Pantera Comes Home
 

Well boys and girls, I have returned from my 3 day kayak trip including no sleep since Saturday night and I am about as tired as I have ever been, but waiting in the parking lot at the marina was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.

All I can say is WOW.

I know Jo's sister didn't think I was excited, but it just due to no energy left, but after we unhooked the boat, I crawled around and it is just awesome. The paint is amazing and the matching sunpad looks phenominal. I went to the helm and standing in the foot wells is very comforting. The cockpit feels much deeper. The helm has white gauges with red bezels and the compass has a blue azmith card (one of the many little touches that make this boat great). I went into the cabin and the sink and cooler came out better than I had anticitpated. The drink holders are red anodized and they look great on that white counter. A nice surprise awaited in the hanging locker. I opend the door and the back of it had red mirrorplex. Inside was an embridered navy blue Patera shirt with my name on it.

Then it was off to the engine compartment. The rigging was first class and that big blue engine looked so cool under the blue mirrorplex. There is no scoop for the blower do it will be our little secret. By this time it was getting dark so I locked everything up and took off the lab finished 28in prop Jo had put on the boat. Not taking the chance of it walking away overnite. The ITS looks great and the boat has automatic shotgun mufflers to keep me in the good side of the water patrol (we hope) The boat was parked at the end of dry storage and when I pulled out of the marina it was very visable from the road with that paint job.

I know I am biased but I just think it came out so well from the name on the deck to the color choices for grab rails and so on, on first blush I didn't see anything I would have done different.

I had my ditigal camera but I was just too tired to start taking pictures. I will get some up tomorrow or wednesday...who am I kidding, I'll have them up tomorrow night since I will be down there until dark drooling over it. It might not get splashed until thursday.

That's Great!*!*!*

Welcome to the P:D A:D N T E R A
F A M I L Y !!!:D ;) :D ;) :D ;) :D ;)

E N J O Y ! !

Good Luck Bro!!! Can't wait to see the pics!

good luck!!!!!!! sounds like a great boat, WELCOME TO PANTERA!


-PANTERA LOVER:D

Congratulations!!!
 

Von Bongo -

Congratulations on the boat!!!! I am a new "used" Pantera owner as of last week. I bought a 1999 24 Sport with a 650HP motor. I started following the progress of your boat while doing research on these wonderful boats. I have had nothing but great responses from Jo, Linda and Pepe with my questions regarding the purchase of the boat, even though they weren't selling the boat or getting anything out of the sale! Just reading the posts here and talking to them made me realize how well the boats are built and the quality of craftsmanship. You better post those pictures quickly, or I think several of us might band together and come see the boat in person!!!! Have fun, be safe and throttle to the wall!!!!:cool:

Congrats Mike ,
I hope you're enjoying the boat .
Be sure to post her spped - We're all anxious to hear how fast she runs .

JSM

Just got back from seeing Von's boat. It is AWESOME. The paint work is incredible!!!!!!!!! Much, much nicer than mine. The footwells are very nice and its hard to believe how much of a difference a 4-5 inch drop makes. They give the boat a lot deeper feel. I saw many subtle improvements that Pantera has made throughout the entire boat.

Now that I've seen it, I've got a whole new wish list of stuff I want to do to mine and now have some ideas about how I'm going to do it.

BTW, he hasn't had time to splash it yet.
:( :(

1
 

Griff, thanks for the kind words but did you have to tell them it hadn't been splashed yet??? :D

2
 

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Re: 1
 

Hell Yes, I had to tell them!!!!! Get that thing WET !!!!!!!:D

Wow!
 

..that is beautiful!! Congrats!!

Lotsa Luck! :cool:

Vonbongo
That boat is one kick ass looking ride.:cool: :cool: I would have to agree that your flag graphics are the coolest I have seen, very much worth the wait. So what the hell are you waiting for? Tell your boss that you have boating allergies and go get that thing wet.
Mark

Hey Mike,


I do not have a problem with you or anybody on this board.

I appreciate your comment on Mikes boat.The boat turned out great and I hope he enjoys it for many years.

I look forward to seeing you in the races sites next season.


Regards, JO
:p :D

Very Nice Von! Great Luck with it!

JAmes

Vonbongo
Congrats boat looks great. Jo builds one hell of a boat.
Jack

Hell of a boat BRO!!!!! nice work Joey!!!!! nicest american flag paint job ive seen. Enjoy it!!!!!!

Cool!
 

Von Bongo
The boat looks incredible. Paint is awesome. Ditto for the interior. Have fun!

Congrats,
Rob

Von Bongo,


GREAT looking ride. Leaves me speechless!

I TRUE patriot and fan would have put a big "N" on the side of it though.;)

Congrats.

Buck
#183

That is nice!:D

Von Bongo, That is one of the most beautiful 28 Pantera's that I have ever seen. Jo said it came out perfect as they always do. I love mine and I know you will too. Denny

Congratulations, it looks great, I like everything about that boat. Now get it wet!!! :D

Looks great!!! Good Luck . Give us a performance update when you dunk it!!:D

Nice ride Mike...:D

Additional Pics
 

These are some additional pics of Von Bongos' SWEET ride,on behalf of Jo and the family at Pantera.

P.S.- Sorry pics are not the best, but they were scanned.

some more.....:cool:

last but not least ..(definetly will not be LAST)....:D

That's an absolutely beautiful boat! Looks a lot like the one in the Myco ad...:D ;)

I was in Von's boat last week and the footwells make the boat feel a LOT deeper. They are about 4" deep. You can just barely see them in the pic above under the driver's bolster seat . They run about an inch inside of each bolster floor mount and from where the seat drops down up to the front angled footrest. They are finished in the same pirelli as the rest of the floor and each have a drain. I liked them :D

BTW, Von, I hear ya finally splashed it!!!! Lets here the results and when do I get a ride??????
Also, I have a spare/the original cockpit cover that I got with my boat if you want to use it till yours gets here. Just let me know if you want to try it to see if it fits.

Hey Griff,

Yep finally got it in the water saturday, What a great day! Spent 4 hours on the boat getting to know it, a lot different than the beak boat. Boat ran real well, we got 74 out of it with 3 people and almost full fuel, plus tools and a bunch of other stuff onboard.

Katdrvr got to drive it from Hunter landing back to the marina and he said he liked it. It crusied about 42-45 at 3100 RPM's and rode like a dream. I might take you up on the cover offer if I don't get mine back soon.

I am very happy with how the boat rides, it feels much larger than the fountain. Can't wait to get it to LOTO and some bigger waves and see how it handles that.

Mike

Hey Mike,


The cover is on its way back up to you.It got shipped from the U.S. post office yesterday priority mail.

Regards, JO:)

pantera
 

Von bongo----Jo, great looking boat, very clean, great lines!!!!! Please let us know how well it runs. Gets me thinking of something new!!! Mark

Just one more Pic. of Mikes Boat and a test to add future pics.


Regards, JO

Wow Jo, what a Great ad who's legggs are on the sun pad?

Hey Hugh,


The legs belong to a good looking model friend of mine.It is a good pic. for an ad.



Regards, JO:p

Hey Mike,


That picture did come out nice.I will most likely do an ad with it.

The photo was taken at Elliott Key in South Biscayne Bay here in Miami.The water there is incredible.We have almost 6-8 Feet of water in the entire Biscayne Bay and very clear.


This is a hot spot for weekend boaters.


Regards, JO

Picture of Von Bongos 28 on his Myco trailer.