Pantera Classic – Correct Choice?

[SloppyJ]

Hey guys, I’m looking into owning my first cat and have one picked out I’m going to look at next weekend. It’s a 2011 Pantera Classic with a 200 pro xs. It has roughly 200hrs with good compression and it’s a one owner boat. Extremely clean.

 

I’ve owned a 98 tracker 185 forever. I was with my grandpa when we bought it brand new. Most of my fishing is on Beaver and I’m tried of topping out at 35mph and being blown all over. The most annoying is the 77″ beam width.

 

We crappie fish a lot sitting side by side up front and I’m having a hard time trying to figure out what sort of width there is on a 2011 Pantera classic and how far the beam is carried forward. I also have two little boys that sometimes like to go and more room would be helpful. From the hull post, it seems like they haven’t changed since 2006 but I know that the dimensions on a 2023 pantera classic are different than the 2011 from what I can tell.

 

From what I see, it’s a 19’1″ boat with a 93″ beam. But I’ve found a lot of contradicting info. Can anyone help me out?

 

Being born and raised in AR I love bass cats and its been a dream to own one. I’m in a position to do that and this boat has everything that we want. I just want to make sure I’m not going to regret going for a bigger boat once I get it. If anyone has any advice or experience I’d love to hear it.

[Bass Cat Boats]

A 2011 Pantera Classic is the same hull as the Pantera II model and it will make you a very nice boat. Just be sure it’s been well cared for.

[schodackbassman]

I’m glad BCB chimed in that the two Pantera’s shred the same hull, I couldn’t remember when the redesign took place when they went to a wide deck on the Classic.  The earlier version is a smaller boat.  I owned an 07 for 11 years moving up to the Caracal three years ago.  I bought in 2010 with like 50 hours put 350 hours on it in 11 years.  I sold it for just $1500 less then I paid for in 2010!  They hold their value if you take care of them.

The Classic is a great rig.  It’s fast with an amazing hole shot.  I spun a 26P 3 blade and it was still fast with just me and every compartment jammed full.  With a partner and his/her gear a plus water in the live wells a 25P would be better.  I never got beat out of the hole even by  other Pumas.  That said, the bow is very narrow.  It’s great for the person up front for casting or flipping but it’s narrow though probably no more so the the Tracker.  I always kept all my above deck rods on the port side which allowed room to go back and forth on the starboard.  The deck isn’t real deep unless you get the deck extension which I had.  That makes the deck much larger.  Also there is a seat post hole with or without the deck extension which you would like for two seats up front.  You are not going to put seats side by side I don’t think.  The rear deck and storage are pretty big with two large lockers.  The bilge area is tough to work in unless you are young and skinny.  I was neither!  Live wells are the same as premium models and I think I lost 2-3 fish in 11 years (I fish Champlain mostly and area lakes in southern VT so it’s not as hot as out there.  The only complaint I had was the quite small ice cooler.  I’d put the drinks in the cooler and food in a soft side cooler tucked under the deck extension to keep it out of the sun.  Only needed to do that when had someone else in the boat.  With the 200 Optimax (no ProXS 200 in 07 or if you had one, only difference were the decals) it sips gas.  I had the kicker tank that I never used even once.  30 gallon belly tank holds more than enough.  I got 55mph turning 4500 to 4700 rpm.  60mph and above it gets a little thirsty like any outboard.  My best top end was 71.4 but I am not a good driver.  Many could get 75-76 all day because they  knew what they were doing.

I’m sure other Classic owners will comment.  There are a LOT of the earlier versions of  the Classic out there and we like or liked the boat.  Couple pictures.  In the second you can see the deck extension.

 

[SloppyJ]

Thank you both for the reply. The Pantera certainly seems to be a boat with a cult following. It seems that everyone I’ve spoken with that’s owned one loved it. They also seem to like talking to perspective buyers about them.

 

Schodack, thank you for all of the information. From the measurements I’ve seen, it seems like the current P2 is very close in size to my current boat. And yes, I’m talking about sitting two side by side up front. My tracker measures 53″ at the pedestal. I believe the current P2 measures 54. The difference is that I believe the P2’s pedestal to me further forward than my current rig due to the trolling motor pedal placement so far forward.

