No 2.5's .... 24's need a 3.0liter. They're too heavy. & remember 18" minimum setback! I run 71gps w/ 250EFI. Looking good Pantera24.

Like Angel said, they are a bit on the heavy side, but they are built like a rock. They truly are great boats. Hopefully in the next year or so I will be looking for either a 24' carrera or pantera. Do you have any pictures? I'd love to see some!

I'm doing fine. I'm in my last year of school. I'm leaving the old man and am going to do an internship at an accounting firm starting soon. Remember how I told you my car busted a head gasket... well that turned into a $3K nightmare! Turns out the coolant from the head gasket mixed with the oil messed up the bearings and I ended up spinning a rod bearing, so i had to rebuild the engine. That set me back a bit, so owning a speed boat is still a dream for me! I hope by next year when i'm finally graduated and have a steady job I will be able to find a pantera or carrera that the hull and stringers are in solid condition, and I can start fixing her up. Until then i'll keep putt putting around in my little Mako. I've used her quite a bit this summer too.

I like your idea of the outboard on these boats. How fast should it run with a single outboard? I know it depends on horsepower, but lets say with a 200 or 225, how fast might it go?

Forgive my ignorance. I thought the 2.5 was the baddest of the mercury outboards.

Here are two when I first went to pick it up. I have since pulled all the stern rigging, seats, dash\electronics\controls. Going to awlgrip the transom and bottom in orange. I am planning to replace the two fuel tanks with some new ones. The transom is new, but I am going to go through all the bulkheads and stringers to make sure everything is in good shape while I have the tanks out.

Beautiful boat minx.

Minx20

That is sweet...
Very nice

Angel

Definitely keep the pics coming as you progress Minx20 and Pantera24!! I have my own project on the Apache forum and I'm always looking for ideas and feedback.Thanks,Jim

Pantera 24,
I was wondering if you ran the boat prior to beginning your resto.
.......if so how did it perform with the 200 O/B(planning and speed)!?! I am curious how the heavier boat performed with a 2.4/2.5L outboard on it. Thanks.......... Jason

Jason,

I ran it only briefly up to plane because I was in a no wake zone. But it seemed to respond quickly. As for top speed I really don't know but I will guess 50-52 with the stock 200. I will definetly let you know in the next month or so.

Thanks for the info!! Jason