BERMUDA BLUEFIN 192C Twin Rig.
Gary Brown.

FOR quite some time now Bermuda boats have had the Bluefin 192C in their range of boats. You had and still have the option of buying it with either a 3.0LX Mercruiser sterndrive or a single outboard motor, but now they have added the Bermuda Bluefin 192C twin rig to their ever growing range. The new Bermuda Bluefin 192C twin rig that I tested, comes fitted with 2 x 50 ELPT 4-stroke Mercury outboards mounted onto a widened pod.
To put the Bermuda Bluefin 192C through its paces we took it out onto Botany Bay on a day when there was a 1.5 metre swell running outside causing the bombora at Bare Island to occasionally break and a ten to fifteen knot wind blowing from the south.
The twin 50 4-stroke Mercury motors never missed a beat the whole time that we drove all over Botany Bay jumping over the occasional swell and rather large tug wash. The hydraulic steering made turning of the steering wheel a pleasure with very little effort required and if you would only like to get one of the 50s or maybe a 90 2-stroke Mercury the hydraulic steering can be fitted.
The cabin grab rail for the navigator and the foot rails for both the helmsman and the navigator gave you the extra support and comfort when needed.
To see how the boat would perform with one motor working we brought the boat to a complete stand still leaving the other motor in the upright possession. This would then add some extra drag when trying to bring it up on the plane. I then brought the single motor quickly up to full power, which in turn brought the boat up onto the plane with plenty of power to spare.
While out on the bay we did manage to have a fish for a short while, not that we caught anything, and the opening front hatch made it so much easier to raise and lower the anchor over the bowsprit while placing the anchor rope into the anchor well positioned at the bow.
There are two swivel pedestal seats, one for the navigator and a adjustable one for the helmsman. For the rest of the crew there is a folding rear lounge, which can be removed to give you more room when fishing.
The whole of the floor area and the top of the two storage bunks at the front are carpeted making it not only easier on your feet and less noisy if anything is dropped when fishing. It also makes it much safer when standing up in the boat while either drifting or at anchor.
At first when I saw that the boat was fitted with a canopy and side curtains I thought that this extra wind catching area would make the boat sail along when drifting in the ten to fifteen knot wind that was blowing that day.
After drifting for some time I found that the canopy only increase the drifting speed by a very small amount and having the fold down canopy fitted to the boat would be a must, not only does it protect you from the sun it will give you that added protection when it rains.
There is underfloor flotation as well as the new one piece moulded polyethylene Bermuda 90 litre fuel tank that is also now available from Bermuda Sportsboats.
The Bermuda Bluefin 192C also comes fitted with a battery box, battery leads, battery switch, bilge pump, two drink holders, a set of navigation lights, two rod holders at the rear, a bollard on the front deck and one at both of the transom corners.
The fibreglass dash has a complete instrumentation set consisting of fuel gauge, trim tilt position, battery gauge and bilge pump.
EXTRA OPTIONS
The Bermuda Bluefin 192C twin rig can also be fitted out with extra seat positions, full side rails, auxiliary motor bracket for trolling in those freshwater dams and rivers, single rod holders, a large fish/ice and live bait tank and for extra comfort you could cushion out the cabin bunks.
One thing that I found very handy was the Bermuda rod rack and cutting board that was mounted on a track at the rear of the boat . This would enable you to set up a couple of rods when fishing at anchor for snapper, while at the same time allow you to cut up and toss over the back of the boat a berley trail of pilchards. The Bermuda rod rack and cutting board can be also added so that it will fit neatly into to two rod holders positioned at the rear of the boat.
At the end of the day when we were finished putting the Bermuda Bluefin 192C Twin Rig through it’s paces I found that the separate trim tilts for both motors got a bit of getting used to when lifting and driving the boat onto the Bermuda Centre Line trailer back at the ramp.
All in all I was very impressed with the Bermuda Bluefin 192C Twin Rig and found that it would be an excellent fishing and family boat whether you were intending on to use it in enclosed waters or out on the open sea.

SPECIFICATIONS Length of bow-transom - 5.3 m Length of bowsprit-pod - 5.7 m Beam - 2.26 m Depth - 1.20 m Construction - Pressed Alloy Bottom - 3.0 mm Sides - 2.0 mm Approximate Weight - 465 kg Maximum Motor - 120 HP COST Boat, trailer and 2 x 50ELPT 4-stroke Mercurys - RRP $37,457. Boat, trailer and 2 x 50ELPT 4-stroke Big Foot Mercurys - RRP $38,295. Boat, trailer and 1 x 90ELPTO 2-stroke Mercury RRP $30,610. Canopy - $454 Side curtains - $308 Rod racks and cutting board - $282 Single rod holder - $45