bertram31.com

Hi everyone! Glad to be a part of the site now, I've been a Bertram lover since I was a little and now my brother and I are the proud owners of a 1967 flybridge model. We spent quite a bit of time getting the old girl running again, new gas tank, outriggers, etc. and it's a great platform. It made it through the season on the 1986 mercruiser 190s (4 cylinder), but now I've noticed an oil leak and coolant leak (cam seal on water pump I believe) on the motor that hasn't been rebuilt. Looks like we'll be pulling the motor and repairing or we are considering a repower.
I would GREATLY appreciate any feedback you have on repowering with 3.0 mercruisers. What cruise speed can I expect at what rpm? Gph? I figured some of you must have some experience with that setup and I've read that it might or might not work based on hp. Right now we are cruising about 22 kts at 3200 rpm and I try to stay out of the secondaries at all costs. We fish out of Texas and run 80 miles one way so fuel burn is a major factor. Sorry for the long post and thanks for letting me tap into the experience. I'll get some pics posted as soon as I get to a real computer. Cheers!

I fished on the Judges B-25 hardtop at 2-3 UVI's and was very impressed with the performance of the boat powered by 2 3.0 Mercruisers. It cruised in the 20's and seemed to sip fuel when we gassed up every day. Strangely, you don't have many options. The 4 cylinder 3.0's fit with space to spare. Any V's will be an uncomfortably tight fit.

My opinion on engine options for the B25.

The boat does not need twins. If you are going to repower, I think a single V8 is an acceptable option that will provide better fuel economy and better performance.

Cost of maintenance goes down, cost of repower is going to be about the same. (Transom work needed, etc.)

If redundancy is a major concern because of going of shore, a single 3.0 will not plane the 25. You might be almost as good with an outboard kicker if concern is engine failure.

My 2 cents.

The new 3.0 liter from Mercruiser are MPI and must come with a cat converter due to the EPA. That makes them much more expensive but they do get better fuel economy.

A single small block MPI 6.2 with a bravo 3 will give you better performance then the twin 3.0 liters.