Bass Cat Question

[Hooksetter]

My buddy runs a 18' Bass Cat with a 150hp Merc on it. This boat has the best hole shot of any boat that I have ever been in. It gets to 50mph in a heartbeat, but that is where things get dicey. Anything over 50mph and the boat is skittish. I mean SCARY skittish! Hitting ANY chop at all sends the tail end of the boat dancing side to side like a drunken sailor.

Is there any tweaking or adjustments that can be done to correct this or is this all this hull can do? Would the best bet be to ask the dealership for assistance? My buddy doesn't complain, he's happy with the hole shot and he says that 50mph is fast enough anyways, I'm just curious because I rode in a 20' Bass Cat and it handled like a dream.

[canvsbk]

If he's happy and it's his boat.....
However, this thing should be much quicker than 50. It all depends on what he wants and wants to spend!
Bass Boat Central is a great place to research setups. But that path can be long and winding

[Dan]

The Bass Cat website is a great place for info. They are really helpful and will take care of their owners like no other.

[djkimmel]

The boat should not be that skittish and should probably be faster than that.

Is the motor mounted straight? Are all bolts tight including the motor to mount, and the steering cable connections? Is the motor mounted several inches above the top of the transom?

[smbassman]

Whether it is a Sabre or an Eyra, it should be easy to drive until the last few MPH which would be around 65-68 with the correct prop.  If it has a whiplash type of holeshot, it is probably under propped and would be over the max RPM's if it was able to be driven there - this is not a big deal, you just have to watch the RPM's when running. 

First of all, make sure that everything on the boat and motor are in good shape.  Check bolt torque on mounting bolts, shake to motor to check for worn engine mounts, inspect the skeg and prop for severe damage and check for play in the steering (whether cable or hydraulic).  Look for fiberglass damage or uneven surfaces on the hull.  Also make sure that the boat is loaded somewhat evenly side to side.  Loading all yor tools, tackle, spare props and cooler full of pop on one side and storing lifejackets and an extra sweatshirt on the other is a definite no-no on a performance boat.

Next level the boat while on the trailer with the trailer tongue jack and trim the motor until the cavitation plate is level.  Run a straight edge(4' level or straight piece of wood etc) off the pad of the boat to the nose cone of the motor and measure how far below the pad the point of the nose is.  It should be 2.5"-4" typically.

If all this seems to check out.  Take the boat to the lake and run it at slower speeds (~40mph) and trim the motor until is looks level.  Now increase the throttle with out adjusting the trim.  If the engine height is right, then the boat should go to full throttle without much driver input needed.  Also monitor the steering wheel torque.  If it pulls hard to the left with nuetral trim (level motor) the motor is too high.  Also look at the rooster tail.  If it is shooting 10' into the air, the motor is too high.

My guess is most likely the motor is too high and when the boat starts climbing up onto the pad, the prop gets higher and loses grip and the nose will fall to the left starting a chain reaction of either hooking the bow into a sharp turn or falling off pad enough for the prop to grip and lift the boat again to repeat the cycle.

Let me know what prop he is running(# of blades, type and pitch), the engine height and how the things check out and I will see if I can come up with something.  Also what year and model of boat/motor?

That boat should run great and though your friend is happy with 50mph, it sure would be a lot funner to be passing many other boats with 200/225's with only a 150.

[djkimmel]

I should probably send you a check for that detailed write up. Thanks!

[smbassman]

No payment required to help out a family member!!!  The BassCat family that is!

[Revtro]

All great advice bassman.  I am far from knowing it all, but I agree that many such problems have a lot to do with either the prop or the engine height.  I learned that lesson on my basscat this year.  Now that I have it set up correctly it does a heck of a lot better.  The basscat forums helped me out a bunch.  Check them out.

[Hooksetter]

Thanks for all the replies, we are going to do some checking on the motor, prop, etc. to see if we can get the boat to perform better. I will find out the specifics on the prop, I don't know them off hand. I believe the boat model is a Sabre.

It's not that it won't do more than 50, we've had it up to 62-63, but it won't sit still. It also had more to give but the ride is too unstable.

[smbassman]

Thanks for all the replies, we are going to do some checking on the motor, prop, etc. to see if we can get the boat to perform better. I will find out the specifics on the prop, I don't know them off hand. I believe the boat model is a Sabre.

It's not that it won't do more than 50, we've had it up to 62-63, but it won't sit still. It also had more to give but the ride is too unstable.

To run at the top end (~65-68 expected), some driver input is required.  Basscats are performance boats and have a lot of lift.  They need steering input countering the prop torque to keep the boat balanced on the pad.  Do a google search for "driving bass boats with chinewalk" and there should be several things written about how to drive a performance bass boat.