Boating — December 2018

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SPEED EFFICIENCY OPERATIONnaut. stat. n. mi. s. mi. sound

rpm knots mph gph mpg mpg range range angle level

1000 4.8 5.5 1.0 4.8 5.5 129.0 148.5 0 70

1500 5.7 6.6 2.0 2.9 3.3 77.4 89.1 3 79

2000 7.2 8.3 4.7 1.5 1.8 41.4 47.7 5 80

2500 18.9 21.7 5.0 3.8 4.3 101.8 117.2 4 85

3000 25.8 29.7 7.0 3.7 4.2 99.5 114.6 1 89

3500 30.4 35.0 8.9 3.4 3.9 92.3 106.2 1 91

4000 35.3 40.6 11.7 3.0 3.5 81.4 93.7 2 91

4500 41.6 47.9 12.9 3.2 3.7 87.1 100.3 2 94

5000 52.6 60.5 15.2 3.5 4.0 93.4 107.5 2 99

5500 56.7 65.2 16.3 3.5 4.0 93.8 108.0 2 102

5850 62.1 71.5 18.5 3.4 3.9 90.7 104.4 2 104

MOST ECONOMICAL CRUISING SPEED

High Points

XCompact design lets you keep the

boat in most two-car garages for

secure storage.

XLivewell is pump-in/pump-out with

a baffl e to minimize sloshing and

separate fi sh.

XLocking center rod storage

handles up to 16 sticks as long

as 8 feet.

Specs

· LOA: 19'6" · BEAM: 7'6"

· DRY WEIGHT: 1,550 lb. · SEATING/

WEIGHT CAPACITY: 5/625 lb.

· FUEL CAPACITY: 30 gal.

How We Tested

ENGINE: Mercury 200 Pro XS

DRIVE/PROP: Outboard/Mercury Fury

14" x 24" 3-blade stainless steel

GEAR RATIO: 1.75:1

FUEL LOAD: 9 gal.

CREW WEIGHT: 440 lb.

Price

$44,795 (as tested)

BASS CAT

Pantera Classic

cooler under the center steps

and another under the cen-

ter glove-box storage. There’s

also passenger-side stowage

for fi ve more rods. Under the

6-foot-wide-by-3½-foot-long

aft deck resides the livewell to

keep fi sh frisky until weigh-in,

as well as bilge access and two

additional storage lockers.

With the Pantera Classic,

Bass Cat returns to its roots

yet in a boat that’s far beyond

the basics.

Bass Cat discontinued the Pantera in

2012 in favor of increasingly sophisticated

bass-boat models such as the Jaguar,

Lynx and Cougar FTD. But with the ad-

vent of the sleek new Pantera Classic,

younger anglers can now get into a tour-

nament-grade machine without breaking

the bank.

With a 7½-foot beam and a swing-

away tongue on the standard tandem-

axle trailer, the Pantera Classic stores

nicely into most two-car garages. With a

200 hp outboard, storage length is 21 feet

10 inches. However, where you’ll really

enjoy the Pantera Classic is on the water,

especially when powered by a Mercury

200 Pro XS, as was our tester. With two

adult males on board, the single-console

version (a passenger console is an op-

tion) bolted to plane in 2.5 seconds and

reached 30 mph in 5 seconds, quickly

airing out at 71.5 mph at 5,850 rpm. An

R&R manual jack plate easily fi ne-tunes

the ride, and SeaStar Solutions hydraulic

steering keeps you in control. The con-

sole and bow station feature standard

7-inch Humminbird Helix multifunction

displays, but you can upgrade to a 12-inch

MFD at the helm. An interactive panel re-

places the traditional switch panel at the

helm, and dual USB ports are standing by

to keep phones charged. You’ll have plen-

ty of sticks to catch fi sh thanks to center

locking rod storage that can hold up to

16 fi shing rods up to 8 feet in length. Sur-

rounding the center rod locker are three

big stowage compartments in the 6-foot-

wide-by-7½-foot-long foredeck.

With an expansive front casting deck

and a recessed Minn Kota Fortrex 80

trolling motor, you can ply the edges of

the lily pads and points with ease. There

are pedestal seats fore and aft. We found a

PHOTOS: BILL DOSTER

BASS CAT

Mountain Home, Arkansas; 807-481-5135;

basscat.com

To watch our

video review

of the Pantera

Classic, scan

this tag or visit

boatingmag

.com/bbg18/

basscatpantera.

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