bertram31.com

Check out the 25 flybridge with glassed in front windshield on the 25 website-looks great except for the outboards

i might be having a 25 bridge come in for a outboard conversion

I told him to take the bridge off

That's a tough decision to make if you're used to running from the bridge.

he just bought the boat, has 2 other boats neither of them a bridge so I dont think it would bother him

that 25 just looks so cool without the bridge, the bridge looks like a after thought

Ever try to drive one from down there??
flybridge inboard... a great lookin boat.jmho

My Dad's first Bertram was a 25' fly bridge. Then he worked up from a 31 to 38 to a 42- then back down to a 25 without a fly bridge. That 2nd 25 was the first boat that I ran on my own and I loved it- I still do and (except for the 22' foot Tripp Angler inboard which I still dream about) I would want that boat back over any other small boat we ever had.

Craig Mac,

I went to the 25 Bertram site and could not find the boat you were talking about. Could you post a link? Here are a couple of links to a cool 25 Bertram named Queen of Hearts:

http://www.25bertram.com/4images/detail ... age_id=529

http://www.25bertram.com/4images/detail ... age_id=541

Is this a retrofit straight inboard, or did bertram build a straight inboard 25? Nice looking boat.

JR

Here is the link.

http://simplifying.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1155

Ian.

Thanks Ian. Nice looking boat. Here's another one:

http://www.25bertram.com/4images/detail ... age_id=496

JR

jack..."queen of hearts" has inboard v-drives (i'm pretty sure) like mine. bertram built about 160 of them

ianupton wrote:Here is the link.

http://simplifying.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1155

Ian.

Where does he keep that boat...The Mekong Delta, thats some dirty water! LOL!

Randall,

That's a beautiful boat you have there. Great picture.

JR

I beleive the boat is in Panama or Costa Rica...rainforest run-off river.
Jack, that Puerto Rican B25 just has canvas on the windows... I think?

Thought I'd post a few pics to get some feedback from the faithful.
Some aspects I really like, some others... not so much.
Think it'd be great if it were a vdrive boat like Randall's or Kelly's. Can't see seriously going after big blues and blacks with those OB's on that bracket. Look at the cockpit pic, couldn't even fit the OB's in the shot. That's a major hinderance with a hot fish at the stern.
Dolphin, sails, kings, wahoo, sure- not a big deal, you can work around the OB's.
But a big marlin or yellowfin that surges at the stern... gonna loose some good fish... and the t.tubes would suggest they're targeting 'em.

thanks jack. i was just driving by on my way home and noticed it was actually pretty calm.....happens on rare occasions....so i took the shot.

Really a nice looking boat. I had a B25 for 17 years, started as a hardtop with twin 165 Mercruisers. Put a tuna tower on it 'cause driving from inside sucked. Then in 1984 put a pair of TAMD 30 Vulvas with duo-prop drives in....20 kt cruise, very little fuel burn, terrible motors, never catch me near a damn Vulva again. Crap fell off the motors all the time, like fuel filter brackets, alternator brackets, water pump brackets, etc. I had to fabricate my own out of heavy steel to make them last at all.....oh, did I mention the v-belt system? The double v-belts would last a few hours...I bought 'em by the gross. The geometry of the pullys was all wrong. And customer service was non-existant. The hubs on the duo-props were glued in, yeah, glued and could not re repaird when they spun out, which happened a lot...and the props cost a grand a pop for cheap alum. props.

But I nursed them along for a good while and caught 100+ billfish off the 25. I thought about converting it to straight inboard but it too short. Da Judge did what I consider the perfect power swap, he put in the Mercruiser 135 four bangers with the Alpha one drives...almost a driect drop in for the original 165s and diesel-like fuel economy without the excessive weight. And they are cheap, the whole package was like under 5K a side.

I loved my 25 and swore I'd never get rid of her unless I could get a B31 FBC with Cummins....and the rest is histroy.

UV

My first Bertram was a 25 bahia mar, bought from a place in Saybrook,CT called "Yacht Distributors"...he was a big Bertram dealer and always had Bertrams in about half of his slips. 25 Bahia was a great boat. The twin 165s were not counter rotating, so it took a little getting used to around the docks, but it was great (I think pound for pound a better sea boat than the 28 FBC I had in later yrs). The 25 Bahia didn't have the low scupper problem that some of the other 25s had and it had a stand up head.

the inboards have a reasonable scupper but the ball in cup outside valves solve the problem anyway. highly recommended for 25s.

the engine weight further forward on the inboards probably helps too.

Bertramp wrote:the engine weight further forward on the inboards probably helps too.

exactly...plus no I/O weight off the stern.

At first glance I didn't see the outboards and imagined the engines were mounted under the bench seats in the salon area.

I guess that would throw the balance way off but what a cool layout that would be!

peter....i ran that one thru my head a few times. one of my fantasy boats would be a 25 with two large diesels forward with straight drives and a wood deck. just a cowl...no screen and the helm mid ship. screamer.

Hell yeah Randall... I share the dream.
But I guess it's the COB/COG issue and all that physics mumbojumbo that won't allow it.

Which got me thinking...

With the much lighter power to weight ratio diesels around these days... couldn't a pair of smaller diesels/trannies/straight shafts be mounted right on, or slightly forward of the COB (10' forward of the transom, right Scot?) and that weight counteracted with a HUGE fuel tank aft & center... pretty much B31 style.
What would be a good diesel for that application. I know it doesn't take too much diesel HP to move a 25.

My Vulva 30 diesels were hi rpm 110 hp turbo/aftercooled four bangers and with the duo prop drives - probably a little more efficient than a straight inboard - I cruised at 20 kts and topped out at about 24. Maybe 8 gph total at cruise. The engines and drives were super heavy, like 1300# each wet, about the same as a 250 hp 6BTA Cummins with a ZF gear. The extra weight dropped the stern about 4" at reat, so had to repaint the waterline, and no scuppers at all at rest. It squatted badly until I added the Doel-Fins to the lower units and that was magic, made it ride like it did with the old 165 Mercs.

Would I do it again? Hell no....it was about a 22K deal in 1984 and I could have bought a B31 for a little more money, but I was young(er) and mo' foolish. The boat is really too short for straight inboards, the shaft angle would be too steep....the v-drives like Randall's have a steep shaft angle as it is.

Mine was a helluva sea boat tho with the heavy diesels, that bow flare was great. And I never had any trouble with my front windows leaking either. I put that puppy thru some bad stuff many times and never one worry about it. Just like the 31, never met a sea condition it would not eat up.....at the right speed.

UV

vic...my boat will do 40k on the GPS and there's still 400 RPM to red line.
and my boat has clapped out 1984 engines.
take off the bridge, the roof and all the other stuff....look out!!


i actually know where a donor hull is. its less than a mile from my house. all thats missing is time and money.

That blue B25 with OB is in Panama, and is quite nice. Its got a real nice layout and runs nice.