bertram31.com

Became a TSL fan at Facebook and found this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th_tyrm9EUg

Jeez! Those poor engines! Great video!

Love the sound of those SCREAMING MEEEMEEEE's.......short of a couple of BELLERING Quadra-Jets there ain't nothing like it.

Good video Harv

H

nice fish gymnastics!!

There is nothing better than putting a boat through its paces. Love it when you feel the B31 "pop" and she handles like a sports car in reverse.

Got to do it a few times last year on big fish. If you never have had the chance man your missin out.

Last time I saw a 31 spin like a top was when Charlie ran aground in Atlantic City......sorry Charlie

Great video there Harv, that got me all warmed up and ready even if its going down to 32 tonight, I feel everybody in the snow having fun, throw a extra log and keep warm.
I would say he had the governers pegged out on those fish working those gears.

DQ

Hey Bob, maybe that why your Solo II controls can go engine full rpm in reverse....for backing down on fish.


Couldn't resist.

Carl

Cool video.

I have now officially added Tropic Star to my "To Do List"...not to be confused with the "Honey Do List"....both of which just seem to just get longer. Funny...as I complete an item on the "Honey Do List" it gets replaced with two additional items...

sim wrote:I have now officially added Tropic Star to my "To Do List"...not to be confused with the "Honey Do List"....both of which just seem to just get longer. Funny...as I complete an item on the "Honey Do List" it gets replaced with two additional items...

Three Lists:

* To Do List: Those items that hold immediate importance to you...

* Honney Do List: Those items that hold immediate importance to her...

* Bucket List: Those items that you want to do before Kicking the Bucket...

TSL is surely a Bucket List item.

The TSL boas with 4-53Ns (all but two of them) don't have tachs....Carlos Alvarez - their head of maintaince - has the governors set at about 100 hp vs. the normal 140, so the captains run them wide open all the time except for trolling. Forward, reverse, don't matter, balls to the wall....I fought a blue for 4 hours two years ago with the boat backing down full speed all the time into some nasty seas, and oh yeah, a driving rain.....like the former Dockmaster there, a South African, told a lady guest who was bitching about the rain "Madam, it does occasionally rain in the rain forest".

How they keep from ripping the running gear outta them boats is a mystery to me, and a testament to old iron.

UV

UV,

Did Carlos happen to tell you what tranny's they were using with those 4-53N's?

DQ

not to mention taking green water over the transom. the mate was cleaning a good size mahi when we had a sail on. the capt backed down so hard that the mahi and all the mahi guts wound up in my lap. everyone laughed. its that kind of place.

Doug - seems like Capitol?

UV

or twin disc Mike

yes they do go in reverse like that ,in reality sim phoenix will do 27 knots in reverse $%&^* huh!! seriously i back down on big eye tuna like that this last year. i tryed to destroy those zf gears with vulcan drive, it really snaps your head when you shift like that and single lever gives you a million times better feel for backing down if only they would go forward correctly!!

Bob, hope you have keeper rings on them shafts...

Yes I like the single lever dual action myself. I have the Morse Controls for both stations...not quite so much a fluid motion...but once you get their feel it's the cats meow.

Then again when running others boats I put too much pressure on their controls...makes for an interesting ride.

I want a video and GPS confirmation of Bob's boat backing down at 27 kts.

jp i did not say i did . the joke is with sim and rocky that solo made the controls capable of wot in reverse for some stupid reason un beknown to me .i only back down because as luck would have it the tuna hit the single speed 50 on a so so rod with 50 lbs test and my son couldn`t even move it with full drag .you know the feeling when your at full drag and the fish is spooling ,sort of helpless so you back down, and usually put at least one wave over the transom unless you do this on a everyday basis like TSL.

they put waves over the transom....at least on occasion.

They put a lotta waves over the transom....I'm living proof after 4 hours of it.....but the rain was nice and warm too.....The Minitster de Pollo kept pouring green beers (ahhhhh, for a cold Panama, can't seem to find them here in the US) down my gullet. On real subborn fish like the one I had (a 480# blue) they do a double spin move to confuse it, then a screaming backdown, for some reason always into the swells....a scuba mask would be the trick.

