InTheBite

  • Home
  • News
    • All News
    • Featured Stories
    • General News
    • Captain of the Year
    • Tournament Results
    • First Builds
    • Splash Reports
    • Old Salts Rule
    • Tackle Tips
    • Dock Talk
    • Crew Records
    • Conservation
  • Tournaments
    • Calendar
    • Captain of the Year
    • Champion’s Cup
  • Shop
    • All Products
    • Subscriptions
    • Back Issues
    • Shirts
    • Hats & Visors
    • Miscellaneous
    • Release Rulers
  • Classifieds
  • Job Board
  • Contact
    • Contact InTheBite
    • InTheBite Media Kit
  • Log in

Feels Like the First Time – Contender 25

March 24, 2020 By InTheBite Editor

Contender 31 Classic

The Contender 31 Classic. It was boats like this one that put Contender on the map.

If you were alive and, in any way, involved in boating during the mid-80s, then you were a witness to one of the biggest boating booms of all time. Contender Boats fueled that growth like no other. After graduating from the University of Florida, Miami native Joe Neber, took a summer job at Sea-Vee “that turned into a career.”

“I was planning on going to law school but ended up working for Don McGee for the summer,” he says.

An unexpected buyout ended his time at Sea-Vee, but Neber had already been bitten by the boat builder’s bug. He started buying fiberglass hulls from Whitewater and rigging them out for resale.

“We did a lot of custom rigging, five or six boats, until they stopped selling me fiberglass parts because we were hurting their business. That’s when I decided to start Contender Boats…I was 22 years old at the time,” says Neber.

A short time later, in June of 1984, the first Contender, a Classic 25, rolled out of the building.

“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 really an iconic boat. At the time, it was very high tech. 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,” says Neber. “The 25 was great for us. We sold over 1,100 of them over a real long production run. The next one that came along after that was the 35 express. I built that boat because I needed that boat. We built about 600 of those. It could go fast and get me to the Bahamas and back. But the big one that really made a difference was the 31 Classic, which was actually 32’6” with the bracket.”

“Back in the day when we were building the 25, we were bolting on transom brackets to a square transom. We were still building a lot of straight-shaft inboards at the time. Before Yamahas came out, the bar for outboard reliability was really low. People who were going to the Bahamas preferred straight shaft inboards for the reliability. But by the late 80s and mid-90s the Yamahas weren’t breaking. We transitioned to the transom brackets with the 35 Express and the 31 and we never looked back at the inboard market too much,” says Neber.

Captain Joe Neber

From a summer job at Sea Vee, Joe Neber has transformed his passion for center consoles into one of
the most iconic brands on the market.

With both the 25 and 31 selling really well, an oil crisis and a recession in the late 2000s tipped Neber’s hand and forced him to get creative once again.

“In 2007 and 2008, we had oil at $165 a barrel and people stopped buying boats. We were actually looking at going back to inboard diesels!” says Neber. “We needed a new product, so we began transitioning into the step hulls business to give our customers an option between the deep-v and the step. But you have to know, I was the anti-step guy when I was the deep-V hull guy! I had a product that was burning 20 percent more fuel than a stepped hull. I had to change something. We went through a lot of research and development, making three dimensional drawings until we got it to the point where we liked the designs and built them. I hardly ever build deep-V now.”

“We knew what we liked in our V-hull and what we wanted in the stepped hull,” says Neber. “Nobody was building a step hull that had a balance of performance…it didn’t exist. If it ran good in a head sea, it was scary in a following sea. Nobody had it right. Our goal was to build safe, balanced stepped hulls that ran in all sea conditions. Our first hull, the 35 Step, hit it right on the money. It worked perfectly. We worked with naval architect John Cosker on the step hulls. He’s a brilliant guy who has built super-fast racing boats. We told him what we liked and what we didn’t like and he came up with the 35…and it was amazing.”

Contender went on to make 32-foot, a 39-foot and a 30-foot stepped hull.

“Our stepped hulls are the finest performing offshore boats available today,” says Neber. “Their fuel economy, seakeeping ability, soft ride, and safety in a following sea are incredible. There’s nobody out there that can run with us…there’s nothing that goes to sea like a Contender. Good seakeeping is a driving force. It comes from the hardcore fishing stuff we are doing. Our goal wasn’t speed; even if we weren’t the fastest in the fleet, once it got rough, we’d still be out front. Our biggest competitor is our prior-built product.”

For more  information from our marketing partner Contender Boats please fill out the form below and our InTheBite concierge service will be happy to assist you.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.

