THIS THING IS A TANK!

[fishmaster63]

this is a real nice cheap project that just might last forever.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1972-Uniflite-23-open-sportfish-boat-V8-I-O-trailer_W0QQitemZ4599731334QQcategoryZ31271QQrdZ1Q QcmdZViewItem



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[mirage2521]

"Ugly is as UGLY does" my Momma says!

[fishmaster63]

mirage, apparently the link i posted is not working for you correctly because the link you clicked on came up with something ugly. the link i posted, if working correctly, would bring up a boat that could not, by any far stretch of the imagination, be considered ugly. i will to go back and try to figure out what came up when you clicked on the link. obviously there is a problem here.

[Skools Out]

that's one ugly tank with steps in the middle of the deck to cover the motor lol.

[fishmaster63]

ARE YOU GUYS NUTZ??? THIS BOAT IS GREAT!!! the thing will handle most seas you throw at it and it will last a hundred more years. c'mon, take another look.

[Skools Out]

ok looked again still one majorly ugly boat!!!

[phester]

it's not that ugly...and she sure looks sturdy, I wonder what that thing weighs....?

[mmiklosz]

It could be cleaned up and updated. Still like my V20.

[Mac_Attack]

My friend has a 37' Uniflite. *He says that the Uniflite brand has some military history. *The EBay boats looks very sturdy but I would not say it is attractive. *Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. *Bill Mc ;D

http://www.unifliteworld.com/

This website tells of the brands Navy service.

[throwback]

A message for the uninformed. Uniflites are top top top quality hulls as good or better than Bertram or Hatteras. V20,s (nice boats I have one) are not in the same league. The hulls were all built to US govt specs. The navy liked them. This little guys big brothers the 28 and 31 were the boats that the navy used as river patrol boats in Nam. Were powered by twin 6v53 jimmies with jet drives. Uniflite hulls are just indestructable. Agreed they don't have the clean lines of Berts or v20's but tough they are. I run a charter boat business in Va and run a 28 sport fish. Been in 10 foot seas(not by choice) with her and she just just rode up and over. The only problem with the boats is that uniflite used a fire retardent --In fact I had a piece from a repair and it would not burn just charred-- resin in the hulls and in warm water they tend to blister. Looks like hell but not a structural problem. The blisters are caused by boron gas leaching out under the gel coat. They stopped using the resin in 1977 so hulls after that date are no problem. The bottom line is the guy who bought the boat for $500 got a bargin. Repower with a volvo duoprop and one hell of a package. Uniflite was sold to Chriscraft who folded it- competion- but as the post notes just about any part is available from sea tech. The boats have a cult following on the west coast and a lot of the guys who built them still work for Padden creek marine in Bellingham wash where many of the boats are restored.

Capt
Len Buchta

[reelapeelin]

I don't think it's ''ugly''...I think it's got no flotation....next boat requirement...

[fishmaster63]

i want you guy to listen to capt len... the guy knows from where he speaks, and that boat is HOT!!!

[mirage2521]

I have actually been onboard a PBR or 2, was in a Navy Special Boat Unit in another life. *Quality, durability, life span, seaworthyness, patriotic history aside, it's UGLY, ugly ugly...LOL

[throwback]

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Being on an ugly boat or coming in alive is not much of a choice for me.
Was on a really nice 32 ft three year old sport fish a couple of years ago got real sloppy and the hull cracked just ahead of the windshield after coming off a 6/7 foot sea. A six foot sea is actually a 12 foot drop from the crest. CG saved our butt and the boat by getting a big pump to us. So much for pretty hulls. The insurance company totaled her. Never heard of a uniflite or a 31 bertram for that matter hull structual failure except for the uniflites that got shot full of holes.
Check out the history of the brown water navy. Interesting reading.

Capt len

[mirage2521]

Now that is a beautiful boat, there are not many boats out there as pretty to me as a 31 Bertram. I would have to say the the 31 Bertram and the Wellcraft V20 are IMHO 2 of the most beautiful boats ever made, very gracefull and seaworthy lines....followed closely by some of those Carolina boats. Nordhavens are up there to but they are in a whole other world price wise...out of my comprehension

[fishmaster63]

my buddy has a 31 bertram... wettest dam boat i ever fished. take an asswhoopin too in the big stuff.

[throwback]

Marige and I may disagree a bit about uniflites but not on the Bertram 31. May dad bought one around 68 or 69 and we fished the boat extensively out of the Palm Beach area. After his passing I sold the boat. The fact is the hull would take just about anything you would put her in within reason. Ran the boat to Bimini to many times to count. Got to say the 31 is the wettest xxxx boat ever built. The reverse chine puts up a lot of spray. Frankly their great boats down south but just to wet up north. The flybridge is built for midets and the cabin is not plush by any means. Bertram built them as day boats to operate in tropical water and creature comforts were not high on the list. If you got a quarter million plus to spare Worton Creek mariine in MD will totally overhaul a boat to better than new. No matter their fault the 31 gets my vote for one of the best if not the best sportfisherman. Its also interesting to note that Bertram used the same hull design for a 25 and a 20. Kind of always thought that wellcraft might of ad a winner is the would have built a 30 foot v30 hull.

Lb

[fishmaster63]

i sure as hell would have settled for a v23 or 24... fact is the v20 is a bertram hull any way you slice it.

[chumbucket]

i sure as hell would have settled for a v23 or 24... fact is the v20 is a bertram hull any way you slice it.
Not quite FM63. Take a look at a 20' Bert Moppie and then tell me they're the same. The chine configuration is definately different. While the companies both share some heritage through Ray Hunt's design work, they are still completely different hulls. :)

[fishmaster63]

cb very slight difference in chines and more flare but bertram nonetheless.

[Blue_Runner]

The outside isn't so ugly, just needs some paint and/or cleaning and such. Now the cockpit is a different story! That split deck deal is ugly as crapola!

[bigshrimpin]

Don't know how I missed this one . . . but I love the uniflite Salty Dog model . . . one of my all time favorites.

[racerx]

boat must be ugly, they took down the link! i wish i woulda got to see it. curious now. ya know, like when ur bud goes "that taste awful, here, taste it"

[msbhammer]

Yeah, I was teased as well on this thread. Didnt get to see the pic. : ( :'( :'( :'(