About 4 years ago, I found a Pelican Bass raider 10e for sale, and I bought it when I moved to an area that provided me access to a private 60 acre lake. It took me around 2 years to figure out all of the accessories and modifications I needed to make it just the way I like it.
Although I encountered one troubles and pushed my handyman skills to their limit (which wasn’t very far) I still feel that this boat is an incredible value and opens up a whole new world to majority of the bank fisherman.
To be honest, this boat and the Sun Dolphin Pro 102 inspired me to create this website and I’m now assured that these mini bass boats fill a deep void between fishing and the world of Rangers, Skeeters, and Nitros.
Specs
Length: 10’2” or 310cm
Width: 40” or 127cm
Seating: 2
Maximum HP: 3.5HP (motor not included)
Electrical: 12v outlet at bow pre-wired to stern
Weight: 145lb or 65kg
Capacity: 600lb or 272cm
Pelican Bass Raider 10E Review
This pelican bass raider 10e review covers all the boat parts and how they perform when tested on real water.
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Stability – Will you tip over?
This appears to be the most common question online when it comes to small boats. The simple answer is “no”, it would be pretty tough to flip this boat.
The secret to this is that its’ really a mini pontoon boat which makes it much more stable than a boat with a typical bottom or a jon boat.
There are lots of bigger guys using these boats and almost all report that they feel totally safe and stable while fishing. I myself am a little guy at 5’ 09” and about 150 lbs so this wasn’t a huge concern for me after hearing the big guys felt stable.
I, however, prefer to stand while fishing and do feel that I need to be careful to keep my balance especially if someone else is in the boat with me. If I’m standing and my buddy behind me leans all the way to one side (without me seeing him because he’s behind me) it can get a little dicey.
This should be blamed on the boat though and I doubt even if I lost my balance and feel overboard the boat woul even come close to capsizing. I bet it’s even more stable than fishing from a jon boat. If you’re a smaller guy like me you won’t face a problem and can even stand if you’d like.
Bottom line on stability – If you’re a big guy at 200+ lbs you should be perfectly stable in this boat and sitting while fishing (and experience no discomfort). Probably even more stable than fishing from a jon boat. If you’re a smaller guy like me you won’t have a problem and can even stand if you’d like as far as you’re balanced.
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Seating – Is it Comfortable?
The Pelican bass raider 10e for sale online comes with two folding, swivel chairs. The seat and back are hard plastics and the base has 2 “feet” that fit with ease into grooves o both side of the boat. This allows you to slide the seats up or down the length of the boat easily to give you the legroom you so desire.
I find the hard plastic seats perform their job just fine for me and as I mentioned above, I prefer to stand while I fish so I’m only really sitting while I’m trolling to the next spot or tying on a new lure.
The only modifications I’ve selected to make here is adding this seat pedestal to my chair which raises me up a little bit higher.
The 7″ seat pedestal has been added to the chair on the right.
I basically did this because I switched to a foot controlled trolling motor and sitting higher allows me to run the foot control better but it also ended up being a whole gentler on my knees. If you’re a taller guy, I would advise adding these to your seats.
A lot of people, especially those that sit for long periods of time, prefer to upgrade the hard plastic seats to a cushioned option. That can easily be accomplished by picking out the cushioned seat of your choice and attaching it to the bases that come with the Pelican Bass Raider 10e chairs.
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Deck
The Pelican Bass Raider 10e has a ridged floor that is aimed at allowing water collect in the cracks and keeps the raised part dry and less likely to be slippery.
The ridged flooring isn’t totally uncomfortable at first but after a whole day spent on water, it can definitely take its toll on your feet and cause a little more fatigue than necessary.
I would say this is the most typical modification the Pelican Bass Raider 10e boat itself. Customers have added decks made from plywood with marine carpets to the bottom of their boats to get a more typical, flat, carpeted deck.
There are even some anglers that use a yoga mat or other cushioned floor mat to lay down on the boat floor.
