Timeless Classics – September/October 2021

Contender 25 Open

By Scott Shane

Contender Boats is one of the most recognized brand names when it comes to center consoles and fishing boats around the world. It all started with the 25-footer, and all these decades later, it’s still a top seller.

For 35 years the company has produced sleek, missile-like hulls that anglers have tweaked to perfection to target their favorite species. They’re outfitted for one mission, and that’s to quickly get their occupants from point A to point B in even the gnarliest of sea conditions.

Joe Neber founded the Florida-based company after a stint at Sea-Vee boats. The first Contender, a Classic 25, was built in 1984.

“I started Contender boats when I was 22 years old. Although it’s been a progression, the boat that really took us to the dance was the Classic 25. As the first Contender, it’s a really iconic boat. At the time it was very high-tech,” Neber said in an article on InTheBite.com that’s published on ContenderBoats.com.

“We were some of the first to use biaxial and tri-axial fiberglass and used a lot of foam coring. We were stepping up the game and people started seeing some of the advantages of these new materials.”

Contender has built 1,100 units, with the first generation produced from 1984 to 1996. The aggressive deadrise has stayed consistent throughout the years, at 24.5 degrees. The deep-V is known for its ability to tackle a head-sea full on. The hull is solid fiberglass and foam core was utilized for the top deck, liner and console.

The molded, inner liner is a modular system, according to Contender. The original models featured full transoms with brackets for outboard engines; the boat had options for inboard/outboard and straight-shaft, inboard gas or diesel engines.

In the late 1990s Contender reconfigured the 25 Open. The beam was stretched by 7 inches and the flat, bracketed transom was replaced with a built in, integrated, engine mounting design. This also increased LOA to over 27 feet. The weight, however, was only slightly elevated over the original.

Of course, from day one Contenders were tricked out to the nines with amenities for the fishing clan.

“The 25 is designed for maximum fishing efficiency,” John Brownlee wrote in a 2007 Saltwater Sportsman article. He described it as having “an impressive amount of uncluttered room,” with the bow wide open and a low-profile bow rail. There was plenty of storage, Brownlee wrote, including a 400-quart in-deck fish box and more insulated storage boxes aft the fish box. The cockpit had a 38-gallon above deck live well in the transom bulkhead and two 225-quart fish boxes below the deck, with plenty of fishing space.

Kirk Fay ran a 2001 25 Contender, DayDreamer, out his homeport of Blue Point, New York.

“The original boat was powered with two-stroke engines and I repowered with similar horsepower four-strokes. The performance remained mostly consistent as far as my 35 miles-per-hour cruise speed. There was an uptick in fuel performance; we achieved 2 miles per gallon,” Fay said.

Fay is typical of the customer Contender attracts. He bought the boat to fish and that’s what he does every day he can.

“It’s a fishing machine. We have no desire to take sunset cruises. The boat is dry and is perfect for our trips to the mid-shore tuna grounds. I wouldn’t hesitate to fish the canyons if the boat had more range,” Fay said. (Check out Kirk’s website: Fishgaak.com.)

Contender Boats is still cranking out the 25-footers. They’re recognized as semi-custom, so new builds can be tailored to meet the individual needs of the owner. The new 25T models are back to a 25-foot LOA, 145-gallons of fuel and weigh in at 4,200 pounds. Maximum horsepower is rated for 400.

Custom outriggers, downriggers, extra rod holders and electric reel outlets are just a few of items you can add to the arsenal. The 25T has a large console with good storage within. The actual helm has enough flat surface to be outfitted with an array of current electronics.

A large access hatch is built in the aft deck so it’s easy to inspect and service the systems below deck. That hatch is flanked by good-sized, in-sole fish boxes. A 40-gallon live well is situated perfectly in the transom; keeping and accessing bait during a frenzy will be a breeze. For even more fish holding capacity, a coffin-box is available.

The boats continue to be hand-laid with the most current materials and the strength of these hulls is garnered from the multi-directional fabric and foam-cored glass stringer system the builder is well known for. The boats use foam flotation. The engines sit aft of the integrated dive platform, that can be accessed through transom door.

The 25T cockpit is self-bailing and all transited surfaces are finished with a firm gripping, non-skid finish. The rub rail over the hull to deck joint is heavy duty and smartly adds to the visual appeal of the of the boat.

Anglers will appreciate the unencumbered space to fight a fish completely around the vessel.

All-in-all, 35 years have treated the Contender 25 series quite well. The company never varied from the original concept and design and have only modernized what truly was the platform from which the company was built on.