Hello. Its an 04 with a 225 on it so every little bit will help.Originally Posted by 06 SB
Hello. Its an 04 with a 225 on it so every little bit will help.
Made the adjustment you guys suggested. Probably 1/2 to 3/4 inch lower. That’s all it took. No new prop needed.
2013 BassCat Cougar
Serial # 1B962763
“I've found with the Caracal it is very picky on exactly how deep the trailer needs to be depending on ramp slope”
I thought this was just me! I have a 2019 Caracal going on my third year of owning and still have issues of hitting that loading sweet spot. My margin of trailer error is 4-6 inches compared to 2FT that I had with my Champion. Great write up. I have been flirting with Lithiums. We will see.
Glad to hear from a brother-in-arms out there! I've read quite a few posts here and on the BC owner's page about trailering Caracals, and while some are better than others - I've had good and bad days, so I wouldn't consider myself a pro at it by any stretch - I think there are a lot of variables that make it difficult to be consistent with this hull, and it's made more challenging that I'm usually by myself. I learn something every time, but I get an initial sick sense of glee when I'm by myself and can get my boat trailered more quickly than someone struggling on the ramp next to me. Then I remember myself and ask if they need help bc I realize that it could be me struggling next time! I've seen plenty of tragedy videos to know you have to be careful on the ramp, and quickness is not necessarily conducive to safety. But I also hate creating a bottleneck. So I'm hoping the weight loss turns out to be a long term benefit.
I just took home my ordered 2023 Caracal last month. I went with the standard belly gas tank configuration. I also went with a standard 80 pound Ultrex trolling motor. I went with two battle born 12v 100amp hour lithium‘s. I can tell you my whole shot is unbelievable. It’s actually better than my 2018 P2 which is hard to believe. With two people I am seeing 72 mph. I will be fishing my first tournament in a couple weeks so I’ll let you know how full live wells affect the ride. I have not touched the slide master jack plate.
Brad Krone
You won't be disappointed. I've done quite a few upgrades with mine, in addition to the new batteries, mostly based on where I am. Took off the slidemaster and put on a Bob's JP - love that for fishing in the stump fields in one of the reservoirs here. I had an Ultrex that I replaced with a Ghost - the Ultrex was good but I like the Ghost better, and it integrates with the HDS Lives I have. I'm on the fence about poles, and I'm probably one of the few in FL that doesn't have them. I really don't see a burning need for the way I fish. At any rate, I have absolutely loved this boat from the first moment I got it on the water, even more now with the upgrades. It does have its challenges, but I wouldn't trade them for anything - unless someone was to give me a new Jaguar! I don't see me ever owning another brand, and likely not another boat.
I have an old Z20 ranger and noticed a lot of differences. One was improved hole shot and another I don’t have to put the trailer in as far when retrieving boat
Do you have pictures of your new battery set up? I am looking to switch to lithium for my P2 and like the idea of the smaller batteries. My battery compartment now has 1 AGM cranking battery, 3 trolling batteries, on board charger and 2 PowerPole Pumps. Needless to say, but it is pretty cramped back there. So definitely hoping to gain some free space and free up some weight.
Great write up. A couple things I will add from my experience.. '19 cougar, 3 Ionic 125 lithiums, sometimes I'll include 1 or even 2 31m X2 AGMs in the back, but mostly just run with 3 Ionics & Power Pro Charge
Performance - Hull shot is stupidly improved. As close as I can get to flat as possible. With only 3 batteries there is something to be said for top end speed. I added a 250 pound co-angler and his tackle in the back right compartment and went from 77 to 79.. That was without any tinkering or a prop correction - height or pitch. I now have a tuned prop and I'll tinker with more this year to see what top end may look like.
Cost - They are expensive, but my 4 X2s I had were $450 a piece with a 4 year warranty. I agree with you I think the cost will more then even out in the long run when you factor in all the benefits. That being said, these batteries can still be killed just the same as any battery and you'll be S.O.L if it's deemed yours or your equipment's fault. I only say this because I have had a diode in on an older Mercury go out that drained my Odyssey to 5 volts on a 26 hour cross country trip. Another example is just this year I discovered a poor engineering design of the Power Pole Charge that killed an X2 in one month. **Be careful if you remove your trolling motor batteries for any reason with the PP Charge** They have a security feature that will stop charging any battery connected if there isn't a starting and trolling battery connected. I removed my lithium batteries, brought them in for the MN winter and hooked up an X2 to do basic winter maintenance in the show and left the Charge connected to the battery and plugged into the wall. In just over 1 month the parasitic draw from the PP Charge killed my X2 at 4 volts. Hard lesson learned. You'd think it would say that in the owners manual.
