VON BONGO, How's the progress??
 

Hey Von Bongo, don't forget
to keep us all posted about
your progress! Haven't heard
much lately, hope all is going
well with production. Good
luck to you. Still taking bets?

Yes,

The bets are still on , Griff's winning because he is the only one to post a date and a speed! :D

I haven't talked to Jo in a while, I have a guy that looked at it for me last week and the hull and deck are together, he took some pics but I didn't have him e-mail them yet. He is keeping a scrap book of sorts for me so I will have a record of the boat building. I think that would be kinda neat to pass on to the next owner in about 5 years when I get my 35 :p

Pete is a marine surveyor and he was impressed so far with the quality of the boat. He said we were only able to go about 3 inches lower in the cockpit floor due to a number of factors but he agreed that any lower would be a problem. I waffled around on motors for a few days but ended up staying with the 575 and the ITS.

Hopefully since it's out of the mold things will pick up in the process and we can see some nice pics going forward. I'll give you an update after next weeks look see :)

Day 51

Von Bongo - did you go 3 inches lower because of the realtively shallow freeboard of the boat? I've heard Jo post that he could lower the floor, but I didn't know that 3 inches was the limit?
I'm just curious because Pantera is one of the boats I'll be looking at when I decide to pull the trigger (couple more years unfortunatley :( ). Also, why did you go with a big single instead of twins? Thanks...Steve

3 inches was as low as it could go with my understanding and still have the cockpit liner. I believe that Pete said it needed to maintain clearance with the hull sides. If that isn't exactly right Jo will chime in I am sure but that was my understanding.

After talking to Jo and other pantera owners I decided on the single for the balance of the boat. Adding 1000 lbs additional in the rear makes it a little stern heavy, however there are quite a number of twins out there so it is a popular option. I thought about twin scorpions and 496ho's but finally decided for the price and the maint costs the single made the most sense. I also felt the resale would be higher with a Merc motor.

I also wanted the ITS system and it is only available on the 500 and the 575. I thought that twin 500's was out of my budget and Jo (I feel) gave me a very good deal on the 575 upgrade from the 500. With the setback of the ITS and it's built in hydraulic steering I think it is cheaper than a box and hydraulic steering, plus it looks cleaner.

Day 52

I have requested a number of other options like shorepower, a sink and got to chose all the gauges, colors, shifters blah blah so that was another reason I chose Pantera.

Here is this weeks' progress report.


Jo called today to discuss painting the transom I decided to leave it white. I think with the white swim platform it will look fine. Plus I feel that too much blue doesn't look good on a boat. His painter will add the shadows and then clear coat the whole deal. Paint time is estimated at 2-2 1/2 weeks from the get go. They are going to go with my design I posted on Glen's boat below. We are still going to go with the painted hull above the transom in blue and the sun pad like in the photo. The deck will have a "ribbon" of red and white (2 red and 1 white stripe) running down the center with a white fairing and the Pantera written in Red. They have painted the engine compartment.

Right now they are working on the cabin and I asked Pete to stop out next week for a full update and some new pictures. I'll try to post a few then.

Day 53

FM, I'm sure Von's hoping that neither one of your predictions are correct.:eek: :eek:

Griff:
 

What kind of speed do you get out of the 525SC? Do you have a full cabin? DK2

I've got a few pics now, I need to reduce the file size then I will post them.

Heres the boat about 8 days ago

4-14 is day 55

Picture a 575 in here

Cockpit

Too Old, since we are using the ITS and it's set back we should get the same effect as a notched transom. Jo also said he really likes to do those on the race boats but not so much on the regular ones.

Oh, FM, I taked to Danger Kitty, our boats have the same layup full cabins. I don't believe his has a notch either but I won't lab the prop here for the river and of course he runs in salt water so that will give him 1-2.

My guess 78.

Day 56

Hey Fred,

The reason I do not go with a notch transom with Mikes set up is with the ITS setback it will be doing about the same effect.I will be raising the drive higher creating less friction and drag and with the blower I need some extra clearence.I have ran the boats both ways and I feel the boat handles better in the ruff with a full bottom.

When it comes to the speed I am confident I will get 77-78 MPH out of the boat with a non labbed finish prop.Everybody is always after the top end number but to me a boat that can handle in rough water and lets you feel confident the boat is going to run thru anything you throw its way and give you a good secure feel with a good reentry is more important to me.

