Bertram Yachts
by David Pascoe

Yep, this is our introductory photo to Bertram Yachts. Not very complimentary? Read on because in the aftermath of hurricanes Andrew and Opal, most Bertrams survived with as little damage as this one did.
Bertram has a well-deserved reputation for building rugged, high quality boats. Bertram has an interesting history, for it was one of the three first production boat companies to start up in 1961 along with Hatteras and the Henry Hinckley Company, all known for producing top quality boats that have survived to this day. Well, almost, for the current status of Bertram seems to be that it is teetering on the edge of extinction.
The success of Bertram came about as the result of Dick Bertram's commitment to quality, Ray Hunts revolutionary deep vee hull design, and the timeliness of Castro's overthrow of the Bastista government which brought a flood of cheap labor to Miami. This was augmented by the fact that the Cuban refugees that got jobs at Bertram usually kept them for a lifetime, meaning that the turnover at Bertram was nearly zilch, meaning that Bertram employees were well trained and knew what they were doing.
More that three decades later, the downfall of Bertram was probably that Bertrams ended up being built by Cubans for Cubans, for the later management made the disastrous mistake of concentrating solely on the sport fishing market by completely abandoning the cruising market. When the '89 recession hit, they ended up being in the wrong niche market, from which this large operation could not recover.
Although Bertram did produce many motor yachts, these were half-hearted efforts that often resulted in poorly performing boats based on a deep vee hull that resulted in extremely inefficient fuel hogs that required too much horsepower to drive. Add to that their marketing feel far short so that Bertram ultimately defaulted the entire extremely lucrative motor yacht business to Hatteras, a factor which insured Hatteras's success.
The reputation of Bertram is built on rough and rugged sport fishermen based on the original Ray Hunt design that produced boats that keep on going when others had to put into port. But the downside of a very deep vee hull is that they are inefficient and require a lot more horsepower, as well as fuel, to drive them. This also resulted in a lower profile hull that significantly limits interior space, a factor which gave Hatteras room to compete in the fish boat market by making beamier boats with bigger and more plush interiors that pleased the ladies. Apparently Hatteras wisely recognized that the lady of the house
Interiors on these boats are often downright spartan. Not for nothing are they often referred to as macho boats, what with all the formica you'll find on any Bertram made before 1990. The good news is that this can easily be changed by covering with veneers, vinyls or fabrics over the mica, which can transform some of these dreary interiors in no time.
This lead to Bertram and Hatteras becoming arch rivals with Hatteras ultimately emerging as the winner. While the Bertram crowd rather arrogantly looked down their noses at the folks in High Point, Hatteras sales soared while Bertrams remained relatively flat. Until the '89 recession when they went to zero from which they never recovered.
While Bertram is often the quality standard by which all others are judged, you may be surprised to hear me say that that reputation is not always well deserved. While I would ascribe some of the industry's best R&D and quality control to Bertram, these boats are not the floating tanks like many people believe. For over two decades Lee Dana was the chief of engineering at Bertram, and from what we've seen of these boats Lee clearly knew where to put the beef and where to take it out. For the fact is that with a deep vee hull, the weight of these boats had to be kept down if you were going to get any kind of speed out of them, and that is a lesson Bertram learned early on. Model for model, you may be surprise to find that Bertrams are lighter than a Hatteras, especially in hull laminate thickness.
Throughout these pages, we've shown you a lot of pictures of boats that have gone through hurricances. After seeing so many of these boats bashed and battered, we know how they're built, and we can tell you that they really are tough cookies. These hull laminates are no thicker, or at least not much thicker, than anybody else's, but it is the engineering expertise - often utterly lacking in so many others - that makes the difference. These hulls are plain old woven roving construction and hold up better than all the exotic materials you hear about put together. When you hear builders touting the latest and greatest high tech stuff, we say HOOEY! And we'll be pleased to show you the proof, because its contained right here on the pages of this web site. That's why, over and over again, we show you pictures of busted up boats. The only way to test 'em is to break 'em, and that's what storms do.
You may have heard that Bertrams don't blister. For the most part, that is true, although there have been a few. As one who has occasionally wandered through the Bertram yard, we know that one of the reasons is quality control. For example, a green dye was usually added to the resin to help show up incomplete wet out. Also, it was Lee Dana himself who told us about tank coating, the process of using a high quality resin on the exterior and lower quality in the later laminations. No doubt the wrong resin occasionally got sprayed at the wrong time.