If you do want to create your own deck, bear in mind how much weight you’ll be adding to the boat and how that’s going to affect it’s portability. That’s the only reason I haven’t added a plywood deck to mine…
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Creature Comforts
While conducting this Pelican Bass raider 10e review, we discovered that their website and most retailers of this unit list drink holders and storage compartments as part of the boat’s features.
Do not expect to use the drink holders to hold drinks or to store anything in the storage compartments…
What they are referring to here is the molding on both sides of the boat.
The drink holders are just little circles to sit a drink on and the storage compartments are the same, basically a tray to set a lure on.
The word “compartment” is a little misleading as there’s nothing to open up and nowhere to store anything.
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Pre-Wiring
You’d find out that any Pelican Bass Raider 1oe for sale online has a 3 prong 12V outlet at the bow that runs 8 AWG wiring through the inside of the boat to the stern where it ends with ring terminals for your battery.
12V outlet in the front of the Bass Raider.
Personally, I avoided using the pre-wiring in the boat for the first year or two as I just connected my trolling motor directly to my battery at the stern and went fishing.
In the end, I bought a foot controlled motor and wanted to use it at the bow so I did end up using the pre-wiring.
If you want to make use of this wiring, you’re going to have to add a plug to the wires on your trolling motor that will fit into the existing 3 prong outlet.
This type of thing is not my top concern however I ultimately overcame it and so can you.
The wiring for the 12v outlet comes back out here at the back of the boat. The red wire comes with an inline fuse but I’ve cut that out and put it back together with a waterproof butt splice connector.
One thing to keep an out for is the in-line that’s on the battery terminal side. Mine burnt up at some point and there are lots of reports of other experiencing that online as well.
After mine melted, I cut the in-line fuse, and purchased this Minn Kota Power Center battery box which has a breaker. Having the breaker protects the circuit and there’s no longer a need for the fuse.
I would recommend you go ahead and get the battery box and should your fuse ever melt on you just cut it out and keep using the battery box.
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Portability – Can you get it where it needs to go?
In my case, this is the point where the Pelican Raider 10e really shines.
I stay in a neighborhood that has 3 natural, private lakes totalling about 100 acres of water. My house is around 5 blocks from the water so I can’t just push my boat off my backyard and there’s no boathouse close here either.
I assume you like me, have to drive your boat to your favorite fishing spot a well and most likely much farther than I do.
I keep the trolling motor, battery, seats, and all accessories off the boat so that I can easily get the boat in and out of the truck and down to the water. Once I’m at the water I load everything onto the boat and push off.
This boat is more than perfect of you own a pickup truck like me. It’s width fits perfectly between the wheel wells in the bed and with my tailgate down it only sticks out about two feet.
I drive a crew cab F150 with the short bed (5.5ft). I can load the boat into the bed myself by setting one end on the tailgate and then going around to the back and pushing the rest of the boat in.
Throw on one tie-down strap and I can go to the lake in my neighborhood or take a road trip anywhere with it.
If you have a pick-up truck and want to throw a boat in the bed, this is the boat for you.
If you don’t have a truck OR you’ve so modified your boat that it’s become heavy and won’t/can’t dissemble it for transportation, you need to plan on having a small trailer to tow it with.
There are 4 handles on the boat, 2 on the stern and 2 on the bow. The handles at the stern are actually on the sides which you can’t use if two people are carrying the boat at both ends.
The boat does have a substantial lip all the way around it and that is what the person at the stern will have to hold onto. Not having the handles there doesn’t make a big difference as the lip is sufficient to hold onto.
If your path to the water is all grass I would not be concerned about dragging the boat but I would not drag the boat on GRAVEL, concrete, or rocky ground. The plastic will scratch over time if you do this and I wouldn’t want any weak areas on the bottom of the boat.
I personally don’t have to go long distance between my truck and the water but some other people do and they’ve had to come up with a dolly to pull the boat with.
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How long will it last?
