Kathy and I ordered a new Caracal in September 2021 and we received it in June of 2022 and we’re loving it!
Tanner and Mike at Boatmasters here in California were excellent representatives of Bass Cat Boats and have proved to be invaluable in our purchase and information about our boat, I’d certainly purchase another one from these fine folks!
This is our 2nd Bass Cat and our 9th bass boat, glad to have another great boat.
I invented the coolfoot line of products in 2005, the fabulous Mend-it soft bait glue in 2008 and the Bac Rac line of rod racks in 2012.
We make our living selling my inventions and it’s a great life.
Will Hesch
http://www.centralcoastbassfishing.com
Joey, I just joined the forum and saw this (12/2/22). I can measure and send you the specs tomorrow (Saturday 12/3) of our 2022 Caracal.
805-550-7865 you could call and we could do the measuring together if you want. I’m on the west coast so don’t call too early, 8 AM is fine.
Below is my wife of almost 50 years and our new Caracal
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I should’ve added that I always wear ear plugs when running the boat. I’ve been riding a Vespa since 2010 which now has 20,000 miles and wind noise has always bothered me and I know it’s harmful so, ear plugs are a necessity whenever wind noise is present!
Joe, as a new owner of a ’22 Caracal (9th boat) whose last boat was a 2004 20′ Triton X boat (which I loved but sold to get a Porsche in 2014) we might have similar viewpoints.
As has been mentioned above, the Caracal floor is deeper than the Triton and the ride is drier and smoother but watch out coming off plane, the boat allows considerable backwash onto the rear deck if you stop suddenly, never happened with my Triton.
The front deck is shorter than the Triton and starboard side rod tips will sit together and tangle if not careful. (I came up with a solution for that, see the photos below)
I’ve never used the front step to get in the boat but our boathouse is 16′ wide (26′ deep) so I can access it from either side using a small aluminum ladder.
I opted for the gas tank under the seat with the spare 10 gallon in the port-side battery compartment, that comes stock. My recommendation if you don’t need a lot of range is to fill the port side tank and run with it keeping the large 33 gallon under-seat tank for the spare with maybe 5-10 gallons in it, plenty for most smaller lakes. You’ll still have to switch tanks manually but the switch/valve is accessible from above deck, it’s in the splash-well.
Be careful stepping down from the front deck, there are 2 badly placed cup holders right below the cooler/step that can catch your heel as you step down from the front deck.
The Caracal is a compact almost-20 footer and stable. It tows easily (I have a 2021 Ram high-roof van with a 6 cylinder). The seats are very comfortable and I love the 6 sided (tilting) steering wheel, it is a pleasure to drive. Absolutely no need for a jack-plate!
I know this is more information than you probably wanted but these are my likes and dis-likes of this boat as objectively as I could give them.
Surles, I made another product which makes the port/front/bow step better. I moved the GPS puck from the middle of the step, to where the cup holder was, see below. Don’t know if this would help you or not.
Tim, here’s a couple photos of our Promar folding handle net. We stow it with the handle unfolded/extended as there’s plenty of room for the handle. Be careful to pull the netting up tight as you install the net as there are long rivets on either side of the net slot that will catch the net as you try to pull it out. Too bad Bass Cat didn’t use short rivets or short screws in that area.
Will