This is not to say that you'll find many Bertrams falling apart, although that is not without precedent. As the photos on this page shows, we've seen a lot of Bertrams wrecked by hurricanes so we know how they're built. As a rule, these solid fiberglass hulls will outperform any cored hull under any conditions. As with Hatteras, we've seen dozens of Bertrams survive storms that destroyed all their neighbors. If the ability to survive after hitting a coral head or taking a wave over the stern concerns you, these are the kind of boats to consider. Just be aware that, as with all other builders, mistakes are made. As with all builders, occasionally they do some pretty dumb things - like bolting a cleat to a block of wood that is basically glued to the hull, as you will find in the 42C, and as discovered after hurricane Andrew as all the 42's ripped their cleats out.
Both companies wisely stayed away from exotic materials and continued to build from basic roving and balsa cored construction, decisions that spared them any costly mistakes. Well, almost. In fact, both companies experimented with foam cores in the mid 1980's with both efforts resulting in failures, both in their 38' line of sport fishermen. The experiments quickly came to an end and was not tried again.
One of the worst things you'll find about Bertram are the generators placed under the cockpit decks which, up until the early 80's were wood. Needless to say, the decks leaked like crazy and ruined the generators. Battery placement was usually a nightmare, and if you don't maintain the batteries you end up with a lot of dead ones and frequent replacements. Engine room layouts are usually quite a bit less than ideal, usually cramped and hard to maintain. Rarely was consideration given toward maintenance, which no doubt contributes greatly to why so many of these older boats are so poorly maintained.
So what about buying used Bertrams today? Much of the fleet is now finding its way to the back lots of boat yards. Prices are down far enough that people who really can't afford them have bought them, only to find that the upkeep of these aging yachts, particularly the immensely popular but fuel-hoggy 46 Convertible, is a whole lot more than they expected. The small boats, and the more popular 37 and 54 Convertible are still hot items on the market and command steep prices. But probably one of the best values to be had these days is the rugged 42 Convertible which is not so big and heavy that you need monster diesels to make them go. The 33 & 37 are great boats that initially carried high price tags made even higher by the addition of towers and all the bells and whistles. Yet as time goes on, these prices steadily decline, bringing some of these gems within reach of the less-than-rich.
Unless you're got the bucks, beware of buying diesel Bertrams. They are hard on engines and keeping them going gets downright expensive. The best values for the budget conscious are with the gas engine boats. But make sure that your choice isn't underpowered because over-worked gas engines don't last long.
Bertram 26.6 II | Bertram 28 II | Bertram 30 Express | Bertram 30 Moppie | Bertram 31 SF | Bertram 36 Moppie | Bertram 42 Convertible | Bertram 46 Convertible
From featured article: "MARLIN MONROE" Bertram 42 Convertible
Added Jan-29-2009
From Core and Structural Issues: "Bad
News for Bertram" (2008 Bertram 63 Hull Failure
- Hull Delamination)


David Pascoe - Biography
-
Boat Reviews Articles
At-A-Glance - Introduction to Boat Reviews
- A
- Albemarle 305
- Aquasport 215
- B
- Baha 260 Targa (not "Baja")
- Bertram Yachts
- Bertram Yachts: Introduction
- Bertram 26.6 II
- Bertram 28 II
- Bertram 30 Express
- Bertram 30 Moppie
- Bertram 31 SF
- Bertram 33 SF
- Bertram 36 Moppie
- Bertram 42 Convertible
- Bertram 46 Convertible
- Blackfin Yachts
- Blackfin 29 SF
- Blackfin 29 Combi
- Blackfin 32 Flybridge
- Blackfin 33
- Boston Whaler Outrage 26
- C
- Cabo 31 Sport Express
- Carver 370
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- Cruisers 4270 Esprit
- Cruisers 4280
- G
- Glacier Bay 2640 Renegade
- Grady-White Offshore 24
- Grady-White 24 Voyager
- Grady White 272 Sailfish
- Grand Banks 42
- Gulfstar 43 Trawler-style Yacht
- H
- Hatteras Yachts
- Hatteras Yachts: Introduction
- Hatteras 36 Convertible
- Hatteras 38 Convertible
- Hatteras 38 Convertible - Updated Review
- Hatteras 39 Sport Express
- Hatteras 45 Convertible
- Hatteras 52 Convertible
- Hatteras 53 Motor Yacht & Convertible
- Hatteras 61 Motor Yacht
- Hunter 28
- Hyatt 45 CMY
- I
- Intrepid 289
- Island Gypsy 40
- L
- Lafitte 44
- Legacy 34 Express
- Luhrs 320 Open
- Luhrs 34 - 340 F.B. Sedan
- Luhrs Tournament 350
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- M
- Mainship 31
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- Mako 221- Updated 11/05/99
- Mako 26
- Maxum 4600 1998
- Mochi 50
- Morgan 462 Ketch
- O
- Offshore 48
- P
- Post 46 Convertible
- Pursuit 2855
- Pursuit 3000 Offshore
- Pursuit 3070 CC
- S
- Sea Ray
- Sea Ray and Balsa Core Bottoms (from "Structural Issues")
- Sea Ray 250 Sundancer
- Sea Ray 27
- Sea Ray Sundancer 290
- Sea Say Sundancer 290 Update
- Sea Ray 370 AC
- Sea Ray 39 Express
- Sea Ray 500
- Sea Ray 55
- Shamrock 26
- T
- Thompson Santa Cruz 2700
- Tiara 2700
- Tiara 3100 Open
- Tiara 3600 Convertible
- Tiara 3600 Open
- Topaz 28_1981
- Trojan 10-8 Meter
- Trojan 14 Meter Convertible
- Trojan 440 Express
- V
- Viking 43 Open
- from other cat.
