bertram31.com

That's about it...

He want something to play with for a few season's. Something used around 25-27' with a Single Motor. Something that will cruise 50ish that he can put on a trailer and use when he don't want to fish or saty on the other boat...He's looking to spend mid twenties. Lots of stuff around in that range, or so it seems.

Go fasts I know little about... so I was hoping for some general advise on what to look for, stay away from etc. I'm worried as everyone I know who had one beat the hell out of them then sold'em around the time they needed new motors or things started to break...which wasn't all that long.

Carl
I don't know much of nuttin about the "Go Fast" boats

But I hear some of the "Go Fast" guys say things something "Speed cost money.....how fast do you wanna go"?

One of my friends here has a Fountain with 4, 250 HP Merc outboards....WOT about 80 MPH......paid $250K (OUCH! ! ! ) and constantly broken.

hb

Harry Babb wrote: But I hear some of the "Go Fast" guys say things something "Speed cost money.....how fast do you wanna go"?

hb

Speed Cost...that much I do know.

Right know he's looking at Checkmates, Fountains and Donzi's with single I/O's in the 25' range. Most seem to have a 502 and owners state will cruise 50 topping out around 70. Nothing radical or worked...

IO's are a pain in general... Not the concept of them so much as the actual execution per Mercury Marine. Lots of hard to service bits that are not designed/built to last or to be easily serviced.

I don't know a thing about go-fast boats, but if I had to pick one out that I might be working on one day, I'd look for outboards. With one exception....

If your buddy wants a really fun quick boat he should consider a 20 Bahia Mar with a V-6 in it. When these hulls get a little over 200 hp in them they come alive! It will top above 40 something knots, but a hell of a fun boat, and its a Bert, so it will run WOT in chop when others are still tied to the dock. Swim; beach; ski; wakeboard; even fish inshore or off. Whatever you want to do. When you are done pull it on its own trailer in a jiffy. The little cuddy makes it a lot more boat that its 20 Moppie cousin.

And its guranteed to turn heads and draw favorable comments from those who know boats.

Peter

Your buddy might want to take a look here

http://www.screamandfly.com/forum.php


Seems like alot of go fasts for sale in different forms (O/B, I/O) to look at. A long time ago, there was a Bertram 20 Sportsman on there from Texas that sold right away for cheap.

Having a friend with a go fast is a good thing.

sim wrote:
Speed Cost...that much I do know.

Right know he's looking at Checkmates, Fountains and Donzi's with single I/O's in the 25' range. Most seem to have a 502 and owners state will cruise 50 topping out around 70. Nothing radical or worked...

fountain and donzi would be the better coices
if he would consider 2 engines Karl from Karl Tank is selling his personal Formula for no other reason then he purchased a larger boat, but a single engine Formula is a great boat as well

Checkmates not a preferred brand..thanks.

Formula..not bad..also good info.


I/O's not my favorite as well...but it seems to be single I/O or twin Outboards and thats not tickling his fancy.

Lil bert's are not going to be a consideration...he wants a go fast that has the go fast looks to go with it. Also he has another boat (32 Luhrs ) so he just wants to get in and go play...not work and tinker on an older boat.


I'll forward the Fly and Scream site to him.

Thanks

You can't go wrong with a Superboat. Plenty of them out there and local builder as well. Same for Kryptonites. A 24' Skater will get him 100mph but he'll be in twin outboards.

About 2 weeks ago I was out on a 21 or 22 Superboat .... FAST and with just a single 250 outboard. Built in Lindenhurst NY ..... ran so fast I had to peel my glasses from my eyes !!

if he wants a little creature comforts and nicer cabin and other hardware he wont be happy with the super.

They are nice boats, but meant more to go fast and not make a big deal doing so

skater- zero cabin

If he wants a really nicely sorted single outboard 21 I have 2 friends selling but again you will have no cabin at all, one is a 21 super 70+ mph single outboard w/ 250 and the other is a single outboard 22 progression with a 300x which is a 90+ mph boat.

I also have a customer around the corner with a single outboard 26 or 27 Kryptonite CC and that is almost a 70mph boat with a regular ole' 250 merc, but again these boats wont compare to a Formula or Fountain

Donzi.

sim we have a handle on a average of 20 or so. i try not to get involve in that sort of boat .i been there about 4 or 5 times over the years .my first suggestion is he better be a good mechanic . the boat is not the problem the iron needs constant attention. 50 to 60mph at 27' is a single hp-big block/bravo or twin small block /alpha outdrives. at that speed a rookie is able to learn. === rule of thumb from hard knocks 24' to span waves in bay ,ocean need minumim of 30' for safety at 60mph plus.we have a deck out very clean 30' superboat with twin 525hp mercruiser with hp speedmaster drives.great longivity combination if driven at 70mph or less. outdrives are bulletproof at that speed.

There might be a bargain with a boat dealer who was a Bertram 31 skipper but sold it to buy the boat dealership. He hit a whale a week or so ago @50 knts. The boat was or is a Contender. The event was posted here.
Contenders go fast! Or at least this one did.

