im looking at buying a '69 25ft bertram. i like the boat and for the price its hard for me to pass up. the only thing holding me back is the fact that it has outdrives on it, and im not a big fan of them. does anyone have anything good to say about outdrives?
Yes, they are capable of higher speed than inboards, more maneuverable in a single screw set-up, and can run in shallower water. If you are keeping it in the water all the time, there is a negative b/c the outdrive will be in the salt all the time. I am looking at a 25 Carolina Classic, and pretty much eliminated the boat for that reason. I know plenty of people keep outdrives wet all the time, but it requires a lot of maint. and you have to really keep an eye on them from what I have heard.
If you keep it in the water, even if you paint the outdrive with metal bottom paint, expect oysters and barnicles to grow inside the water intake and cut off water flow causing overheating of the engines. If on a trailer, just maintain it and regularly check on the boot condition and you will be fine.
Eat mor trout.
Edit: The cooling water intake is on the lower outdrive
Extremely well made boat. They roll a good bit when you’re running and also when fishing, but they don’t slam or shutter at all.
If the outdrives are old, you need to look seriously into replacing all the rubber around both sides of the transom. Depending on the brand, parts for them can get pretty expensive in a hurry- almost to where you’ll want to just find a pair of new outdrives to put on if anything substantial happens to one of them. Hard to say without knowing what brand/year/model you’re talking about here though.
I’ve seen running 25’ Bertrams with I/O’s sell around $5-8,000 in the last 4 years. They weren’t '69 models with orginal stuff on them or anything, but they were the same hull nonetheless. Almost got one with a buddy of mine but decided against it at the last second due to lack trailerability. One thing though, a classic 25 Bertram will almost always be worth at least 5 thousand dollars no matter the motors or drives on it. One thing about I/O’s versus inboards- the inboards make it much more impractical to trailer. With inboards, you’ll have to keep her in a slip.
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Luke 8:22-25
quote:
Originally posted by wmbryantim looking at buying a '69 25ft bertram. i like the boat and for the price its hard for me to pass up. the only thing holding me back is the fact that it has outdrives on it, and im not a big fan of them. does anyone have anything good to say about outdrives?
“Half Mine”
21ft Wellcraft
Yamaha 150
Have you looked at this one? The guy is from Charleston, and it is a beautiful boat.
http://www.thehulltruth.com/boats-sale/210277-bluegrass-restored-1963-bertram-25-a.html
John
thanks guys. im going to look at it tomorrow and hopefully get a water test, if everything is in runing order then i may go through with it.
John, yes i saw that boat and it is possibly one of the most well refurbished boats i’ve ever seen, but way out of my price range
“Half Mine”
21ft Wellcraft
Yamaha 150
If you like the pipe work on the bluegrass send me a pm
Nice work tigweld.
Bob Van Gundy
Marine Designs,Inc.
Custom Aluminum Fabrication
803-727-4069
Thanks Bob:smiley:
Theirs one in Georgetown that has the outdrives removed, installed a bracket and hung twin 275 Verodo’s on it. Slick looking ride.
PLUM CRAZY
26 REGULATOR
yeah, its the only bertram i’ve ever seen run 60mph
“Half Mine”
21ft Wellcraft
Yamaha 150
I have a 26ft shamrock and its on a trailer full keel its easy to get on and off.The weight is the problem for me.I had my trailer made for my boat