Has anyone done any upgrades to their Cougars over the winter or bought any new ones? Let see some photos.
Thanks
Gary
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Has anyone done any upgrades to their Cougars over the winter or bought any new ones? Let see some photos.
Thanks
Gary
WOW!!!
Over 100,000 views on this thread. I never thought that it would be so well viewed. It shows that people love their Cougars-Boats that is!! With the 23MTR and 22MTR molds out their, maybe we will see some new builds using today's materials and technologies to see a new generation of their classic designs. With the new 4 stroke engines available now, the speeds and reliability should be greatly improved. Keep posting your new or old Cougar photos and any projects or upgrades to your boat.
Thanks again for all the info
Gary
Mother Nature must be a boat lover...maybe even a Cougar owner.
Thursday night May 2nd and my 19 is washed, waxed, launched, lake tested and now at home on my lift.
This has to be at least 2 weeks earlier than any other season start for me !!
Attachment 532443
Here's mine on the lift. Keep posting up your past and present Cougars.
Thanks
Gary
Thanks for the Picture. Gary How about some details like speed, year, etc. etc. Would love to hear moreQuote:
Originally Posted by Hydrogasm
Thanks Cougar Dave
Here is the first fancy Cougar Tom and I built back in about 1979-80?? that sort of started the whole Cougar brand. Tom named it OUTRAGOUS and in its time, it was, with a very FANCY 6 color gel plus full race 468 Chev with Ni Ox and a fully blue printed pump, on one of our fancy trailers.
Txs Cougar Dave
Attachment 534655
Cougar DaveQuote:
Originally Posted by cougar dave (Can)
This is my 2001 22MTR with twin 300X engines and according Dan Weedan, the only one built that way. I bought it in 2017 with 47 hours and it currently has 64 hours on it. I haven't hit top speed yet but 100 plus is no trouble.
THANKS. It still looks like NEW and I guess with that low hours it is STILL NEW. Nice to see them like this, what 23 years later, Cougar Tom would be a happy camper if he could see it and I will try to pass the pictures on to himCougar DaveQuote:
Originally Posted by Hydrogasm
My ‘98
DaveQuote:
Originally Posted by cougar dave (Can)
I bought it from the original owner in Washington state and he said when he went to the factory to order it and there was a 23MTR with twin 300Xs on it, so he changed his order from 280s to 300Xs. They moved both gas tanks further forward to counter act the additional weight and when I got it home I discovered about 50lbs of sand in the very tip of each sponson which I have since removed. Hopefully Tom will remember the boat and maybe shed some more info on it.
Thanks
Gary
It looks great! How long have you owned it? How does it run? Please post some more photos and details of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rgoodfellow11
Thanks
Gary
Hello Gary, I have owned it since July of ‘23. It currently has 260s built by Jay Smith on it. It runs 110mph with Merc 30p Cleavers. Have not tried any other Props. I am going to repower this winter to 300xs. I love these 2.5s but they are not very practical for what I like to do.. I’ll add some more pics!Quote:
Originally Posted by Hydrogasm
Here are some photos. Not sure why some are vertical.
Great looking inside and out! Is it all original or did the previous owners redo it?Quote:
Originally Posted by Rgoodfellow11
Thanks
Gary
Calling all 23 MTR owners! I'm planning to redo all of the plumbing on mine this winter. Looking for close up pictures of your hose routing for jacks, trim and steering. I'm not happy with the way mine is set-up so looking for ideas.
Thanks a bunch!
Bob
Wow! Crickets...
Well I brought the boat home from the lake and tore it apart. Made CAD drawings of the rigging tubes at all realistic angles and distances between the cowling connector and the slot that the current tube went into. It looks like the 2" rigging tubes on 2.5's slide in and out of that slot. The 2 1/2" on the 300's doesn't and that seems to be the biggest problem. Also replacing all lines for the steering and trim with AN and bulkhead fittings. I'll post pictures of the progress/outcome as I get through it.
Attachment 537078Attachment 537079Attachment 537080
I haven't posted anything for a while. Has anyone gotten a new to them Cougar or in the process of redoing theirs? Post up some info and photos.
Thanks for keeping this thread going
Gary
First part done. I formed the trim hard lines and converted to AN, made brackets to hold bulkhead 90's. No more trim tubes hanging in the wind and hitting the top of the transom when trimmed up.Quote:
Originally Posted by luv2gofast
Attachment 538174Attachment 538175
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Did anyone get any new bling or parts for their Cougar from Santa? Let's hear about it.
Thanks
Gary
Still working on my 22 Gary. Had an issue with the shop that was installing the 300R so many months wasted. Have it at a shop a couple hundred miles closer to me so can keep an eye on it. Popped on here to look at interiors and looking for another trailer for it. Was great looking through all the posted photos. I will have mine complete by April and will post some photos.
That's unfortunate but hopefully the new shop will get it done for you. Yes please post up photos of it when you get it back,Quote:
Originally Posted by Speedicat
Thanks
Gary
I finally finished the parts for the rigging hoses and trim plumbing. I got rigging tube through hull connectors from Hardin. They are nice but the swivel balls are threaded for the hose. Great for boats that can get away with flexing the tubes but it seems like the Cougar needs the tubes to slide in and out when jacking. This was always the problem I had with the 3" tubes stuffed into the slots for the 2 1/2" tubes. I made new ball inserts out of UHMW with smooth bores so that the hoses can slide. That was a project because I had to make a tool to cut the radius on my lathe. All parts went to powder coat so hope to assemble next week. I still need to sort out the steering hosed but making headway and I like how it's going.Quote:
Originally Posted by luv2gofast
Attachment 539248Attachment 539253Attachment 539251Attachment 539252
All of the plumbing is done and just got back from a week at Havasu! Everything works great so that project is finally done. Made a wrench for the oil tank caps, always have trouble getting them loose.