    Filed Under: Boats, Builders, Featured Stories, First Builds, News, Splash Reports Tagged With: 25ft, contender, contender 25, Contender 31, Splash report

    Recent News

    International Game Fish Association Announces 2023 Tommy Gifford Award Winners

    Dania Beach, FL—The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) today announced its 2023 Tommy Gifford Award winners, an annually bestowed accolade that recognizes captains, guides or crew members who have made extraordinary contributions to r … [Read More...]

    Costa Rica’s Largest and Richest Fishing Tournament

    Quepos, Costa Rica—The 7th Annual Pelagic Rockstar Offshore Tournament makes Costa Rican and Central American sportfishing history two years running! With a record-setting 94 teams and 553 anglers catching and releasing 1,131 billfish for more than $ … [Read More...]

    A Taste of Sportfishing: Blue Crab Claw Rolls

    By Holly Hearn of Game Girl Gourmet Blue water and blue crabs. These two things pair beautifully in the case of this blue crab claw roll. The rolls are light, sweet, savory and just a little bit spicy. This makes them the perfect lunchtime … [Read More...]

    The Masters Celebrate 60 Years in Style

    Costa Rica never disappoints; calm seas, a world class fleet and fast billfishing for 30 Master Anglers who gathered together at Los Suenos on January 24th for the annual boat draw. Veteran anglers welcomed five "freshmen" into the club and after … [Read More...]

    Pelagic’s Vaportek Fishing Shirt

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B32l2Wwscak Check out the video to see why Pelagic’s Vaportek is the lightest and most breathable fishing shirt. The Vaportek Fishing Shirt features full-length fine-mesh vented panels that allow for optimal airflow … [Read More...]

    Leave a Reply

    Connect With InTheBite

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Subscribe to InTheBite Magazine Today!

    InTheBite current cover image

    Our latest issue is hitting the docks now! Be sure to subscribe to the hottest bluewater mag on the market. Purchase or Subscribe »

    InTheBite Champion’s Cup

    InTheBite Champions Cup Logo

    New for 2022, the Champion’s Cup is an optional paid entry with a winner-takes-all prize format for teams who want to up the stakes in each division utilizing our longstanding tournament scoring formula.

    Captain of the Year Cup Standings

    COTY / ITB Cup Logo

    News

    • Proposed 10-Knot Restrictions

      Proposed 10-Knot Restrictions

      It’s Not Over! The Viking Yacht Company and the marine industry’s grassroots campaign to stop the advancement of a proposed 10-knot restriction along the Eastern Seaboard continues into 2023. And now, thanks to the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), we have a tool at our disposal that makes it super easy to make your voice heard. In one click, send a pre-written letter... [Read More...]

    • Old Salt: Capt. Eddie Herbert

      Old Salt: Capt. Eddie Herbert

      By Carol M. Bareuther, RD The moon and stars shone brightly in the pre-dawn night as Capt. Eddie Herbert started the engines on the 80-foot Merritt Reel Tight. His destination, the Virgin Islands’ North Drop. Reel Tight owner Jim Lambert Sr. took his passion for fishing seriously. He wanted to be first off the dock so he could catch and... [Read More...]

    • Splash Report: Bayliss Boatworks' Overtime

      Splash Report: Bayliss Boatworks' Overtime

      Every boat built by Bayliss Boatworks is a truly custom project. In the case of Overtime, the newest 67’ 6’’ build to hit the water, the sportfisher is the weapon of choice for a Cabo-San-Lucas-based program. With the help of the experienced captain and owner team, Bayliss Boatworks designed a sportfishing yacht unique enough to meet the demands of conquering... [Read More...]

    • First Build: Jarrett Bay's Sensation

      First Build: Jarrett Bay's Sensation

      By Nichole Osinski "If you’d asked me when I was 16 years old if I was going to build a boat, I would have told you you’re crazy," says Jarrett Bay Founder and President Randy Ramsey when recalling his 30-plus year career in the boat building industry. But to understand how the company has risen to where it is today,... [Read More...]

    • InTheBite Christmas Gift Offers

      InTheBite Christmas Gift Offers

      In addition to the other products listed below, InTheBite is offering two amazing holiday gift deals: a free gift subscription and a hat, shirt and sticker bundle. Act now before the offer ends on December 24th at midnight! Christmas Special: Hat, Shirt & Sticker Bundle (While Supplies Last) Looking for the perfect holiday gift for the fisherman in your life?... [Read More...]

    Search InTheBite

    Copyright © 2023 InTheBite, LLC · All Rights Reserved.