 

I will certainly be getting the deck extension as that seems to be a crucial piece of gear for these boats. The one I’m looking at does not have one unfortunately. If I’m not mistaken, these are still being produced by Bass Cat and I can purchase one new directly from them, hopefully with matching carpet. If not, I’ll have to fabricate one.

 

The boat certainly checks every single box of mine but front deck width. I’m just going to have to go see it in person and be honest with myself as far as if that’s something I’m comfortable on. Again, I’ve been in boats almost my entire life and I’m finally in a position to purchase one. I just want to make sure I don’t regret my choice in boat.

 

My current setup isn’t as bad as you would think as far as fishing two up front. More space would be great but having a more stable platform to fish out of is likely a bigger positive than more room. Because of the front storage I think I’ll be confined to using the existing pedestal mount up front and purchasing a setup that drops in there and splits off for two additional pedestal mounts. However, I’m very versed in CAD and have friends with CNC equipment so I could fabricate something to offset the seats to the rear more to take advantage of some additional width.

The rest of the year I typically bass fish with my family and I really have no concerns about that. The model I’m looking at has the passenger console which is important for my wife. However, how easy are they to remove/reinstall when we go to smaller lakes where we won’t be running very far to get to where we need to go?

 

Other than that, I’m not too concerned about the boat I’m purchasing, one owner and as clean as they come. Has recent paperwork from the shop with compression and hours and they both check out. Storage compartments look showroom clean, and there are very minimal wear marks. It’s been garage kept its entire life. If anything I’m more concerned with how little it got used to only have 200hrs on it.

Thank you all for the info, I can’t tell you how much it says to have the company reply to a potential owner. That goes quite a ways in my book.

[Will Hesch]

Sloppy J, I encourage you to look at used Caracals. The beam is 96″ and carries way back and forward, the front deck is seriously roomy for 2 anglers side by side. It carries a 225 and goes fast! 

We were deciding between the Pantera and Caracal and are sure glad we purchased the Caracal!

• This reply was modified 1 year, 12 months ago by Will Hesch.

[schodackbassman]

I did do the measurements on the 07 when buying the Caracal.  I want to say it was 36″ at TM pedal and 40 or 42″ at pedestal.  As you can see from the picture I posted, there is the one center tackle storage compartment (very large as space goes up past pedestal post) so you probably don’t want to put seats over that unless you travel very light and can store all your tackle in starboard rod locker (I had both compartments stuffed with tackle).  The passenger console can be removed but it’s a bit of a project and there will be holes to fill/cover.  It is not one that can be moved in and out.  It also restricts the length of rod you can store up front on the deck to around 7′.  I had several 7 6 and 7 11 rods where the tips went well beyond the port rod deck compartment lid.  If you look at the deck picture, you can see a round hole just in front to the drivers console, that is a seat pedestal hole for a second seat.  I think it more designed to hold a seat to support the boat cover but it could be used to fish from too.  The deck of the PII is a little wider than the Classic.  They accomplished that by raising the deck higher on gunnels.  The Classic has higher gunnels above the deck than the PII which I liked.  Less likely to kick a rod over board with higher gunnel.

Will above mentioned the Caracal which is what I have now.  I was in my early 50’s when I bought the Classic, mid 60’s when I bought Caracal because I wanted the larger/wider deck.  Not as stable as I was 15 years ago.  Caracal is a fantastic boat.  However, it’s a premium model and a price (even used) to go with it if you can find one.  Owners tend to hold on to them like the old P4’s which it kinda of replaced.  I found the Classic very stable fishing alone up front.  When fishing with someone of size in the back, you knew it when they moved one side of the rear deck to the other and had to keep it in mind while fishing.

Happy shopping.  Enjoy the journey.

Brian

Go check out the boat and stand up front.  Fishing off the nose takes a little getting used to but you will love it once you do.  Great for flipping/casting.

[96PClassic]

in model year 2018 they redesigned the pantera classic. MUCH wider up front despite being a 90″ beam. I had a 1996 calssic and LOVED the performance of that boat but it was narrow up front. I now have a 2018 Pantera classic and it really addresses all of my dislikes about my previous classic (narrow front deck, lack of storage)  If you can find a 2018 or up pantera classic as you would be much happier with the front deck on it for your application.

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