behind my floor drain that kept water from flowing to the bilge and flooded the floor in the rain. I found it by removing the drain cover and sticking my hand to the rear of the boat. When I pulled it out, it was saturated with water in a cheap plastic garbage bag with holes in it and a rusty twist tie.  I put it in a bag just like what I found it in to show you what is down there. I removed it and never did something more. I rarely fish bad weather  don’t spear waves and keep my auto bilge pump on when I use the boat. Unacceptable!!!!

[Author]

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