Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › Pantera III Models
cajun catter.
Being an owner of a 2000-P3 it seems to me like this at least on the owners board a seldom discussed model of the line over the past ten years. Is there any reason that the P3 is no longer made? Just throwing this out there for some feed back from some of you guys who have been around the BCB family longer than myself.I switched from the R brand and couldnt be happier with mine over the past two years..BCB can probably answer this question best,the contour on the hull up front were it turns in near the front of the bow,was there a purpose for this design?,or was it just cosmetic?Just curious.Its a great riding boat and handles rough water awesome for a 19rig,top speed on mine is 71 on gps with a moderate load,25p tempest,and the motor 3-1/4″below pad.I get alot of compliments on my rig being it looks near new.The bench seat has been removed in favor of the newer style buckets,so it gives the boat a newer appearance.It would be cool to hear from some of the other PIII owners about there rigs,or even past owners of this model to hear what there experience was owing a PIII. Thanks guys,Heres a pic of mine.
I owned my PIII for only a brief period, but it was one of the best rigs Ive ever had. IF it werent for a weak #6 cylinder on the 200 Opti, I would still have the boat. Plenty of room, great ride and good top end. Mine had the original bench seat which was the only drawback on the whole rig as it just wasnt that comfortable. Loved everything else about the boat. You have a very nice rig there !!!
Im the original owner of an 01 P-III myself. Being garage kept and waxed yearly, it still looks showroom new as yours. Would agree the P-III is one of the finest rough water handling 19 rigs BC ever made! Mine still has the original bench, and perhaps someday Ill order and install some newer buckets with the fold-down middle step seat. I may be off a year or two, but all BC production boats from roughly 00-02 were made with some of the best vinyl-ester resin ever! Have thought about upgrading to a newer Cat, but I just love my P-III too much to let her go, plus shes paid for… The small offset at the bow you mentioned is by design for correct trolling motor alignment, or so I was told. My P-III has taken a few poundings on Sam Rayburn, Lake Texoma, Tawakoni, etc, and doesnt have a single stress/spider crack anywhere. Loves me some P-III !!!!!
The PIII was/is a great boat. I believe it was retired when the PIV was introduced. The area on the bow you mentioned was done to enabe the trolling motor to align w/ the center line of the boat when in use. This makes it more efficient when in use and is another example on why BCB makes the best products – details. The PIII layout is the same as the Jaguar from the console forward. If I remember correctly, the deck & hull was deeper then the PII and handles rough water very well. It is definitely a boat that should serve you well for many many years.
I also love my 01 P3 and am the original owner and like fishmagnet said, mine is paid for and hard to let go of. The ride is great and there arent many other boats in the 19 ft class that will hang when the waters get rough, and still have a 70+ mph with a 200.
I guess you dont see much about us on this board because we are a bunch of happy guys. I have an 02 and it still looks like new. I had the new seats put in and also had it recarpeted in 07. It is great to fish out of and handles rough water very well. The only thing I dont like is the fact that it has the small 2.5 200 block and is slow out of the hole when fully loaded. I blame that on me for my stupidity.
Ive just had my 2001 about 1 1/2 months. The front space on deck is phenomenal, storage is more than I ever dreamed of having. Float was sticking on the auto bilge but got it figured out after talking with Scott. Exceptional customer service. Love my Cat Ed”Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by an unscrupulous main- stream media which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.”
Well by the number of responses here,I guess there only 6 of us who who own or have ever owned a Pantera3.No wonder theres no chatter on this site regarding this model,oh well guess we were the lucky ones.Cmon guys I know there are alot more P3s out there,lets here about them.I hope that BCB comes along to add there perspective on this model.Im proud of my rig,I live in California and there arent that many Cats here in Northern Ca.I feel like Im the one who stands out here,to many Rs Ts and S boats around this part of the country,we only have one BCB dealer in Nor-Cal ,Mossdale Boats.Any BCB owners on this board from California?Lets here from you guys,post a picture of your rig here,Everyone who owns ANYof there models should be proud!
Most here have heard the BCB take on the P3 before. It was for big water back when it replaced a legendary P2 design. It is a deeper transitional hull with huge big water characteristics, of which part is thenose high low end and mid range performance. This hull preferred the 3 LTR blocks and the 2.5 is anemic on the hole shot. The hull is rock solid on top with great performance. It set standards few 225 rigs achieved. It was used by BCB competitors in the BassMaster Classic in New Orleans for its fuel mileage. At 4500 to 4650 it would get great fuel efficiency for those long runs. And the big water hull allowed them to take on the Louisiana Delta with more potential than other boats involved.
i always felt that the PIII got passed over once the pro circuits increased the horsepower restrictions from the 150hp limit from the early days of bass tournament fishing. i still believe the PIII single console was the best all around tournament boat ever built…until they raised the hp limit. once the 20-21 footers took over because of the ability to run 225-250 hp motors, the 19 footers kinda became like dinosaurs, and got lost in the upgrade to bigger boats. some pros used to run a merc 150 with a high-five prop and push 65mph (loaded down)….at the time, that was flying. lots of move-around-in-the-boat room, great layout, and it could handle the great lakes or sam rayburn/toledo bend on their bad days. its nice to see some still around on the water occasionally. you never see them for sale, cuz their owners dont wanna get rid of them!
© 2026 Bass Cat Boats
