dont worry. i love the 25 B too..nf have pissed off more than my share of people doing this process....most never finish..and few who do usually sell bc it is t what they thought it would be stabilitywise...but they will still argue it was great..so i say..great..show me a video of the bertram 25 with outboards in the ocean...in a head sea and following sea...and accelledat from a dig...so far nowone has
Yeah man it destroys them. I've seen several riding like absolute dogs. I'd never personally do it. Each to their own....bum heavy and very unstable with twins on pods
I have undertaken a similar project on the same boat but was chasing a different outcome. The Caribbean 23 was the perfect building block for me. I have a Carpentry background and looked forward to modernising her, so after a huge amount of research, here is what I did to make the old girl work for me: • Chucked away the old 350 Chev and leg • Threw away everything from the gunnels up (other than the hardtop) • Professionally repaired and strengthened the transom to take an aluminium hull extension for twin motors • Designed, then had a fabrication firm build and install a hardtop and glazing, support structure • Installed a 297 ltr (couldn't t get 3 more ltrs in) ,alloy fuel tank from the cabin door to the bilge, under the floor (old fibreglass one was 30 gallons) • Installed twin Suzuki 140A fourstrokes • Refurbished the entire cockpit inc. rewire, electronics, console, seating etc • Installed trim tabs, 1 manual and 1 auto bilge pumps There are still a few things that I would like to improve and will attend to them in time, but mainly I would like to say that outboards can and will work very well on this boat. Maybe I got lucky, I don't know, but this boat does not suffer from broaching, ploughing, porpoising, bow elevation, instability at rest or loss of grip. It does work! But also in saying that, if I had a cool, modern, digitally controlled engine and leg to start with, I'd be keepin it too! These boats are just wicked !! Good choice guys.
Awesome stuff man! Wow what a journey you have undertaken on the rig. Bloody awesome boat tho and I can see why you would have done it. Should move along nicely with the 140s! Yeah mine, keeping it in standardish format will be a challenge to get right, but Il come pretty close I'd say. You really do need to bring your own skills to the table on these projects otherwise they will end of crap or insanely expensive! So very good you have those skills....
I found our project very enjoyable and extremely satisfying... would do it again in a flash and the good thing is you can do a bit on your boat when you have the time and the coin...and still use it. Also given the price and wait times on new boats ATM, we might see a few more of these project boats at the boat ramp. Can't wait to see how your beast goes with the big v8. Wonder if car company's will bring out a EV that sounds like a V8?
Sorry mate disagree with the pod and outboard upsetting the ride. I have a Huntsman 24 flybridge with an OMC 225 with its own pod which came from the factory that way, so not all of them were inboards. The ride was absolutely amazing, the boat eats up chop. I replaced the factory motor with an aluminum pod and Evinrude 225 etec and the boat performs even better! V8 inboards are notorious for blowing up legs, they require lots of maintenance, especially the heat exchanges. The best thing you can do is put a pod and outboard on........Cheaper to run, more reliable, you get heaps of space back in the back of the boat and a great boarding platform. I imagine the second time you have to replace your leg you will go an outboard instead!
Yeah can see your points but the new MerCruisers are nothing like the old dogs btw. In terms of longevity, fuel economy etc. many Bertrams with pods handle like utter trash, Hunstman may just be a different story
@@BaitBallin Huntsman is the same hull as Bertram, made from the same moulds. I would be interested to know where you got the information that "many Bertrams with pods handle like utter trash"? Have you ever been in one before and after a pod has been installed? Did you hear it directly from someone who did a pod upgrade? Because there is a lot of people doing a pod and Outboard upgrade and I haven't heard of any complaints.
Had friends with them, been next to them, been in them. Ride too low in the back, nose up in the air. Don't believe they are the same hull. The huntsman's are bigger, wider etc. do some research and you will see they are not the same. Huntsman is like the poor cousin of Bertram.
@@BaitBallin Yeah I've had the boat 30 years I know the history. My Huntsman 24 was built in Brisbane by CIC Insurance who acquired the Bertram moulds from Nova boats. The owner of Nova boats was ex Bertram. I store my boat at the marina on a triple axle trailer and I've had it next to Bertram's on several occasions and I can tell you they are identical hulls. The Huntsman name pay homage to Ray Hunt the designer of the Bertram. You've got an awesome boat there, I watched some more of your videos and now I see your boat was repowered and has a new leg. Personally I would never go an inboard but you've got a great setup especially having your boat on a trailer. Legs do not do well if left in the marina underwater, every other month there is a boat on the hardstand getting a new leg installed after blowing up because of water ingress. I suggest your friends who's boats don't ride right after going to outboards may have got some bad advice. There are plenty of youtube videos showing the correct way to Pod a Bertram and not compromise the ride in any way. It's funny I found your channel because I am thinking of downsizing to a Bar Crusher but I think I will be disappointed in the ride, but I think going to anything after these boats will be a disappointment. Thanks for your videos I do appreciate the content you are putting out there.