Before we left I had the boat detailed and ceramic coated. Looks great!
While in Havasu I saw the OC Reverend's yellow and white Cougar going down the street with it's new owner and also a blue and white 25 with a pair of 300x's going through the channel.
Attachment 542293Attachment 542294Attachment 542295Attachment 542296Attachment 542297Attachment 542298Attachment 542299Attachment 542300Attachment 542301
I looked way back through the posts in this thread and found the blue and white 25 in post #263 by Propster. At that time he shows that he was in Washington. Not sure if he still owns it, long way from Havasu. Also found (the Rev)War Canoe's yellow and white 21 in post #176 by Gary as a for sale listing. Not sure when Rev bought it but it looks like he did the tips of the sponsons in orange. The new owner lives in Havasu. Old Cougars never die!!! Making mine better one-project-at-a-time...Quote:
Originally Posted by luv2gofast
Yellow/White in #176 might be a different one. NewCanoe's yellow/white with the orange tips is in #114.
I haven't posted here in a while, so I thought I would post a video that Chris Murphy took while riding in my boat on July 13th on the Tri-Lakes area in Ontario. I had gone to the Cougar Bash on July 12th on Rice Lake that Johnny 5 organized and he and I trailered our boats over there and we ran about 58 miles on the 3 lakes. You will see his 22MTR with a 300R in the video along with Tom Watson in his Triad V21.
Thanks
Gary
https://youtu.be/jI7B1cpBb1U
Wow Gary, amazing run and great video. Thanks for posting! Your Cougar look great and runs very clean in the water.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hydrogasm
Couple of questions:
So Chris was controlling the drone while you blasting along? What is the drone? Amazing to see such great footage at speed and I love the way it follows right along.
Looks like you have hull mounted water pickups. Could I get some pictures of your setup?
Thanks,
Bob
Great video! Your boat runs like a beast. You need to put that up on the MTR Facebook group. They will love it.
Speedicat
The boat runs great! In the video, I think the top speed that we ran was about 85mph because it was fairly rough but I have been over 100 multiple times in it and it is still pulling. My boat is actually the cover photo on the Cougar MTR Facebook group page right now. Johnny 5 who started the group is in the other Cougar in the video.
Thanks
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Speedicat
BobQuote:
Originally Posted by luv2gofast
The video was shot using with Chris's GoPro 360 camera that was mounted on a pole that was put in my stern light socket. He then edits the video on his computer and then he posted it on YouTube. If you send me an e-mail at [email protected] I will send you some photos of my low water pick ups.
Thanks
Gary
Attachment 544566Attachment 544567Attachment 544568Attachment 544569Couple of updates on my 1992 Cougar 25 MTR. The boat is back from having the dash and transom all re-glassed. Interior cushions are done. It goes in at the end of the month to install new Relion batteries, all new wiring, VesselView 903, Garmin GPSMap 943, Fusion black box, JL speakers and amp. From there it will go for rigging and a pair of new 300R's over the winter. Waiting to hear back from Powertran on their Impulse jackplate as well as STR on their X-ACT engine bracket to see which option we choose. Starting to get excited about the project being done for next Spring!
CanadaMattQuote:
Originally Posted by CanadaMatt
Wow it looks great! Please keep us updated on your progress. It will be one sweet ride when it is done. Johnny 5 has a Facebook page for Cougar Owners as well called CougarMTR. You should check it out as most of the people on there are from Ontario.
Thanks for posting
Gary
Thanks Gary. I don’t have FB but will look on my fiances later when she is home.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hydrogasm
Well the next stage is complete. Boat has been completely rewired. A Vesselview 903 and Garmin 943 installed. New Relion batteries. Lighting. Stereo is a Fusion hideaway (all run off the screens, no deck), 4xJL 8.8 and 2xJL 6.5 powered by a Fusion 1500 watt 6 channel amp. All light up red speakers. We did a Garmin boat switch to tie all buttons and switches into the screens, with no hard switches anywhere. All rigging has been ordered and most parts are in. Next step is to have Porta Hydraulic Transom Brackets installed and the 300R's hung on them. Then rigging will be complete and we should be ready for the spring. A graphics wrap will be the final stage. Its been a fun project so far with only minor hiccups.
CanadaMatt
Wow you are making great progress!! Keep the photos coming. Did you check out the Cougar FaceBook group? Johnny 5 has organized another Cougar Bash for July 18th-I think. I am sure everyone would love to see your boat.
Thanks Gary
Hey Gary. Yes I was checking it out after you told me about it. Where is the Cougar bash held?
CanadaMattQuote:
Originally Posted by CanadaMatt
It's held at the Golden Beach Resort on Rice Lake.
Thanks
Gary
I took the Cougar out yesterday afternoon for probably one last blast for this summer. I was pretty excited about the top end number-111mph, running Hill Signature 15" x 32" 4 blades. I think 120 is there with a set of 34s and a little more tweaking and a little more lake.
Sad times-the end of the season! I cleaned up the boat a couple of weekends ago and put it in storage last week. The boat ran great all summer. I can't wait until next spring and hopefully I can that top end number up a little.
Thanks
Gary
Here is another video that Tom Watson took from his boat at the Cougar Bash on July 12, 2025. What a great day and some great looking Cougars along with some pretty nice looking hot boats. Enjoy the video! Can't wait for spring.
Thanks
Gary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZouXDbzjOt8
Excellent!!!:thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Hydrogasm