I was talking to a friend from church who has a Bass Cat Pantera Classic with a 200 hp engine. Just out of curiosity, I asked him how fast the boat would go with that engine. He told me that his engine had been "tinkered with" and that it was actually putting out around 260 hp...and that it would do 84 mph. He also said he was considering doing a few other things that would probably make it hit the 90 mph mark.

To me, that seems REALLY fast on the water. I understand the need for tournament fishermen to want speed so they can beat everyone else to their favorite fishing spot, but how fast is TOO fast??

I've never gone above about 45 mph in a boat. It just seems to me that going TWICE that speed could be pretty dangerous. What if you hit the wake from a large boat? What if you see stump sticking up? Do you have time to react?

I'll be the first to admit that I like POWER. I just wonder if sometimes we push the limits and worry more about speed than our own safety (and the safety of others). Thoughts??

90 is faaaasssst on the water. It seems like your doing about 150 cuz of no point of reference. Fastest ive been is 87. If you wiped out going that fast it would surely be a trip to the hospital or the funeral home. If my boat would do 90 i would be doing 90 tho ( thats why i sold my Katana ) but in my opinion thats a little bit overkill. Ive fished in alot of tournys where i wished i had a bigger motor but then i realize " hey the fish dont start biting till i get there anyway and boy am i saving on gas exspenses".

When you have to wear a helmet and special survival vests it's not about the fishing anymore.
It's pretty much Nascar on the water in some places.

I say lt them be, it's their money. (and their neck) I spend mine on actually fishing. :p

As for other's safety, I'm a hell of a lot more worried about the pleasure boaters. The Sheriff's dept is looking for one fatality this weekend from one. Ski boat hit a cabin cruiser.

One thing that is a constant when you hear people talking about how fast their boat will go. There usually is a big difference in how fast they THINK their boat will go and how fast it will REALLY go. There are a lot of 80 MPH boats on the water that are actually going 65MPH.

A true 80-90 MPH bassboat is rare, especially one that the average person can drive.

Too fast is the point where you lose control. Whatever that is.

84 MPH Classic would be rather exceptional, and don't think 260 would still get there. But you never know.

It's more the driver than the boat actually.

While that guy is running up and down the lake at 85 mph..........Ill be trolling at 2 mph and catching plenty lots of fish.!

What is scary is somebody with a 90 MPH boat that hasn't had a lot of time in the seat at 60--70--and on up.

Many years ago I was friends with a local dealer and also worked part-time for them once in a while. It was a fun job because they were speed hounds from the word go. The son of the owner even raced some.

I have had a lot of time at various speeds up to 88 MPH both riding and driving. And that boat was clocked by a friend of the owner that was a DPS officer sitting on the bank with the radar gun. These were the days before GPS.

And because I know what these boats can and cannot do is part of the reason that I and my family are wearing life vests about 99.5% of the time while underway. We are in a Sea Pro cc boat and look like a bunch of goobers running 40 wearing life vests. But I am worried about a 90 MPH bass boat with a 50 MPH driver at the wheel.

I have been 120 mph on water and that was on gps. was in a tunnel hull and let me tell you that is like nothing you have ever experienced. it is stable as standing still. of course the wind was not blowing and that was in san diego bay in an ocean where there are no stumps. a good friend years ago had a little blue boat called a mustang hull with a very hot mercury in line and that would run faster then you would want to go. we had good times in that little boat until he almost threw us both out of that thing on grapevine lake one morning as he tried to shut it down. he knows who he is if he gets on this site.

So, it sounds to me like the general consensus is that 80-90 mph is just too fast on the water. I'll confess...in a controlled environment I think it would be fun. On a public lake where there are lots of other watercraft I think it's dangerous.

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts.

While we're on the subject, how fast do you think a Bass Cat Pantera Classic would go with a 150 hp engine?

Classic with a 150 is a mid sixties boat, 70 with a 200. Very nice boat.

Shane I do not think no body here is saying what to fast is. 90 mph is not to fast IF you are qualified to drive at that speed. The problem is that there is a bunch of guys that get boats and after they been in the seat for a couple days they think they got it under control. I was hit by another boat that was probably running in the mid to low 60's After a broken neck, and tore up disc in my back I am alot more cautious when on the water. Life vest should be worn by everyone in a boat period! Things happen fast on the water and once it happens to you it makes you think totally different.

As far as your friends Classic running at those speeds with a 200 outboard he needs to calibrate his GPS. The true 90 MPH boats yes they may run 90 but that is if conditions are perfect. and it is usually for a brief period. The boat is tweaked to being on the verge of being out of control, that is how they get them to run that fast and someone behind the wheel knows what they are doing.

Today 70 MPH up to about 76 MPH is fairly common you start getting faster than that you are talking money, Time, and alot of work for every MPH over those numbers.

Do not believe alot of what you hear people say about the speed of there boats because most of it is just a Fish Tale!!

Not to be a stickler...ok I will be. If he is fishing most any organized tournament circuit he is illegal. Most circuits prohibit engine enhancements that increase power. They allow for enhancing reliability, but not power. Also since I am the stickler I will say that he is also probably with the feds. You cannot change motor configurations unless it is for a primarily racing engine.
On the other hand Bass Cats are fine boats and the 19 foot boat that he has is a smooth riding very controllable boat at 70-75 mph. At the increased speed I am not so sure.
There are boats that are built for speed. An allison 2003 is capable of mid 80's with just a 200. They are driveable up into the 100 plus range but only by someone who has experience driving high performance boats.
I am not but am in the "I wonder what this thing would do with another 50 horsepower" group.

Thanks Pat...and since you were following my other thread about which boat to buy...right now I'm thinking that when I get one I'll try to find a good used Pantera Classic. I was thinking something with a 150 would get me around fine...and from what you're saying about the speed then I guess I was right.

I've got a very very nice Pantera II with 200 merc here, if you want to view.
www.candomarine.com

I don't know if he fishes tournaments or not so I won't comment on that. I was just curious about how fast his boat would go and when he told me that I thought...."WOW. That's FAST. Maybe TOO fast." I posted here just to see what others thought.