UV

wow vic 480 lbs of marlin on the run i was comparing 225 lbs of tuna. well in any event i would still be a rookie backing down compare to a guy who does it that often .were you on a 50 lb penn or a 80?

The last trip I took with my dad and Dick Dean was 2 1/2 years ago in the Hudson Angler's Tournament. I boated a 104 pound blue dog for my dad that he told me beat the crap out of him, but later I had fought a much larger fish that we lost in the running gear. However, while the fish was running, and since it was a late hookup, I told Dick to chase the fish. Not once did we back down, but instead chased it at an anlge. Always refering to the face of a clock with the bow at 12 oclock, I told Dick to make sure he kept the fish between 1 and 3 oclock until it was closer to the boat. I have chased fish many times this way and prefer it to backing down, although, backing down cannot be entirely avoided.

Bob - the bad news was I got him on a 20# outfit....Murphy's Law of fishing, biggest fish hits smallest rig. This one was a hoss tho, the mate kept hollerin' "Pesces Loco".....crazy fish or something to that effect. Years ago, with just me & my son who was about 12 at the time, I fought and landed a 320# blue marlin out of my old B25 off the mouth of the Miss. River.....fought that one for 7 hours on an 80W......no backdown, just idle speed - the 25 with i/o drives didn't back down too good, especially in the hands of a 12 year old. But it was an athelete.....jumped about 100 times. Some are tougher than others.

UV

Harv wrote:The last trip I took with my dad and Dick Dean was 2 1/2 years ago in the Hudson Angler's Tournament. I boated a 104 pound blue dog for my dad that he told me beat the crap out of him, but later I had fought a much larger fish that we lost in the running gear. However, while the fish was running, and since it was a late hookup, I told Dick to chase the fish. Not once did we back down, but instead chased it at an anlge. Always refering to the face of a clock with the bow at 12 oclock, I told Dick to make sure he kept the fish between 1 and 3 oclock until it was closer to the boat. I have chased fish many times this way and prefer it to backing down, although, backing down cannot be entirely avoided.

Harv, one day about 35 years ago we were out on our first B31, a beautiful SF (my favorite boat bar none). On the boat were my mom, dad, my little bro, and myself, I was 11 at the time and my bro was just 6. We were chumming for blues, since they were easy action for my bro and me, and my folks were relaxing while we kids fought fish. After about 2 hours all the action stopped, which often happens when a mako enters the slick.

Based on this assumption, my dad had us put out two heavy rigs, a Penn 80 and a Penn 50. Both stand up poles. While we were setting the first bait, it was about 10 yards from the boat, what appeared to be a Polaris missle came bursting from the water right where the bait had been. It was not a Polaris missle, nor was it a mako, but it was a 430 pound swordfish.

The fish had hit on the Penn 80, which my dad had quickly grabbed. He watched as the fish, with the drag set on full, set about spooling that line. My mom was in shock, she didn't come offshore very often and what had been planned as a relaxing afternoon had just become a major s--tshow as my dad barked orders at me, the only person on board who could help at all. I was pretty experienced and at that age often ran the boat while trolling or steaming to a fishery.

I chased that fish in the exact manner that you describe, one because my dad was afraid to have me back down on her, and two because she was so damned fast that I never could have kept up in reverse (sorry Bob, the old "Three Js" with 440 Chryslers didn't quite make 27 knots in reverse). 4 & 1/2 hours stand up on that 80 and we landed that fish what a fantastic day.

I am really amazed by how well those captains handle those boats at TSL. They must be running big props because those boats seem to respond instantly. So impressive when you know what it takes to make that work, often with an inexperienced angler in the chair. TSL is definitely on my list of Vacations, I brought it up to the wife this weekend while watching this video. She didn't say no....

I had the 440 Chryslers and then converted to diesels after 13 years of use. You are absolutely right, the maneuverability (from docking to chasing fish) is immensely different (and better)! I wouldn't have believed it as I wasn't unhappy before, but I became a better Captain on day one with the diesels. Yes, I am sure it's the new props she's capable of swinging. About TSL...if your wife is a concern, the place is immaculate, the food is excellent, laundry is done for you daily, the water is not rough at all, and if she doesn't come out with you, she can enjoy the pool, the views, and the bars! It isn't cheap but you WILL catch fish and like every moment! Walter

I may need you and your wife to talk the place up this summer at the rendezvous Walter. Like I said, she didn't say no. She's done Alaska with me one time, so this has to be a very big step up in the comfort arena to say the least.

tropic star is a miracle of comfort without glitz. about perfect in the "feels right" sense. i guess because at heart it is so isolated and hard core all the BS is missing. if you try you will discover theres a bit more to the place than just the obscene fishing.

