Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › Caracal vs Eyra
Cajunhunter67.
The original plan was to buy a Pantera Classic as it was described as to be able to fit through a garage door that was 8′ wide. Well…it was never explained that in order to do this you have to get a narrowed trailer that does not look very good and is going to be VERY tight going through a 8′ door. My other garage bay has a 4 post double wide car lift that when both cars on on the lift and with the lift in the highest position I can go I am limited on the height as if you are not aware these new V8 Merc motors are freakin’ huge.
So with a hydraulic jackplate and probably having to use the trailer jack for height adjustments I am 99% sure I can fit a larger boat in the other side of the garage. I know the differences between the Caracal and Eyra are width, length, and HP but would I would like to know is about speeds between the two. What are people seeing as far as speed with a 225 Caracal and a 250 Eyra? I know there are variables involved but I am looking for some average speeds with an average load.
Caracal 74-75 and the Eyra 80-84 of course these are top end speeds with a good driver and boat setup correctly.
With respect to your question, you may want to ask yourself “how often can I drive those top end speeds”. Sure the Eyra is faster, but if you’re usually in a body of water whereby you can only be at top-end speed for maybe 10% of the time, then there’s probably other things more relevant to your decision making. Both are excellent models.
From my experience ,both of those are super boats, but they are vastly different. Almost like comparing a sports car to a luxury touring Car.
Caracal is super boat to fish out of-huge decks , gobs of storage, smaller open area in cockpit, and lots of rear storage. Huge center Rod Locker, netholder is great. 72 mph fully loaded with 4 batteries 52 gallons of fuel and two shallow water anchors on back and lots of tackle. Has rod locker for passenger. Caracal with rear tanks add underseat storage-very handy. Cooler holds ice for two days. Runs big water very well.
Eyra runs very fast, smaller rear storage and smaller front deck, but handles all types of rough water well. Still plenty of deck for two anglers up front. Cockpit open area seems larger than Caracal area. Seats on Eyra are closer to floor than Caracal. Rod locker on left with center storage. Has shelf for passenger rods. You will be not be passed in an Eyra with 250HP.
You can’t go wrong with either boat! It might just boil down to where you want to carry your rods and store your gear!
It is just like choosing steak or lobster for dinner!
You really need to sit in both to reach a decision.
Just my opinion……………..
PPBASS51 really covered the two boats well.
What type of water do you fish? Bank beater? Offshore? Small lakes? Rivers? Cypress Trees? Piers?
Each boat will excel in certain areas.
If your fishing rivers, Piers, bank beating, trees, lakes with long runs, you cant beat the Eyra. Responds excellent to TM input, handles likes its on rails, and accelerates once on pad like a mad dog! Top speed tournament loads will be mid 70’s to low 80’s. However, that was with the 2 stroke 250 Merc. The new V8 may have more in it.
Fishing big water. Rough water that usually limits your speed. Usually fish with a partner. Believe its necessary to have 20 rods on the front deck. Fish Offshore often. Want a wider front deck. Massive storage. Handles with more of a big boat feel. Top speed tournament loaded will be as stated above. high 60’s to mid 70’s depending on load. Than the Caracal is the boat for you.
Cant go wrong with either boat. Just know what you want out of your rig. They are very different in design.
Fish all types of water…rivers like the Mississippi as well as lakes. Long runs are needed sometimes to get where I need to go, and though time is not always a factor when I want to fish a spot getting there sooner than later is always better. I know we are only talking about a few extra minutes between the two boats but they are also priced almost the same so that is why I asked. I am also a little bit of a speed freak having owned an Allison, Stroker, and Gamblers in the past and as much as speed can get you in to trouble it equally gets you out of trouble as well.
As for the boat width a few inches to me is not a factor. Would be going with the removable passenger console in either case so there should be plenty of room.
<cite>screamn1550:</cite>
<div class=”blockquote-content”>Fish all types of water…rivers like the Mississippi as well as lakes. Long runs are needed sometimes to get where I need to go, and though time is not always a factor when I want to fish a spot getting there sooner than later is always better. I know we are only talking about a few extra minutes between the two boats but they are also priced almost the same so that is why I asked. I am also a little bit of a speed freak having owned an Allison, Stroker, and Gamblers in the past and as much as speed can get you in to trouble it equally gets you out of trouble as well.
As for the boat width a few inches to me is not a factor. Would be going with the removable passenger console in either case so there should be plenty of room.
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With your previous boat experience, I believe you would be most satisfied with the Eyra. The deck is quite a bit narrower compared to the Caracal. You also sit down lower in the cockpit of the Eyra (Kinda like a sports car).
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