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The new Commuter 325 PANTHER is for sale
NEW PRICE $74,500 as of January 2025
This is my personal powerboat, in which I have cruised over 4,500 miles in 2023, including the Florida Keys, the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, and the entire east coast from Florida to Maine, including the coastal islands of Georgia, the Carolinas, Chesapeake Bay, the New Jersey ICW, and the bays of southern Long Island. PANTHER proved to be efficient, very comfortable, safe and sea kindly. I cruised her at 10 to 14 knots getting excellent fuel economy with mileage above 4 MPG. With her shoal draft and low bridge clearance, she can go places very few boats of her size and type can go. And she is trailerable!
PANTHER JUST LAUNCHED IN EARLY 2023 PRIOR TO INSTALLATION OF BIMINI
PANTHER was new in 2023. She can be seen at Riverside Marina in Fort Pierce, Florida. You can review her details and specifications in the Showcase Page on this website, and in the Plans Page. She is fully equipped for cruising, and is ready to go!
PANTHER will be listed with Melanie Neale at Sunshine Cruising Yachts and Brooklin Boatyard Brokerage. New price $74,500.
PANTHER’S VEE BERTH AND SETTEES WITH FOLDING-LEAF TABLE
PANTHER’S GALLEY
THE SLIDE-OUT PANTRY
REFRIGERATION IS 12VDC WITH FREEZER — COMPLETELY SOLAR-POWERED
PORT-SIDE SETTEE (CHILD’S BERTH) WITH FLAT-SCREEN MOVIE-CENTER
NOTE CYPRESS CEILING PLANKING OVER 3/4″ INSULATION
STARBOARD SETTEE DOUBLES AS A BERTH FOR ANY PERSON UNDER 5′ 4″ TALL
HEAD AND SHOWER COMPARTMENT
PILOTHOUSE — HELM TO RIGHT, NAVIGATION DESK TO LEFT — TOP OPENS TO CONTAIN CHART BOOKS
COMMUTER 325 — SPECIFICATIONS
L.O.A. 32’ 6”
L.W.L. 31’ 6”
BEAM 8’ 3” over the rails
DRAFT 10 ½”
DISPLACEMENT 4,500 lbs, approx – 5,000 lbs with tanks half full.
TYPE Single-chine plywood power cruiser; outboard powered. The vessel is intended for semi-protected waters, coastal waters, with trips to Cuba and the Bahamas possible during settled weather. The vessel is light, narrow and easily-driven, making her both fast and fuel-efficient.
POWER 90 to 115 hp 4-stroke outboard
CONSTRUCTION Cold-molded marine plywood/epoxy, covered with epoxy-impregnated Xynole-polyester cloth. The hull is built around longitudinals spanning ½” ply bulkheads, greatly simplifying lofting and construction. Bottom: double-diagonal 3/8”; sides: one layer 1/2”; decks: foam-core/ply sandwich; twin 3/8” ply web frames fore & aft. Cockpit and lockers are self-draining.
PLANS Full construction plans include The New Cold-Molded Boatbuilding, Construction Notes and Construction Details, plus an illustrated Construction Manual.
CAPACITIES Fuel: 100 gal. (plastic tank). Water: 100 gal. (P & S in integral tanks). Holding: 25 gal. black water.
DESIGNER Reuel B. Parker
NOTE This boat is intended to be extremely fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly. The hull displacement distribution is based on engine weight and power limited to 115 hp.
EQUIPMENT LIST 2023
Boat Name: PANTHER
Designer/Builder: Reuel B. Parker/Parker Marine Enterprises
YEAR COMMISSIONED — 2023
Engine:
Yamaha F90 4-stroke outboard
Year: 2022
Engine Hours: 300 At time of writing
Propeller: Aluminum 3-blade 14×12; three spares of different sizes
Cruising Speed: 8-14 knots
Accommodations:
Foc’s’le for two
Settee berth for one
Short settee for a child
Heads: one
Electronics:
Raymarine chart plotter with Navionics USA, Bahamas & Canadian charts
Raymarine hydraulic autopilot
Raymarine depth sounder
VHF radio with GPS and emergency transmitter
Compass
Rigging:
15” teak & bronze traditional steering wheel
Steering: Baystar hydraulic
Inside Equipment:
Portable Piston-type hand-pump (all-purpose)
Hot water heater
Marine head/shower
Refrigerator/freezer
Force Ten gimbaled stove with oven and broiler (separate burners)
Galley sink with hot- & cold-water faucet
Slide-out Pantry and six large drawers
Electrical Equipment:
2 KW pure-sine-wave inverter hard-wired to 120VAC outlets (3) and hot water heater
DC Panel
Hard-wired 12-VDC outlets (3)
Shore Power Inlet & 50’ 30-amp cable, plus adapters
Converter/battery charger hard-wired
Solar-Panel Controller
Four deep-cycle 6-volt golf-cart batteries
Outside Equipment:
Two 100-watt Solar Panels on hardtop supply all electrical needs
Pivoting Stern Davits for 8- to 10-foot tender, 400 lb capacity (combined)
Windshield Wiper
Custom-made floating wood/SS boathook
Two large fenders
Two small fenders
5-gallon gas can with vent and spout
Twin transom-mounted electric trim tabs
Covers:
Pilothouse with full-enclosure back curtains (removable)
Four-bow Bimini Cover
Ground Tackle:
25 lb Lewmar plow
20 lb Danforth
15 lb Grapple
Rode One: 70 LF 1/4” chain and 100-feet1/2” 3-strand Nylon
Rode Two: 30 LF 1/4” chain and 50-feet 1/2” 3-strand Nylon
Dock Lines: three 30-foot 1/2” 3-strand Nylon
Spare Line: assorted sizes and lengths including floating tow-rope
Features, Equipment and Accommodations:
PANTHER’s interior was designed and built by a life-long live-aboard cruiser.