I think the video did it finally. Looks like Dad and I are going to book a trip. Initial stages as of now, but I am pretty excited at the prospect.

Harv, Great video..love the marlin cartwheeln right at the boat...especailly when your on a Bertram...I need to install a video camera. BH

That was awesome Harv, wish I could book a trip there, although I would fear them props and shafts leaving the boat like two torpedoes with
Bob L.'s solo controls! Really, looks like a fun bunch of people to fish with and you can't beat the boats! There IS life outside of work!

Rocky wrote:That was awesome Harv, wish I could book a trip there, although I would fear them props and shafts leaving the boat like two torpedoes with
Bob L.'s solo controls! Really, looks like a fun bunch of people to fish with and you can't beat the boats! There IS life outside of work !

That's what I hear...but I wouldn't know.


Someday, someday I hope to have one of those things again...someday

rocky don`t think for one minute i am not nervous with that kind of abuse on the shafts. i have 11/2 " aquanet 22 that i took to shop and magnaflux last 12". even at that i have only 1/2" between trailing edge of struct and front edge of prop hub. basicly it would be like poping the clucth in reverse than foward . when it`s in it`s in big time jolt.

Shafts break in two places, at the end of the taper (large end) and at the coupling.

sim i agree most of the times in this marina and three satalite marinas the shaft usually bent from going aground but in the rare case they do break it is just after the shaft coupling. i spooned both keyways forward and aff ans the pss seal has a stainless collar that would prevent shaft from sliding out into rudder.thats all i can do other then pray. the boat can spin on it`s own axis without moving forward or reverse i am not sure why but i assume the 21" props with huge rudders play a part. i gave harry barb and bob h a demo. at porth judith .i think harry has it on video.personlly i have never seen a boat do this in my life.

A few years back when we fished the shark tournament in Cape May on Crow's Nest with Doug Crowther, he had a cooling problem. Every half hour or so, we had to slow down and refill the port engine with water. On one of the occasions, he pulled the shifters into reverse by accident instead of bringing down the throttles. Forward to reverse at 27knots. He only had inch and 3/8 shafts and we got away lucky.

A case & a half of Buds will do that to ya.....I've done it, maybe not that bad. The ZFs have proved pretty tough.

UV

to add to this story ,a graduate of national maritime college and now on his masters in nautical design pick it up rather quickly. the boat is out of the water and inside the maint. building . he noted "due to the unique properties of the propellar (props are cupped from hub all the way around ear and back down the inside)the water sheds off prop and allows total controll of boat in reverse by appling power to port and starboard as needed.the boat will moved in that direction without fighting the rudder.this was just luck and had no idea this would come about with radical prop design.

Yep, been there done that, full throttle to reverse. Engine shut down. I cursed a blue streak.

It was a bachelor party, and a combo poker run/scavenger hunt. One of the boats broke down, and I was a dumbass and offered to use Alchemy. So it was me with my twin 240's vs a 39' intrepid with triple 250's. Not exactly an even match. Like a cessna vs an F-18. Many water balloons were being thrown, and we were on the recieving end. So I decided to pull a Tom Cruise in Top Gun. You know, like let them sneak up on us, and just drop it into neutral. Worked like a charm. the first time. Second time I accidentally went to far. Oops. ######. Everything has been fine since, so like UV I think I got lucky.

That being said, the looks on the other guys faces was priceless when they went rocketing by us!

And then afterwards I realized I could have taken my buddie's 38' Fountain with triple 275 Verado's and there would have been no need for any hijinx as the Intrepid couldn't have even come close to us!!!!

Yeah...boat handling 101. Don't go from WOT in one direction to any other direction without slowing down first...

Dug

And I won't even go into the other fun one, when one of the guys fell overboard at WOT just after taking a water balloon to the nuts on that same day...

And I hadn't even begun drinking yet! Maybe I should have in hindsight...

By the way, we still won!