So i raised my 2014 Cougar FTD up off the trailer bunks today, i am very happy to report that it has NO HULL BLISTERS..i will be checking from time to time and i sure hope it stays blister free, the people that know tell me that it will not get them. I used to own a T boat and it had them where it sat on the bunks, this is my first cat and can honestly say that this is the best boat i have ever owned..i am part of the cat family for life.
2020 Basscat Lynx..
2020 Mercury 300 Pro XS 4S..
I have a 1995 model and I don't have hull blisters, Bass Cat doesn't have any known issues with this thankfully. I don't believe you should have any issues with this.
Garmin Stiker 7sv and 7cv
2017 Crestliner VT17 - Mercury 60 4S
I hope i dont, after having the T boat that had them its kinda hard not to check it out every from time to time.Originally Posted by Wil Holmes
2020 Basscat Lynx..
2020 Mercury 300 Pro XS 4S..
They are possible with any fiberglass boat and Gelcoat.
We made large improvements in recent years and post MACT/EPA changes of 2004 we have steadily improved to where we are with the newer 100% Vinyl Ester resin and Vinyl Ester Barrier coat, as on today's Premium models. This is an option on Advantage and Cision models.
There are periods where we saw more potential on this. The best ever were those 1998 to 2003 models and then today's 2015. Recent years before 2015 were markedly better as they improvements raised in product right through to '15.
My boat was made Dec 2013 thru Jan. 2014..so would you say that there is a pretty good chance that it will NEVER get them?
2020 Basscat Lynx..
2020 Mercury 300 Pro XS 4S..
I unfortunately discovered blisters while changing my bunks over. I still have to get some quality pictures down to Richard Mattey at the plant for them to analyze.
Steve
2006 BassCat Puma
2006 Yamaha 250 HPDI
Team Daiwa!
We won't say never as we already said all fiberglass boats can. They are progressively better as the years range from 2003 through to these 2015 models as we improve. We also suggest the newest 100% Vinyl Ester we use today on Premium Models in 2015. For Advantage and Vision model boats this is an option. On Premium boats it is standard.
Things get bulked as one when people mention blisters, cracks or resins and they are for some. Some companies have no long term volumes or production to compare. There are no 2000 model boats of some brands to view. This leads us to post some history on our resins as a 1971 Bass Cat DLX Tournament model is a long way from resins used in a 2001 model Jaguar or Pantera III. Bass Cat used a shelf resin before 1992 and a premium shelf (common available) resin from late 2007 CY through to 2011 CY. Most questions seem to be from 1998 through to today's boats for BCB.
The 2004 model year that MACT was enacted is perhaps the most susceptible to all aspects. We continued to use a new MACT Compliant Vinyl Ester blended resin which obviously was not what the pre MACT pure VE was. That resin was used till around '07 model year when were able to determine it was not as presented in testing. We paid significantly more for something that simply was not as advertised. It is still produced and used by some boat companies. After the 04-07 EPA debacle we opted to place a VE Barrier coat on hulls to improve cosmetics, protect blistering and crazing. This helped tremendously as the EPA limited our (all boat companies) pure Vinyl Ester higher VOC usage to 10% of volume used. We simply could not use high VOC resins and no one we felt produced good VE that was MACT compliant.
We never used AME 1000 or AME 1001, or the higher grade AME hybrids of 4000 and 5000. We tested the AME 4000 and 5000 resins, including in boats, and found them not to our standards. Replacing or repairing portions of all test boats, at the same time when other boat companies touted those labels or decal. This led us a different direction as we sought to plow new ground with BP. BP had over 80% of the marble business then with their high quality Silmar resins. They were also involved as BASS sponsors and a good resin builder.
Boats before 1998 were a very nice blended resin from BP, which we worked with BP lead resin chemists to develop, before they sold the resin division to Interplastics. In that era of the 1990's when BP was involved in bass fishing sponsorship and we were working with them to launch one of the best resins designed for marine uses. The BP Relationship was great, till they had economic issues and sold profitable divisions off to survive, including Silmar. We had excellent success with those resins.