Scrap the old 240hp Merc. Remove the fuel tank. lower the floor. Add tanks under the gunnels, (60+ litres per side) reinstate the floor tank (at 90 degrees to original) but under a rear seat/day bed and fit a 250hp direct to a new transom, (not a pod). Result = headroom, 200+ litres fuel, (with an engine that only uses 20litres an hour cruising but will go 40 knots WOT) with water bladder where the old fuel tank was and the beautiful saloon top you correctly respect... mind you, i am putting two pop up hatches in mine!!
Have already done the same ideas ! turned the interior Grey keeping the timber same, orig fuel tank in floor is 120 lts. New side tanks are xtra 125 lts each with no probs at all ! :) will be watching yr adventure !
I've also got a crusader 23 and I've come up with the exact same ideas that you have particularly with the fuel tanks under the rear side pocket shelves. I've heard these can be made out of extruded plastic, which I prefer to fibreglass as the original under floor tank. still in the middle of a full rebuild as my transom,stringers and floor including v birth area was rotted. huge project. I'm also sticking with my 5.0l lx mercruiser and alpha combo for the same reasons you outlined. one thing to check on yours - There is a weak spot where the v birth area meets the steering helm bulkhead. mine developed stress cracks there because the v birth area is quite stiff with all the extra wood there and the outside stringers also end there. I've been able to extend the outside stringers into the v birth area plus grinding out and refibreglassing the crack with biaxial cloth and epoxy.
Yep the side panel cavity are screaming for use. Rekon your on target with the idea of fuel tanks there. You could also sacrificr the sink water tank for fuel space if desperate. The transfer ribbon & palm trees at the rear transom looks original which is why i thought the transom was original (new bertram stickers are expensive on ebay!) But maybe they are reproduction. If it's been done that's probably good news. The battery is likely a house battery of some kind for anchor winch, radios, cdplayer (all good boats of its day had good stereos) maybe a 2nd pump, and house lights etc. Have a look at lithium cranking batteries. Expensive but worth every penny as it saves tremendous weight and maintenance. (My 8.5 custom alloy had 4x6v and 4x12v batteries weighing 190kg! Replaced by 4 lithium weighing 68kg) That house battery can be replaced with a lithium lifep04 and will never go flat. How much does this boat weigh? What is your tow vehicle specs? Point of which isbhow many kgs do u have available for extras (eg towing with fuel on board etc) while remaining compliant? Thanks for your videos, l have learnt a lot from you.
Hey thanks for all the info, very good ideas! Yeah I'd say your are right about the battery, I just want to confirm for sure. On road, 100% empty she weighs 2500kg and my car can tow 3100, but can't go all the way to Max of course.
Glad you pointed out the iron stabilizer in the stern! My crusader has twin 140's and its balanced perfectly. First boat of my own and i love it. Keep up the epic content👍
Sorry. I have to disagree with your negative view regarding a pod and outboard configuration. I owned a Haines Hunter 635L with a factory alloy pod bolted on the back for 26yrs and it was a superb configuration in terms of ride and performance. A frequent traveler to the shelf. The 635 hull initially entered production as an inboard (as outboards were just not powerful enough in the 1970s). So the pod approach was very much a bolt on. To counter the bow up ride HH ran an extended fuel tank down the middle of the hull where the inboard used to be providing a very low center of gravity. In addition they ran a large pod which provided floatation for the outboard - I added additional floatation chambers - one to each side of the pod as I ran 3 batteries across the stern and a live bait tank on the rear marlin board. The result was a hull that approached a 7m waterline when running, provided great stability at rest and had massive uncluttered deck space. Motor service and repower were much simpler with the outboard approach. Check out my RU-vid videos. Happy to provide additional information if required. Cheers Z
Hey agree! The signature 2250L and Fraser's also work well with their pods, but those boats were designed for them and I'm sure plenty of time went into getting them right. I love the 635Ls, they were also on my list to find before this one came up. But yes, when podding you really do need to look at overall weight distribution etc and because I don't want to move the roof (to make it higher) it does limit how I can go about this..... First step is to actually get it out and make sure it all runs well
I sold mine in February to a fisho from Mackay. Check out this video to get a sense of the deck layout you get with a pod. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-m6QCp1DnsHQ.html
The final considerations regarding whether to pod or not that I would like to contribute is around technology advancements. I can't recall any earth shattering stuff being announced for inboards in the last few years compared to what's happening in the outboard world. eg 1: the Mercury V12 600HP - featuring low leg steer and a low leg gear shift to maximise torque transfer (just like with car technology). I'd expect this tech to cascade down the HP range ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6xHsSlml20Q.html ; eg 2, the Yamaha HelmMaster Ex system (joystick, fishpoint, drift point etc) available on a single engine and down to the 150HP range. This is game changing tech that in my case with the type of offshore fishing I do, will eliminate the need for an electric spotlock set up. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fmG8aUHuT8A.html Having said all that, all boats are a compromise... just don't write off pods/outboard configurations just because someone did a poor job on an example you may have seen. Cheers Z
No of course not! If this motor shits itself I will absolutely be putting an outboard on don't worry, if and when that happens Il just have to put lots of thought into it. This engine is running similar fuel economy to say a 300hp outboard cruusing but much more torque, holeshot and grip / turning ability etc at slow speeds. due to big displacement and the duo prop, the duo prop is absolutely awesome. So it does work well in this boat. Trolling economy though is quite poor! And I do spend a fair bit of time trolling.