The main saloon features a queen-size Vee-Berth which can sleep two; port and starboard settees; and a well-equipped galley. Fresh hot and cold water are plumbed to the galley. The stove is a Force Ten gimbled 2-burner range with both oven and broiler. Refrigeration uses an air-cooled Isotherm compressor charging a freezer cold-plate in a large (5-cu ft) top-loading, heavily-insulated compartment. Refrigeration is solar-powered.
There is a 27-inch flat-screen movie center with DVD/Blue-ray player.
Seating is comfortable for six at a fixed/drop-leaf table.
Countertops are black Formica; Ceiling Planking is Cypress; Drawer faces and trim are mahogany. Cabin sole is teak and holly. Mattresses and cushions are extra-firm 4” foam of the highest quality available (P-60 Reliatex).
The pilothouse has a traditional helm seat with closed-cell cushion, and a chart table.
The head/shower is in the saloon near the companionway for convenience to the helm.
There are storage bins, lockers and cabinets throughout the boat, including the chart table. Dual SS rotating stern davits can swivel to pick up items in the cockpit including a full-size bicycle or dinghy outboard. Each davit has a four-part block & tackle with 200 lb capacity.
There are two 20 lb propane bottles in the pilothouse. There are tool and parts lockers under the helm station, with a slide-out tool-box locker. Cleats are 6-inch stainless steel through-bolted to the deck with backup blocks.
Running lights are LED-type. The removable Anchor light plugs into a cigarette lighter socket. Interior lights are LED mounted on the overhead with hidden wiring, plus two shaded lamps mounted on bulkheads. There are night-vision red lights where needed (Galley, Nav Station, Pilothouse, Head).
Hull construction is Chilean Arauco ACX plywood, solid wood (Douglas fir) and epoxy, covered with Xynole fabric and painted with Industrial Imron and Awlgrip polyurethane. The hull, coachroof and hardtop are foam-core for heat and sound insulation. There is hull insulation between topsides planking and ceiling planking. Bow construction is heavy duty—the solid wood apron, stem and forefoot structure is from Wolmanized 4×4 timber and will withstand collisions with submerged containers or logs like no other cruising yacht. There are twin bilge keels port and starboard for minimal turning radius and to resist side-drift at low-speed.
All electrical needs—both 12-volt DC and 115-volt AC—are supplied by two flexible 100-watt Renogy solar panels permanently mounted on the pilothouse hardtop, with a 30-amp controller. There is an exterior inlet for a 50-foot 30-amp shore power cable.
There are two size-30 Lewmar deck hatches (Skylights), one size-20 deck hatch (pilothouse), two round deadlights, and four oval deadlights. The cabin door is a louvred bi-fold with lock. The hatch is traditional (Chris Craft) bi-fold. Both opening skylights have screens. There is a well-deck forward for safe handling of ground tackle and ease of picking up moorings, with a removable access to the forepeak locker. There are two bronze hawses (port and starboard). There is a bow roller incorporated in the heavy-duty stainless-steel anchor bracket. The cockpit well-deck is self-draining through transom scuppers with rubber flaps.
The head is a failsafe SeaLand Traveler, which discharges directly into the 25-gallon holding tank. The tank can be voided into the sea via a Whale Gusher handpump, or pumped out at a dockside facility via a deck fitting. The shower pan is voided by a Whale foot-pump.
There is a five-gallon hot water heater powered by the 2-KW Inverter.
There is a throwable life-ring, and four life jackets. There is a flare kit and first-aid kit.
Paint systems include industrial Imron for all exterior finishes except for Awlgrip for the cabin sides. Interior paint is Sherwin Williams Tile Clad II industrial epoxy in Hatteras white.
Upholstery and mattresses are Reliatex P-60 extra-firm foam covered with water-resistant synthetics. There is an upholstered seat in the cockpit, plus two folding chairs.
PANTHER was custom-designed to be managed by an older couple or single-handed by a reasonably fit person in their 70s or 80s. She is a no-nonsense highly pragmatic live-aboard cruising home. She has been single-handed from Florida to Maine, both off-shore and in the ICW as conditions predicate, and she has circumnavigated south Florida via the Keys, Everglades, and Lake Okeechobee. She has been frequently run in 2- to 3-foot seas and 5- to 15-knot winds, and performs beautifully. With her extreme shoal-draft she is an ideal Bahamas tropical island cruiser, but she is also very capable and comfortable in cold weather and deep water. She is an excellent gunkholing cruiser that can access remote places very few other vessels can even dream about. Her draft, motor up, is less than one-foot, and her bridge clearance is 9-feet, allowing her to pass under most bridges in the ICW and elsewhere. This permits her to enjoy less-frequented harbors for better protection and privacy, and more nature and beauty. –Reuel B. Parker
The original Skimmer 25 (Terrapin 25) is for sale for $20,000.
This is the cold-molded wood prototype for the production Skimmer 25, sold by Creative Marine from 1992 to 2002. She is located in Key West, Florida, and is owned by Chelsea Ragland (207)-479-3700