Hey Mike,

Show me the magazine that stated that my 28 ran 63 MPH like you claim with a 500 efi?The August 2000 issue of powerboat did a test on my 28 with a single 500 efi and it was to rough for them to gather any top end tests because it was 4-6 FT. seas out in the Keys.What it says in the article is that it motored to 60 MPH in 20 seconds. BOB Teague said he felt the boat would run 72 MPH.What they also said in the article was how impressed they were on how this 28 handled in water this snotty.The boat felt solid and never creaked or groaned or did anything crazy.It turned well,recovered from flight easily and exhibited no "stepped bottom Voodo."
The other issue was the March 2001 Powerboat and yes they did radar the boat at 68 MPH after the motor in the boat had a down cylinder and was running extremely rich due to the fact that the ecm was dumping extra fuel into the motor because it was detecting a problem.The boat was taken to a Mercruiser dealer in Jacksonville by my customer in which Mercruiser fixed it under Warranty.I do not like to exagerate speeds to my customers.The 28 runs 70-73 MPH with a 500 EFI in a full pleasure configuration.

State the facts correct if you are going to state them.Glenns boat did not take a year it took 7- 8 months and does not have a light lay up in it.It has a regular lay up without a notch and a swim platform on it. Yes it does run 82 MPH with a 600 EFI.The Fountain might be a little faster in calm water due to the bottom being shorter but lets put them in 4-6 foot seas and see which one runs and handles better.Regards, JO

I saw it
 

I saw your boat last week. You will be happy when it gets rough and everything holds up. I can't stand sloppy wiring. I guess 75 mph in calm water and 77 in a light chop. This boat may be just right for a four blade (Hydromotive). If you can live with 72 top end the mid range will be hot. Good luck.

DK2, My boat has a full cabin. Just cushions and a closet. I only ran the boat for about an hour of test time before I bought it from HotDuck. HotDuck said the boat would run 71-72mph with the stock 26" bravo prop. After some prop tweeking I'm thinking 73-74mph is well within reach. I should have it out of storage in a week or so and will start playing with it a little then.

Hey Jo !

Please e-mail me when you get a chance...

Thanks,
Wes

Hey Wes...do I sense a Florida trip coming up??

Hey Gary,

Thanks for the info on the boat. Jo indicated that the Hydromotive props have too much stern lift and the 28's don't like them.

I am hoping that with the blower I will get good response at all ranges. Griff did you get the letter from the marina about it not opening until the 1st?

Day 57

STEVE!!!!

I see you're lurking around here too !!!

I'm looking to sell soon and you know I like to research a little.....

At this point I will only say Jo is a VERY responsive guy! A pleasure to deal with..

Talk to ya soon !

Von, I got the letter and as you'll notice it says "around the 1st of MAY" so who knows when it'll actually open. Not surprising though it always opens late. I took the Baja out on Sunday and both Dodge Park and Sandpiper were NOT open yet either and were also dredging. The river is pretty low. You can get gas at Dodge though. I'll probably get the Pantera out of storage next week.

Hehe I didn't read it close enough. I've got the Fountain home and I am going to clean it up this weekend. I have one guy interested but if he doesn't bite I am going to keep it and not readvertise it until after LOTO.

Dave Carl called, he has the other 27, wanted to know if I was going out. I need to call him back and tell him I am not boating this weekend. Plus if we get any more rain the river will be a mess anyway.

Todays Pantera Update:

Going to be marking the transom for cutting and still doing the cabin. Paint guy going to start drawing on it. Pete's going out first of the week for more pics.

Day 58

Hey Mike,

The only time Hot Boat Magazine has done a write up on the boat was back in 1991 on a 28 with twin 454s.I just answered to you to show me the issue that you had seen 63 mph because this is not true.

The 2 articles that have been written up on the 28 Pantera in the last 2 years have been in Powerboat magazine.I have both articles down loaded in my website if you would like to see them.

I think you can ask any customer of mine or members from this board that have asked me questions or advice that I have been as helpful as I can be to them.You must be the only one that thinks this way.I just do not like when you go say things that are not correct.For Example the speed issue.

I think the world of Reggie Fountain and think he builds a great product.I also know you think my Family and I build a good product because you have showed interest to me in building you a center console boat a few months back.

