I just wanted to offer my thanks to the folks on this board. I have been restoring an old boat (not a Bertram) off & on for the last 5 years & I finally was able to splash her late last year. I ran across this website about 6 years ago when I was working on a B25 that I had at the time. (let it get away from me…but that’s another story) I kept following this site due to the quality of knowledge that is freely shared here. Over those years when I’ve posted questions, just about every card carrying member of the ‘mean team’ has responded & helped me at one time or another. So thanks to y’all & special thanks to Capt. Pat for setting this place up.
As far as the work on the boat, I’ve provided a lot of the grunt work but Richard Spencer and Lee Holt at H&S Marine provided most of the skill & drive to get the boat finished. Thanks for pushing me Richard! They have a small shop as both of them work in the PetroChem plants down here full time as well, so they only work on a couple boats at a time. Good guys if you need work in Freeport Texas.
I’d like to share a few photos of the boat. It’s a 1975 Chris Craft Tournament Sport Fisherman. The TSF is the hull that Ray Hunt designed for CC. The story I’ve been told is that Bertram sued CC for making a hull based on the 31, and that was why it was only produced 3 years. So I guess it’s the 31’s cousin. I know it’s not a B31. That’ll just have to be my little private hell. Maybe there’ll be a B31 in my future, I’d like that……but, right now.... I’m happy.
After 5 years I was glad to finally be able to take the last picture I linked below. Thanks again for your help.
Good looking boat Dan. I had a 28 Bertram for 2 years before I picked up my current 33. If I had known about the CC, I would've gone in that direction rather than the 28.
Hyena Love – The back bulkhead is teak. I replaced the back bulkhead & was going to go with paint over formica and my wife said teak would look nice & I told her fine by me if you’ll varnish it….9 or 10 coats later it turned out looking great. She’s a keeper, has put up with me for 27 years. I have some more teak trim for around the cockpit & fly bridge but that’ll be later. Should break up the white once we get them on there.
Tony & jspiezio – For power I have kind of an off the wall setup. I have two 24v Dodge Cummins engines converted to marine use. Kind of off the beaten path but they’re doing ok, my slip neighbor has had the same setup for the last 3 seasons & he’s happy with them….looking forward to my first season with them to prove them out. If you go to the photobucket link there is a folder called engines I have a couple of pictures in there. On one you can see the ‘Dodge’ on the valve cover.
Yea, Noe did my bottom & splashed it for me. He wants to put a tower on it but I’ll have to wait a while for funds. Not happening soon
BTW, I bought the project 25B I had years ago from the guy that owned Bolivar Yacht Basin. I think you mentioned awhile back that they’re going condo…...is the Bolivar Yacht Basin no more?
Congradulations, really pretty and classic boat. The Ray Hunt influence is easy to see. Hope to get down to Freeport one of these days and look it over. Again, very nice.
Scot
1969 Bertram 25 "Roly Poly"
she'll float one of these days.. no really it will :-0
[quote="
Tony & jspiezio – For power I have kind of an off the wall setup. I have two 24v Dodge Cummins engines converted to marine use. Kind of off the beaten path but they’re doing ok, my slip neighbor has had the same setup for the last 3 seasons & he’s happy with them….looking forward to my first season with them to prove them out. If you go to the photobucket link there is a folder called engines I have a couple of pictures in there. On one you can see the ‘Dodge’ on the valve cover.[/quote]
BYB is slowing moving to condo/townhouse. No real progress so far, but I am pretty sure that the future. Thus, we have been scouting places like Tiki.
Yeah, I recall that B28 Flybridge at BYB. Boat sat on that trailer for awhile, and if I had some real room and a place to work, I might have grabbed it.
What did you ever do with that hull?
I think Noe lost his backside on my tower. They ended up building a complete proto-type and then the real tower. Same work twice. Good result, but he was less than thrilled with the whole fixed fee/hours spent calculation at the end.
Your boat looks great, just got through desribing it to John. I wish you guys would stop by on a weekend and say Hi. If you need a place to dock her let John know.
Hyena – It was a B25 & the hull ended up on Lake Erie. The guy was going to pull the two inboard 318s and put one outboard on it…..what a waste..not many of the inboard 25s, hated to see him go that route. Last I talked to him he had finished painting it. If I’d had the money at the time I wouldn’t have let it go.
Pam & John – are y’all down here most weekends? We’ll drop by sometime if we see the truck.
I was actually on that B25 at BYB a number of times. At one point, it had this weird electrical issue where after a rain, the running lights would come on. We would show up to fish at crack o dawn, there it would be on the trailer with the lights on. The owner would then complain - hey, why does it always run down the battery.
I recall climbing aboard and turning them off at the battery. Then, the owner would reconnect the battery to show the boat, and the next weekend, crack o'dawn, all lit up again. I would turn off, and the process repeated.
Mike, Charlie loved me cause I would always show up bright and early on Saturday morning to check the progress of my boat with a case of beer. I would then leave, and he would drink all the beer. Finally, Noe takes me aside, explains that they appreciate the beer tips, but the beer should be given directly to him so the guys are not drunk and stupid by noon each Saturday.
Daniel, I've been busy cleaning up the other lot, closed on that deal yesterday, but I still have some work to do. Finally got my light pole up at the new place, but haven't run power anywhere yet. It's a little shallow in front of that dock, so I'm trying to figure out how to dig it out a bit. Bulkhead guy wants to come in from the side with an expensive long reach backhoe. Jerry offered to dig it, but that's as far as it got. Vic suggests using a big pump to suck the mud up on the lot, where I could use it. Probably try the pump first. Eventually I'll have an 80' dock there, and a deck with a roof, small storage area, that's about all I have planned for now.
"There is nothing quite so satisfying, as simply messing around in boats."