Efficiency - I'd highly recommend considering a brushless motor. My previous setup was 36v worth of X2 batteries to an Ultrex. I now run 2 lithiums (125amp/hr) to a Garmin Force and have noticeably better power equaling (for me) better boat control and response. With my current setup, I can run the boat all day with more than enough power between 30 and 50% commanded from the Force and with just a 5 minute run to the spot and back each day my batteries are well over 90%. I'm not exaggerating on this. It's hard for me to even believe. I've gone weeks in the summer never plugging in the boat because the new 4 stroke's 85 amp alternator and PP Charge more then resupply the draw of 4 Garmin 106s, livescope and the brushless trolling motor. There is an upgraded 115 amp alternator for the new 4 Strokes. I’ve heard some guys are making the upgrade but best I can find is the PP Charge can’t distribute that many amps.
All in all though, the power management changes lithiums and the Power Pole Charge provide have changed the way I fish significantly for the better. Fingers crossed they keep working.
Last edited by Wilfong9; 04-08-2023 at 03:42 PM.
Wasn't sure if you were asking me or Rangerdeepv, but here is what I did...
Rear small.jpgPort Rear small.jpgStbd rear small.jpg
A lot of wiring between the batteries is a challenge that I'll keep trying to straighten out. Caracal has a deep bilge, so with that center support it is a challenge to reach down there when batteries are in the way - basically turns any task into a blind/feel operation. Imagine that there were batteries where the spare prop and the Power Pole Charge now are. It was a huge pain reaching down into the bilge if I needed to, and could see if I needed to change a pump on the water it would be massively difficult. I'm much happier with this setup.
I did have to lengthen a wire pair that went from the old 12V in the starboard rear position (where the Power Pole Charge now is) to the bus block on the back wall of the transom to facilitate having the new 12V lithium forward where it now is. But I went and replaced it with same gauge, marine-grade wire and connectors from West Marine, so it wasn't a big deal. Just something you may have to look out for when making a big change to the layout like I did. I prefer having the batteries forward so that it would be easier to reach the bilge and other wiring and plumbing in the back of the compartment. I also wanted any leakage from backwash coming off plane going into the compartment thru the door to not leak directly onto the batteries - with them forward they are no longer in a direct line. Can't completely avoid it, but it is better for corrosion prevention for me. It's also easier to reach the circuit breakers to turn on and off now since they are in the middle of the open space instead of tucked under the aft part of the lip of the compartment.
Last edited by Hurl19; 04-10-2023 at 11:25 AM.
I absolutely agree with all you wrote.
A couple more observations from my trip this weekend:
- Bilge has been bone-dry now after two outings. I used to get backwash on the back deck coming off plane, which would seep down into the bilge over the course of the day. I could control it by decelerating slowly off plane, but never had complete success keeping it dry. After two full-days out on the water, after pulling the boat out and opening the bilge plug, no water to drain out, even with periodically running the bilge pump but pumping nothing. With the stern sitting higher with the loss of weight, just less opportunity for water to get in. I'm sure that won't be universal with heavy seas or rain, but it has been noticeable so far in the conditions I've been in.
- Echoing your efficiency comment. Saturday I was out over 9 hours, on the big motor 90 minutes of that throughout the day. I too have a brushless TM (Ghost) running at 36V off of 1 lithium @ 215AH, and was on 40-50% throttle with it probably 3/4 of the fishing time (fairly windy day). With that combination I observed well over 95% power left in both batteries at the end of the day. Power Pole Charge gives massive benefits for managing the power, especially when big motor alternator is charging, and the ability to see exactly what is going on throughout the day.
I love the new setup more every time I run it.
Did your caracal sit pretty flat in the water prior to the lithiums? I fish a normally rough lake and already spend a lot of days getting wet feet at the trolling motor. My fear in taking weight out of the back of the boat is that it will then be even more now heavy.
2019 Basscat Caracal
225 Evinrude G2
Solix 12 Mega SI bow and console
Mega Live
36V Ultrex
Subjectively, I always thought it was fairly stern-heavy before this change. I don't fish rough seas regularly, so it's hard for me to gauge what your comparison would be. Whenever anyone was on the back deck when I had heavy batts, water line came up to the rub rail. Now, the rub rail sits about 1-2 inches above the waterline. It's not a huge change, but it is noticeable. The biggest effect that I've witnessed is that I don't get backwash coming off plane. But I haven't fished heavy enough seas since the change to notice the effect of water over the bow. I would say that the change in weight in the back also affords me the opportunity with the more open space to relocate some weight back there, and that may be what you have to consider. Probably not a pound for pound shift, but could help.
My rear compartments are already full. Unless you meant move stuff to the bilge. And that’s not happening. Far too wet lol.
2019 Basscat Caracal
225 Evinrude G2
Solix 12 Mega SI bow and console
Mega Live
36V Ultrex
Either way, really. I moved my prop back there, which opened up some space in that small, side rear compartment to move some tools farther back than they were. Really I just mean rearrange stuff so your heavier equipment is as far back as you can get it. Options are certainly limited with the size of the compartments, and what you're are carrying, for sure. Sounds like it's a tough call for you depending on your needs, and the expense of it doesn't really support tryouts. Also depends on your design decisions - my batts aren't as far back in the bilge compartment as they could be based on what I wanted to be able to do back there. My choices won't work for everyone.
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