- Marlin Monroe
42 Bertram Convertible
Make an Old Boat New - Tiara Today
The New Quality Leader?
Articles at
docksidereports.com
David Pascoe's
Power Boat Books
A Guide for Discriminating Buyers
Focuses exclusively cruiser class generally 30-55 feet
With discussions on the pros and cons of each type: Expresses, trawlers, motor yachts, multi purpose types, sportfishermen and sedan cruisers.
Selecting and Evaluating New and Used Boats
Dedicated for offshore outboard boats
A hard and realistic look at the marine market place and delves into issues of boat quality and durability that most other marine writers are unwilling to touch.
2nd Edition
The Art of Pre-Purchase Survey The very first of its kind, this book provides the essentials that every novice needs to know, as well as a wealth of esoteric details.
Pleasure crafts investigations to court testimony The first and only book of its kind on the subject of investigating pleasure craft casualties and other issues.
- Chapter 1
- Basic Considerations
- Chapter 2
- Boat Types: Which is Right for You?
- Chapter 3
- Old Boats, New Boats and Quality
- Chapter 4
- Basic Hull Construction
- Chapter 5
- Evaluating Boat Hulls
- Chapter 6
- Performance and Sea Keeping
- Chapter 7
- Decks & Superstructure
- Chapter 8
- Stress Cracks,Finishes and Surface Defects
- Chapter 9
- Power Options
- Chapter 10
- The Engine Room
- Chapter 11
- Electrical & Plumbing Systems
- Chapter 12
- Design Details
- Chapter 13
- Steering, Controls, Systems & Equipment
- Chapter 14
- The Art of the Deal
- Chapter 15
- Boat Shopping
- Chapter 16
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- Chapter 17
- Boat Builders by Company
- 512 pages
2nd Edition
- Chapter 1
- What is
Pre-Purchase Survey? - Chapter 2
- Business Practices and Client Relations
- Chapter 3
- Sound vs. Seaworthiness
- Chapter 4
- Procedures
- Chapter 5
- Hull and Its Structure
- Chapter 6
- Surveying the Hull
- Chapter 7
- Using Moisture Meters
- Chapter 8
- Stress Cracks & Surface Irregularities
- Chapter 9
- Deck & Superstructure
- Chapter 10
- Cockpits
- Chapter 11
- Drive Train
- Chapter 12
- Gas Engines
- Chapter 13
- Fuel Systems
- Chapter 14
- Exhaust Systems
- Chapter 15
- Electrical Systems
- Chapter 16
- Plumbing Systems
- Chapter 17
- Sea Trials
- Chapter 18
- Appraisal
- Chapter 19
- Reporting
- 480 pages
- Chapter 1
- The Marine Investigator
- Chapter 2
- The Nature of Investigations
- Chapter 3
- The Nature of Evidence
- Chapter 4
- Marine Insurance and Issues of Law
- Chapter 5
- Bilge Pumps & Batteries
- Chapter 6
- Finding the Leak
- Chapter 7
- Sinking Due To Rain
- Chapter 8
- Fire Investigations
- Chapter 9
- Machinery Failure Analysis
- Chapter 10
- Fraud Investigations
- Chapter 11
- Interrogation Techniques
- Chapter 12
- Reports
- Chapter 13
- Deposition & Court Testimony
- 544 pages
David Pascoe is a second generation marine surveyor in his family who began his surveying career at age 16 as an apprentice in 1965 as the era of wooden boats was drawing to a close.
Certified by the National Association of Marine Surveyors in 1972, he has conducted over 5,000 pre purchase surveys in addition to having conducted hundreds of boating accident investigations, including fires, sinkings, hull failures and machinery failure analysis.
Over forty years of knowledge and experience are brought to bear in following books. David Pascoe is the author of:
In addition to readers in the United States, boaters and boat industry professionals worldwide from nearly 80 countries have purchased David Pascoe's books, since introduction of his first book in 2001.
In 2012, David Pascoe has retired from marine surveying business at age 65.
On November 23rd, 2018, David Pascoe has passed away at age 71.
Biography - Long version