@@BaitBallin So for comparison. I repowered the 6.35m 2tonne on water HH635L with a Mercury ProXS 150HP 4St, spinning a 14.5in 17p prop. Hole shot 4sec, top speed 5900rpm 74kmh (redline 6000rpm). Fuel economy typical run to shelf and back, 1.34km/L (0.75L/km), trolling 12kmh (7kts) 2.6km/L (0.38L/km). ... the new Merc 150 ProXS 4st, delivered the same peak torque as the previous Merc EFI 200HP 2st ... but it had a flat torque curve, essentially punching out the same torque from 600rpm to 5000rpm. All the stats and video comparisons are here: www.fishraider.com.au/topic/91455-repower-of-haines-635l-with-mercury-150hp-proxs-4stroke/ ... but the point again is there is a lot of tech development going into outboards.. a few years back I'd be considered mad for thinking a 150HP would do the job.
Hahaha no 300hp outboard has grunt like the 6.2L with a bravo prop and it sounds very sweet.... Yes I'm an outboard fan also, but this is still a bit of fun! You put the hammer down and an instant smile comes across your face
Well, they can be done very well indeed! But it's hard to truly get them right. I've seen a few very successful ones with outboards actually on the transom, with a spill tray built.
There is a australian guy rebuilding a Bertram from the ground up. In his early videos he does alot of work under the floor putting in fuel tanks. It might give you more of an understanding where you can find space for more fuel storage, you tube "micington"?? I think that's it. But really enjoying your videos, i replaced my old interior with the original blue color but should of probably put in a grey. The blue carpet gets very hot under foot.
How much past experience do you have with this model boat? I like the style too, but you speak as though you are an expert on it already, and I'm not convinced yet, but you put forward very strong opinions as though it is fact. I really hope this does go well for you, and I too would be very happy with this type of boat.
I've never owned one, had a few mates with them.... And plenty of reef runners. Basically they aren't an overly stable boat as they are. But yes had experience with pods etc and they haven't really worked out. If I was ever to go outboards would seriously consider mounting directly to transom. But realistically I won't ever put an outboard on this boat id buy a new Caribbean 2300 with outboards from factory. While the hulls look similar, they arent the same. New 2300 MUCH more suitable for outboards.
3rd June we putting the boat in leaving at jetty to fix trailer, 4th June we heading out. 100% locked in! So if you are around then, absolutely.... Anything could happen bahahhahha
Put some weight in the sides and gauge weather it's going to effect the ride I reckon up the front somewhere fr extra fuel but experient before committing
How thick are the bulkheads? Can you get a camera in? What happens when one tank empties and the other is full? Maybe throw four bags a concrete on one side and drive side on to the sea, oh and take a life jacket.
The more I see your boat the more I love it. Not too convinced about fuel tanks up the sides though. Is there any room in the cabin for a custom tank or fuel bladder?
One thing about these boats that could be better is the cabin door opens and blocks space mine s&it's me 😂 guessing second battery may be solely for anchor which maybe mate
Great to see various opinions on what you should and shouldn’t be doing in the comments Mark it will come down I think to your maximum fuel capacity and how you distribute so the boat is still a weapon.
@@trollfeedingbot this engine basically brand new.... So will do the job nicely. It also flies! Will be interesting to see it's top speed soon. I just need the trailer sorted and will be on the water 3/4 June
Well, so far so good. Actually very surprised. Very stable. The 8 speed gear box allows this car to punch way above its weight / spec sheet suggests. No power house, but it does a very good job for what it is.