Post Silmar and sale the Interplatics company produced that resin till we stepped up more in 1998 model year. That was a pure 100% VE base and performed excellent through till we ended usage in 2003 due to MACT. When we switched to VE resin in 1998 Terry McC., of Interplastics, compared our move to the highest respected builder, the flambouyant Reggie Fountain. Eventually Interplastics simply could not meet 2003 MACT with a pure VE, and in the end reality neither could the others. After that the economy strangled R & D from 2006 on and we feel we only recently began to crawl out of the MACT EPA era in resins.
Todays Bass Cat version of AME 6001 Vinyl Ester resins we use in over half of the body resins, in Premium models, is to our specifications. If we use the opted for 6441 it is a common resin and above any production grade. Today Vinyl Ester is a misused terminology and not all are created equal, nor were they ever. The emphasis just wasn't there then.
Comparing the other touted resins by percentage of cost to our VE resin today, is like comparing $2.00 a gallon regular gasoline at Exxon to $5.69 a gallon hyper fuel. We actually pay that much more by percentage for the VE resin in our Premium models.
And it is not just a skin layer of a few pounds vinyl in the top deck flats for cosmetics, we are using hundreds of pounds in a Premium boat. No other bass company is presently using a product of this quality in their product, let alone at this percentage of volume.
When these topics PoP up we try to give the best answer we can to fully explain each scenario. Because other questions will develop. We don't expand on those comments or questions often as we are the only manufacturer choosing to be open and spend this time involving ourselves with this type of information.
BCB
I checked my 2010 PII this past summer. It was as smooth as the day it left the factory.
RH
USN Retired
2020 Basscat Caracal
2020 Mercury 225 ProXS 4s
A Company response/explanation posted like this is just another reason why we love our Cats!
That's why I'm working on my move to BCB!!
___________________________________
2016 BassCat Cougar FTD
2016 Mercury Pro XS 250
I totally agree, i feel like there is not another boat company out there that would give you a detailed explanation like BCB did..i have owned several other brands before my cat. I am very proud to say the i am now a cat owner for life..THANKS BCB..
2020 Basscat Lynx..
2020 Mercury 300 Pro XS 4S..
So which resin does my 99 P3 have? And is it bad to blister?
2017 BCB Eyra
250 Pro XS
Contemplating a 300R
Serenity is falling asleep in the boat while getting a bite
Big Bear Fishing Rods
I have a 2007 Sabre FTD. I've never checked it for blisters. Were boats in that year range known to have any reported issues with blistering?
And is this something you can effectively do by launching it in clear water and simply checking it underwater? Or is it essential that it be lifted off the trailer bunks to inspect it?
BassCat Sabre FTD
Mercury 150 Optimax
"It's just fishing"
My boat is an '07. Is there anyway I can call the factory and find out what resins were used as this was the year you state had a changeover?
My boat is a 2009. I've never checked it for blisters. I really don't want to know.I supposed I could jack it up off the trailer, one side at a time maybe. Something to do on a rainy day this summer I guess. Of course, if I find out it has blisters, I doubt I can afford to have it fixed anyway.
Bill Gard
Richmond, Indiana
2015 BassCat Caracal/225ProXs
TEAM SHERM'S MARINE
Of course I talk to myself...sometimes I need expert advice.
So, I have a 2003 boat. I dont think its got any blisters, but I havent looked for them. Sounds like this was something of a transition year, and in the detailed post above some dates listed point to 2003 and some to 2004 as the transition year to the newer EPA compliant resins, so Im not sure if I should be worried or not. is there a way to check if this boat is more or less susceptible to this issue? Anything I could or should do to prevent it?
Any insight from BCB on this? Thanks!
I think they pretty much expanded on the point in the last post they made.
2007 Basscat PII Anniversary Edition/200 Opti
raise it up and look as some of those were the VE resins and some were the new stuff. My 03 had VE resins had no issues My 05 has them.
Perhaps, that post was pretty clear about what the problems were but it was ambiguous about exactly when the boats went into production with the new resin—in one post they said the problems started in 2004, and in another post they reference the “requirements of 2003”.I’m guessing there was a regulation passed one year and it was the following year that they went into production, but I’m not certain about this and I’d like to be clear.Therefore I’m not sure if my boat is one of the “less-likely to have a problem” ones or one of the “most-likely to have a problem” ones, so clarification would be helpful to my peace of mind.
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