Regards, JO

Von Bongo, " Porkchops prediction"
 

80 MPH
She will have a born on date of September by the looks of the pictures

:(

Hey Fred,

Nice motor! How's the Sonic coming? That had to be the race boat since the other one was twins?

Day 60

Hello Griff....What was your prediction? Did I miss it?
 

VonBongo.......................Why lower the floor, you never said why??

Pics look good. :p

What are the graphics like??

DK2, it was in a different thread a while back and I kinda had an advantage since I just talked to Jo. I was thinking 78-79mph and a completion/splash date of June 12th. I never actually posted a date before.

Hey DK,

I wanted some more freeboard. I think it is about the same as the beak boat but since the Fountain has a higher windscreen it seems like more. So I wanted to get the floor as low as possible while retaining the cockpit liner. I am going to add some wind deflectors, windaway I believe they are called. Going to give them a try anyway.

These are the graphics, thanks for providing the action shot so I could draw them up :p

Day61

Star Spangled Banner
 

I'll have to let Mrs. Dangerkitty know her picture is onTHE BOARD !

WOW that should look really good!!!!!!!!!:D :D

Thanks for the kind comments on the paint, a graphic artist I am not!!

Fred, I sure hope so! The low wind screen was really the only thing I wasn't too hip on.

Griff's kinda cheatin, he gets the word strait from Jo plus his has a 525sc so he has a pretty good comparison. :p. Griff you getting a new hatch?? Weather sucks by the way today!

I have been amazed by the number of e-mails and phone calls about this boat building project boat. I think I should be charging Jo a referal fee for all this free advertising!!! Hopefully people will learn from this thread. I know I was pretty stupid about how it all worked, but I am learning fast! I e-mailed Jo a few pictures to clarify the paint. It's actually very close to a Cig called Patriot.

Did anyone use drop in carpet in theirs? I like the perelli flooring but I really think I want some for poker runs and such. I think a red carpet would make a nice hi-light to the cockpit. I am going with red bezels and shifters, trim and tabs on the throttle. Red grab rails in the cockpit. White vinyl in the cabin and red light boards. Red carpet in the cabin too.

I am still very excited about this project. I also had a guy stop over and look at the Fountain today.


Day 61

Not cheatin-----just using all the resources available:D

I'm thinking about getting a raised hatch to eliminate the raised section where the air cleaner is on mine. Jo said he thought it would help the engine breath a little better. I'll make a decision in the next couple of weeks if I do decide to. That way it can be shipped with that other delivery coming to Omaha at the end of May or early June.;)

:D :D :D Jo says they might be painting next week :D :D :D Also started the wiring :D:D:D

Hopefully I will have some more pics at the end of the week, won't be painted then, but to use Jo's words the dirty part is done, now it's all the rigging and so on.

I am excited.

Just so happens I have that week of the 4th off. So that might be an option.

I appreciate Jo keeping me up to date! After racing this weekend I would taken Monday off!

Wiring has begun, edge trim is in, port locker is in, starting to do the cooler and sink, looks like the k-plane holes are drilled and Pete said the transom should be cut this week.

Wiring has begun, edge trim is in, port locker is in, starting to do the cooler and sink, looks like the k-plane holes are drilled and Pete said the transom should be cut this week, cabin doors are in. Jo added vents to the fairing to aid in getting air to the blower motor! Looks sweet.

2

3

4

Nice Mike...keep the pics coming...Steve

Nice Progress

It's fun watching the boat being built.

I keep seeing the Viper motor in that engine room! :D :D

So what's happening next???
 

Saw Jo at the Daytona Races. It was god to see Pantera
win P-5, (they came all the way from NJ)!!

Glad to hear the boat is going good.

Day 74

Talked to Jo last wednesday and he indicated that they should start painting next week. Sounded like the cabin was about done. It's all white with Red light boards and red carpet. We also talked about instruments and I changed from Monster to regular Gaffrig Gauges with red bezels. By adding an oil temp and water pressure we needed some room (needed a boost gauge due to the blower). Jo thought the painting would take 2-2.5 weeks and he is pushing for 2. They were cutting the dash for the gauges.

Also sounded like the transom was cut with a 1" higher X to take advantage of the ITS standoff. Should have some updated pics next week.