Joined the 'Family' Recently with the Purchase of a 2011 Puma...

[rabidsquirrel]

Recently purchased a used 2011 BassCat Puma after my truck and 2006 Nitro 911 CDC were totaled. That event is a long story involving an escaped bull on a back country 2 lane highway headed towards lake Okeechobee early this year...

This is a link to the boat that I purchased: http://basscatowners.yuku.com/topic/...D#.WEdR5vnx7cs

Have had the boat out a few times, most recently as a volunteer captain for the Bobby Lane Cup last Saturday.

The boat is a huge step up from what I had. I was expecting it to be a better boater experience, but I really had no idea how much better. I love it! I'll probably be a BCB guy from now on. I see what the fuss is about.

The previous owner took great care of it and it shows. I've stated to several folks that the old 911 CDC was like fishing out of a Chevy Suburban and the Puma is like a Porsche 911 in comparison. Everything just works on it, and everything is well thought out with purpose behind the design. It also trailers very well.

While I was 'boatless', the guys in our club really stepped up in an overwhelming way - loaning me their boats whenever they could to make sure we could finish out the season. A big shout out to www.bayareabassmasters.com - truly a great team club and a great group of folks (They are my extended family at this point)! I also mention this because I was able to fish out of their nicely appointed rangers, and was really leaning that way before I saw the listing for the Puma I eventually bought. Rangers are great, but it seems like Ranger's engineering philosophy is more of a 'rock solid easy to drive' approach - which they execute on to the extreme! My BCB experience is limited to just this boat, but I can tell that their tagline of 'Total Performance Bass Boats' isn't just marketing fluff. It really does seem to be their driving philosophy. I hope they continue to put out high performance bass boats for many years to come.

The boat is set up really well for fishing one man trails. My partner and I will need to learn to leave excess gear at home, as it is a bit sensitive to weight, and we aren't petite dudes. That said, this thing freaking flies! It is faster than my piloting skills at this point, but I'm getting used to her. The previous owner took me on the test ride, pushing her to 76mph (GPS) in the Okeechobee rim canal. It's got a 250 Optimax on it with a 25 Fury prop. Leaps out of the hole with a light load or one-man tournament load. I've only pushed her to around 73mph under a light two-man tournament load before she started to wobble on the pad a bit. I've not got the rhythm down yet for balancing her out with steering inputs, but I will. An added bonus is that the hull is so much more efficient than the old Nitro, that I seem to be using almost 1/3rd less gas over the same runs (Okeechobee)!

Boats always have issues right? The only one I've had so far is that I recently replaced the starter battery as the old one was starting to fade, but that's normal given that battery was already 3 years old or more.

Anyhow, I'm happy to be a BassCat owner! I'm looking forward to owning this boat for many more years to come!

[printman71]

Premium brand, you won't be disappointed.

[rabidsquirrel]

I really want to put a good bluetooth radio in it, but seeing as how it didn't originally come with a radio, some fiberglass surgery would be involved...

Anyone ever done this to their Puma before, or is this just really something I should have a dealer handle? Keep in mind that my closest dealership is well over an hour away (Pssst, BCB... We need a dealer in Tampa!)...

I'm thinking I'd just cut into the same areas that I see in pictures of 'factory rigged' radio installs. Let me know if I should not attempt this myself due to some unforeseen risks. I'll probably put in a call to BCB before I start cutting. I've done this before, not a total novice, but I'm guessing I'm just trying to make sure there aren't any unknown structural reasons not to DIY.



I may put this in another thread...

[WIUbassin]

Not trying to hijack your thread, just found it neat that I also just bout a new to me 2011 Bass Cat Puma after a little haggling. http://basscatowners.yuku.com/topic/...r#.WEhfRrmNN48

I upgraded from a Nitro as well and share all your thoughts on how much of an improvement its been.

I've thought about adding a stereo as well, but I think I'm going to get one of those quality portable blue tooth speakers instead. I won't have to cut or wire anything, the sound should be just as good. Maybe rig up some velcro or something to secure it somewhere and then I can take it with me to use other places when needed.

Enjoy!

[billius]

Congrats on the new Cat. You will love it.

[iron banks]

The quality will show even after yeas of use, congrats

[jigman51]

Congratulations on the Puma, great boat!

[rabidsquirrel]

Not trying to hijack your thread, just found it neat that I also just bout a new to me 2011 Bass Cat Puma after a little haggling. http://basscatowners.yuku.com/topic/...r#.WEhfRrmNN48

I upgraded from a Nitro as well and share all your thoughts on how much of an improvement its been.

I've thought about adding a stereo as well, but I think I'm going to get one of those quality portable blue tooth speakers instead. I won't have to cut or wire anything, the sound should be just as good. Maybe rig up some velcro or something to secure it somewhere and then I can take it with me to use other places when needed.

Enjoy!

Sweet! Congrats on the new ride!

Yeah, I have a nice bluetooth speaker. I would prefer a radio that I can just tether my iPhone to via the charging cable. I had just put a nice Sony unit and some infinity speakers in my Nitro, and the sound was fantastic. I'm looking to put an almost identical setup in the Puma. I think the sony head unit I bought is discontinued now, but they have a new, hopefully improved version of it. I'll probably get that.

The infinity speakers I bought - on sale at the time for $70 shipped, were freaking unreal sounding in the Nitro... These are the speakers for those of you needing a quality upgrade: http://www.infinityspeakers.com/mari...kers/612M.html

I only had two of them, but they were incredible. Makes me want to try the 6x9 version in the Puma.

[rabidsquirrel]

Picture of the speakers and head unit in the old Nitro:

[toledobasser]

You are lucky that you have the empty space in the dash for a stereo. My boat is a 2004 and the ignition and a gauge are in that spot. BCB has and still should sell carpeted boxes that mount under the dash for a stereo if you prefer not to cut the fiberglass. Some have even used small round receivers and replaced their indash flasher or another gauge like the speedometer that is not really used since most have gps on there electronics.

[BR400]

I am like WIU, I think a quality Bluetooth speaker should work great.

[AlumaMan]

All you need is a Bluetooth Box to control Everything from your phone, and you can add Amp, Speakers etc.....Talk to a 17yr old kid they will help ha ha ha ha

[Bill2e]

Congrats on the new ride! I sure love my Cat


as far as the radio......

just get get a good Blue tooth speaker, stream Pandora and be done with it..

[Bass Cat Boats]

Be sure you get signed upfront Quest and we hope you enjoy your new rig. Thanks for the positive comment.

BCB

[rabidsquirrel]

Hadn't checked this thread in a while.

BCB, I did sign up for quest and got my hat! Thanks!

I also got around to getting my audio system installed, and it sounds great. We had a little concern regarding the mounting depth of the Infinity Marine 6x9s, but they actually went into the gunnels just fine, according to my installer.


The 6x9s were indeed a nice step up when compared to the 6.5" version. The lows and mids are punchier, but still very controlled. With the higher-powered Sony head-unit (MEX-BX100BT), it gets plenty loud while still sounding precise. It's a great setup. I had local shop called MCOR do the installation, but I sourced my components from Amazon. MCOR did a great job.