Pros and cons of a 2020/2021 bass cat pantera II

[KX1990]

Sold my 20 ft ranger and in the market for a new boat, can I get some input on the bad and good of a bass cat.
I’m leaning towards the pantera II sp.
hows the top speed? Handle? Fishability? Trailer quality?
most of the guys I know don’t own a bass cat in my area. Wouldn’t mind paying gas money to ride in one.

[Bill2e]

The PII is an incredible boat and all any of us really need.

it’s a fast boat with a 200 (low 70’s), super quick hole shot and a blast to drive.

everything about the PII is great.

the only down side is the front deck is narrower than the 20 foot models. Not an issue, but maybe an adjustment.

[angleiron]

There is a beautiful 2021 Pantera II at Riverside marine in TN. Call Steve and ask him about it...

[FlippinManiac]

As Bill mentioned, normal top speed is low 70s and the hole shot is incredible. I am always up and out to ~60mph first in the shotgun start tournaments I fish. The front deck is narrow, so if you like to fish with two adults on the front deck it can be tight. It handles the rough water here in East TN great. The boat cuts through chop and those extra padded seats help soften a big landing. BCB makes quality boats and that attention to detail goes all the way to the trailers too.

[iron banks]

Fun boat to drive. Very agile both on the pad and with the trolling motor down. Very fuel efficient probably the best in the BCB line up. Built to toe high standards of BCB. My only negative was in really big seas you can get waves washing onto the bow while fishing into the wind. It has a very low profile. If a lot of skinny water and river systems its the best.

[Louie]

Speed is excellent with the 200, handles amazing with probably the fastest hole shot of the bcb fleet. Pretty stable boat for its length, but if you gotta bigger guy on one back corner it will lean you while your on the trolling motor. Trailer and console options varied in the years your looking at, both trailers offered were good trailers, ones a 3" c frame, other is a 4" which was an upgrade over the normal package. Center compartments are very deep and will hold alot of stuff for a smaller boat. Not many downsides to the rig, and they resell better than any boat out there right now.

[Bjxds]

Overall I believe the P2 SP is the best value. I decided to go with something different due to dealer support.

[mactlman]

There is a beautiful 2021 Pantera II at Riverside marine in TN. Call Steve and ask him about it...

must be gone now?

[Bass Cat Boats]

Pantera II models are in extremely high demand and we have people checking lists where they are in stock for a color they like now.

shucks... a canoe is in high demand today if it’s in stock, though Bass Cat models appear to be more so. This is determined from our backlog of orders and lead times in comparison to other manufacturers. While we would like to meet the demand, we feel terrible that some have been forced to buy other brands. Perhaps in a more normal time you as consumers will again entertain the the thought of a Bass Cat Bxds.

must be gone now?

[PMantle]

I cannot tell from pictures, but is there a spot on the bow of the Advantage series boats to put one of those non-slip pads? I fear I will miss those from my Margay(That rolled out of my driveway yesterday).

[mike464]

There's a pretty 2020 in Biloxi Ms. on the BassCat boats for sale page on FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1727743310844012

[angleiron]

must be gone now?

Call and ask for Steve. I saw it in on the floor last Friday, and this is a small dealership so they may not monkey with the web site too much.

[Topwater All Day]

KX1990 - sent you a PM...pretty much echoing what everyone on here has said. I love my PII for sure, great boat, but as I get older I will be looking at a Classic or a Caracal for that wider front deck in my next boat.

[Cajunhunter67]

I believe the majority of Pro's and Cons were covered.
Coming from a Ranger you may find the front deck a bit tight and stability with another angler in the boat will be noticed. I believe it will be an adjustment for you coming from a wide bodied boat to a more performance oriented rig.
Once you do, it does everything well. Unless your fishing big water and a need a 21 foot bass boat, the PII will meet or exceed your tournament needs.

BCB quality will be on par with your Ranger and the trailers are built 100 percent by BCB.
If you fish shallow or beat the banks, the PII excels at it.
As posted above, the hole shot is very quick. So is acceleration to upper 60s.

During these times with such high demand for PII's it may be hard to find, but you really need to drive and fish out of one. We all have different expectations and needs from our boat, make sure the PII meets yours.
Don

[KX1990]

Thanks, I appreciate all the feedback you guys have provided, I am in central California so I will probably visit boatmasters soon to see what they have available. I’d buy used but there’s not many available and I also would like the new 4 stroke pro xs. I’m tired of 2 strokes and the issues they have. My 225 pro xs treated me well but all my friends were blowing compressors, running lean and melting pistons, coil pack issues and injector issues. I’m also tired of spending $40 a gallon on DFI oil.

[Ek3313]

There’s someone looking to move a 2017 PII on the BCB 4 Sale page. The boat is packaged well. May be worth browsing.

[Cajunhunter67]

There’s someone looking to move a 2017 PII on the BCB 4 Sale page. The boat is packaged well. May be worth browsing.

Update: Its sold.

I also want to bring up the fast hole shot and acceleration of the PII.

All of our club tournaments are shotgun blast offs. First Horn, Idle. Second horn, hammer down.
One of our lakes has a small cove that is about a 3/4 mile from blast off. Certain times of the year its very productive. Its my go to spot.

During weigh in, one of the anglers (Triton owner) started giving my buddy (owns a Eyra) hell. He was just messing with him of course.
He told my buddy, "you know I always fish that cove but you and your Bass Cat had to beat me there". My buddy of course had no clue what he was talking about. HE said "I went the other way, back side of the island."
Angler told him, "That second horn blew and you flew out the water and got ahead of everybody like a mad man"!

I threw my bag up on the weighing table and told him, "That was Me!"
Yep, the PII out the hole to 65-69 mph is a beast.

Don

[Unravels]

On the BCB store site you can buy the trailer step pads, it comes as pack of 2 for $4.50. Is like skateboard tape. I used one side sideways and cut the other one to fit. I almost slipped off the front, so this was the cheap/easy solution to avoid that from happening again.

https://basscatstore.com/singleaxlefender-1-1-1-2.aspx

[PMantle]

I bought two packs, and plan to place them like that.

[willwork4fish]

Agree with what everyone else said on the pros, P2 is a fantastic boat. There is one con that I had with mine. The opening/lid for the rigging compartment is small and it is very tough to work in there especially off towards either side. Even just getting a group 31 down through the opening is a chore. My compartment was full though with 3 batteries, oil tank, power pole pumps (and I had the PP wave pack cylinders). I pulled my charger and made it non on-board with some connectors.