The Pelican offers a 2 year limited warranty on the hull of the boat and a 1 year guarantee on the pre-assembled accessories. You can learn more on the full warranty here.
These things are built to take the water beating and to last. The plastic is Pelican’s RAM-X material that is used on all of their boats and kayaks. It’s an impact resistant, multi-layered plastic with a UV protected finish.
I have faced no problem with this boat’s construction or its material in the 4 years I’ve owned it.
I wash my boat off after each use and store it in my garage, leaned on it’s side against the wall. Most folks store their boat outdoors which is perfectly fine although you need to consider covering it so that it’s not battling the elements on a daily basis.
I like to keep my bass raider leaned the wall in my garage.
These boats will last for many years, especially if taken care of. A lot of folks have used them for 10 years with some reports of up to 30 years (this was an older model, the Pelican Bass Raider 8).
The bottom line is that you will get your money’s value and worth for this boat, especially if you take PROPER care of it. If you decide to upgrade in the future you can even sell it on Craigslist and get some money back for it.
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Price and Where to Buy
The price for these can vary between $500-$800.
Amazon online store (which is where I bought mine) currently has them listed for less than $1000. However it’s only available in stores.
In this price range, competing small fishing boats would be the Sun Dolphin Sportsman and Uncle Bucks Pond Prowler II
From my experience and based on reviews of others, The Sun Dolphin Sportsman is lighter but also shorter and the Uncle Bucks Pond Prowler II is very similar in length and weight. All of these are great boats but in my opinion you are getting the larger boat for the small boat price with the Bass Raider 10e.
If you’re looking for a better upgrade from these boats check out the Sun Dolphin Pro 120.
One thing I didn’t realize is how much I would end up spending on modifications and accessories. By the time I “completed” my boat I had spent more on accessories than I did on the boat.
At the end, I had an awesome small fishing boat that I can use to get around my electric only kale and catch big bass for less than $2500 bucks.
That definitely beats buying a $50,000 bass boat and fighting traffic on public lakes. For me it’s the only way to fish and well worth the money.
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Fishing
What’s it like fishing out of the Pelican Bass Raider 10e? Well, I can get as shallow as I want just like a kayak. I frequently fish with my roommate or my best friend in the boat as well and don’t have any issues.
For me and most others I read about online, the largest challenge was steering the boat and fighting the wind.
This boat is light in weight even with people in it and 10 – 15mph can make fishing kinda hard. I went through a pretty long trial and error process to figure out what works best while writing this Pelican Bass Raider 10e review.
Most of people online say that adding a rudder to the boat will greatly help you fight the wind and keep you from spinning like a top while trying to cast. I used the Bullnose Rudder and you can get it on Amazon
At first, I had a handheld trolling motor on the stern and this was a big issue for me. I often had to turn or move the boat in the middle of every cast which means taking my hand off my reel and adjusting the trolling motor.
Instead of making my own rudder I discovered the Bullnose Rudder which attaches to your trolling motor and this helped tremendously. I had much fewer “adjustments” while fishing as the boat wasn’t constantly spinning.
Later on I switched to a foot-controlled trolling motor at the bow and attaching the rudder to the trolling motor there doesn’t work.
It’s not that much of a big deal to me because I can now make adjustments with my foot and keep fishing, but I in the end found out that having a shallow water anchor pole is a good solution to this problem as well.
Now I’m trolling by foot and when I find an area I want to take my time with I shove the anchor pole into the water and relax.
Last Thoughts on the Pelican Bass Raider 10e
The Pelican Bass Raider 10e for sale is an incredible little fishing boat. If you’re fishing electric only lakes, farm ponds, smaller bodies of water, or just want to get out on the water without purchasing a complete blown bass boat, this unit here is right for you.
Pelican bass raider 10e review verdict
Owning this boat has increased my passion of the sport of bass fishing and I’ve deeply enjoyed outfitting it the way I desire. It will last as long as I need it to and I can’t imagine I’d ever sell it – it’s a part of my story.
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