I forgot to mention that if you are using the standard manual jackplate that comes on a Basscat it will be really hard for you to get the motor too high and starve it for water. The water pressure gauge is a very important gauge to watch but I've never seen a Basscat with a stock plate have issues. I've owned 3 Panteras. Two with 200's and one with a 225 and I have messed with all three of them trying to squeak out the last .0004 mph from them.

My last Cat, I did some pretty significant mods to the powerhead to get more HP then I sent the lower unit off to have it modded for low water pickups so I could raise it higher on the plate. I wound up changing out the plate because I felt like I couldn't get the motor high enough to run the chopper style prop I wanted to run.

In the end I would up spending a pile of money on the stupid thing and I still wasn't running fast enough to suit me. That's when I switched to a Bullet. Five Bullets later, I am back to a slower Cadillac rig.

So looking at my manual, my gear ratio is 1.75:1 . It also says my full throttle rpm is 5000-5750. That seems like a wide margin. Is this saying my full throttle trimmed down should be around 5000 and I shouldn't go over 5750 as I trim up. Another few issues may be, like has been said, I ran that speed in august in hot water, and I think I have a stuck live well valve, because it always fills up about a third of the way every time I put it in the water. Also, I didn't know if I could trim up any more, I felt like I had hardly any control and wasn't comfortable going any further up. Ill pay close attention to my rpm and water pressure this time and see what Im turning.

Trimmed up or down, rpm is rpm. When it hits limiter, it will beep or just not go over max (most of the time). As said previously, the important gage is water pressure- especially when trimming up and in turns. while running WOT, if it gets squirrely, steer through it by counter steering the bow direction in short sharp corrections. If bow goes right, sharp short left steer to correct. DO NOT drop off hot foot suddenly at high speed. Keel will act as rutter and torque will cause hook steer in nano seconds. Work your way into these speeds at a safe pace and clear of others in ideal water/wind conditions. Goes without saying-ALWAYS wear kill switch connected. Also, consider wearing foam type life preserver. It will protect your ribs if you get thrown. Auto-inflates sometimes fail and provide no protection against hardware on your way out of the boat.

Skeered yet?

Majority of people over trim cats. I'm guilty of it. Yes when you get comfortable and you let's her eat (boat stepping up on pad) you gain a couple mph. Honestly not worth it. 2016 cougar/sho can achieve 78.3. (What o can get it to). But under control 74 is comfortable. Call Basscat and talk to Ivan. He will quiz you, so be ready with your data.

Ivan at BCB is the best. I have 2015 Cougar FTD and needed some tweaking on my hole shot after adding my Talons. He fixed me up over the phone. Dropped from a 26 Fury to a 25 Fury with no plugs. Boat will run comfortably in min 70s all day.

I also owned a 09 Sabre FTD with a 175 ProXS and a 24 Fury. It would run 65 -68 at max rpm. I think you Panter II run better with a 3 blade Fury and maybe a little jack plate adjustment. Ivan can help.

Four blades tend to work better on big heavy boats that need lots of lift you're boat doesn't fit that category reason it's feeling squirrely is likely because there's barely any boat in the water when trimmed up if it's a trophy you're probably way out of the water lol.

Listen to KenA and fishnfireman, they know fast boats.

I've experienced the Pantera 2 several times in the past. I think back then the Mercury Tempest Plus was the best prop. I've ridden in one at Lake of the Ozarks. With two guys, tackle and a full tank it was tickling 70. With an average load it should do 72 or 3.

Good advice. The soft rubber motor mounts that Merc & Yam uses exacerbates the problem at high trim angles. The only way to fix that is to replace them. That is more expense & trouble than most boat owners want to expend.

I have driven and taught at least two dozen people how to drive their boats to the full potential. You can read about how to do it and watch videos but until someone actually goes out and drives it with you in the passenger seat, it is hard to explain.

The best advice I can give you is this. You'll need a fairly calm day with a long straight open area to run.

Start off with the trim tucked all the way under and get to full throttle. Start bumping the Up trim button until you feel the boat starting to chine walk uncomfortably for you. Stay on the gas full throttle. Bumping the Down trim button will stop this.

You should notice the steering wheel torque will cause the boat to want to go to the right and you have to steer slightly to the left to correct this effect. Turning the steering wheel Slowly into the wheel torque and Quickly away from the wheel torque will correct the chine walk motions. It takes a LOT of practice but it is worth it. It's kind of like driving your car on ice but with a boat you have steering torque to contend with.

I've had guys tell me that they thought their motors were mounted off-center on their boats because the boat was uncontrollable at full throttle. I would jump in the boat with them and show them how to drive through the chine walk and they were amazed.

PM me if I can help. I'll be glad to meet you somewhere midway and show you what I am talking about.

Replied to your PM

You need a 25P Tempest or Fury. Both are a 3 blade prop. Try both and see which works better. You might need to move your jack plate either up or down to get the optimum performance out of each prop. I did that with my 04 Cougar. A 25P Fury runs the best on it. The 25P trophy that came with the boat was terrible compared to the performance I am getting out of the Fury.

My previous boat was a 19ft Champion with a 200 Mariner and it would scream with a 25P Tempest.

Something here we might all be missing... Is your speed being shown on the speedometer or are these GPS numbers? If it's from the speedometer then odds are the number isn't even close to correct.
You might be going faster than you think you are.

I have a Pantera IV and have both a 26" 4 blade and a 28" 3 blade. The 4 blade has a dynamite hole shot, but the boat runs fairly flat on the water, therefore more friction and a bit slower, but handles much better and is way better in rough water. The 3 blade 28" Pitch does not have the same hole shot, but it is tolerable, and the bow of the boat is well out of the water. It runs probably 3-5 mph faster with the higher pitch prop, but does not have the hole shot and does not handle quite as well. I've determined that the best thing to do is run the 4 blade from Oct-March and the 3 blade the rest of the time.

I have always been told that it's 3 for speed and 4 for comfort. I have done both and do believe that his basically holds true.

With just me and a full load of tackle and fuel, I run 62 GPS at 5500 rpm on my 18'6" Javelin with a 4 blade prop and a 150HP. Seems like you should be able to get a little more out of that bigger engine.

Good to meet you today buddy. Your boat is fine.

We were screaming across the water at 70.0 GPS @ 5,650 rpms and the boat has a great holeshot. I wouldn't change a thing.

That drone was cool to watch. That guy probably got some great footage of your boat at full tilt as we ran into his cove.