A original 21' Challenger would be a great choice. I always liked the 24 Superboat.

RussP

I don't know much of anything about go fasts, but, having grown up on LI, I've always been partial to Superboats and Hustlers. I had a friend here that had a 24' Switzer with a single BB that ran close to 70. He got tired of it and just about gave it away. Yeah, I know, I should've bought it--but bringing another boat home at the time wouldn't worked. Doug C. had a 24 or so Baja with a single BB that ran pretty well, and he got rid of that for cheap. From what I've seen, a smaller (24 or so) single BB of OB basic go fast can be had pretty cheap...and they're soooo much fun.

John F. wrote:I don't know much of anything about go fasts, but, having grown up on LI, I've always been partial to Superboats and Hustlers. I had a friend here that had a 24' Switzer with a single BB that ran close to 70. He got tired of it and just about gave it away. Yeah, I know, I should've bought it--but bringing another boat home at the time wouldn't worked. Doug C. had a 24 or so Baja with a single BB that ran pretty well, and he got rid of that for cheap. From what I've seen, a smaller (24 or so) single BB of OB basic go fast can be had pretty cheap...and they're soooo much fun.

Thats what he had in mind...something fun for a season or three. Dock it on the weekends and then trailer it home for the week.

your the man russ p i had both of those boats. incidently when george went to jail and sold the two molds john coan got one .thus the super boat 21 actually a cheap copy with a liner but shadow over in NJ took the other mold and made a 21 even better then the challenger . dashboard was beautiful and they kept the expensive but cool looking lifeline down the center of the deck. i know where a 1978 version is in perfect condition with jack plate and 225hp offshore mercury. i had my merc up to 6600 rpm with bob`s nose cone and water pick up . them were the days

I just sold a 21 Shadow for my customer, you have to be careful buying one, they are balsa cored, even the transom.
You can end up with a real turd

In that field of players the original Challengers are move coveted then the team shadows built later

I still cant see a guy considering a 25-27 Formula or fountian settling for a 21 SOB challenger/superboat, that is like saying you want a motor home then buying a motorcycle

If he wants a 21 SOB I know of several, but they are well sorted boats that have been re-rigged with all new everything in them.

robbie i have taken care of sim on pm. we have 6 formula`s and two donzi one is a 30' twin hp big blocks with mercruiser duo- props . i was was just answering russ p because i had those two boats and the 24' super boat was the east coast regional champion in M division. this shadow 21 is beautiful and not waterloged!. john`s superboat has a balsa core bottom but you never keep those type of boats in the water anyway and well covered at least back then. i have nice pictures but computor will not scan .

Years ago linda & I crossed the sound from Huntington to Bridgeport on a friends 21 Challenger to check out the off shore power boat races. It was so rough they canceled the race and we had to make it home the hard way. The 21 Challenger is one of the best off shore pocket boats. I would love to have one of them down here in Florida.

Question for you Long Island guys, is Joey Imprescia still around rigging boats.


RussP

I have a 20' bertram with a 240 v8 volvo chevy block with duo props with approx 1/2 hour on it that goes about 50mph it,s on li and has a dual wheel trailer. it is painted fighting lady yellow it goes fast hi forties maybe 50 it is for sale at $12,000,00 obo

bob- the water usually gets in from the inside, a bilge pump, or sometimes just standing water, boat does not have to be left in the water for core to go bad. Poorly sealed hardware, etc etc etc

Joey is still rigging boats

Again if anyone is serious I have a customer selling a very very nice 21 SB, we modified the splash well and notched the bottom, new tank, removed 200lbs from the boat, painted the entire boat including the bilge, all new rigging, rail, canvas, etc
And I have a redline here that I can complete to spec, same hull as a SB/Shadow but slightly different deck

robbie same problem on the egg harbor decks .water soak in from the front hatch . the hold down trim was screwed to front deck and made deck soft around hatch area. my super boat never had a problem but then again the bilge pump was glue in and off course there were no thru hulls in a performance boat. i think the balsa core lay up was much more common in areas where you had thru hulls or screws . i don`t know when boat manufacturers walk away from this method but it is something to be aware of when buying a boat. the cockpit deck of my 31 bertram was after market and balsa core lay up. all the outside edges had the glass worn away and absorb water . deck weight 500 lbs!!!

Bob, you sent me a PM?? Didn't get it, or did you E-mail my buddy?
Thanks,
Carl

dj will contact your buddy by pm.

Thanks Bob, really Appreciate it!

why not a 31 moppie or whatever the hell that bad ass race bertram is called

coolair wrote:why not a 31 moppie or whatever the hell that bad ass race bertram is called

Nah...he wants the whole go fast package...speed, sound and looks, modern looks. Besides, as he is docked next to me, he already has full access to the Best boat ever made.

I think he still want to trailer it home during the week...put it in his driveway... and a 31 is kinda big to trailer.