InTheBite

Perhaps the Best 31 Bertram Refit Ever: What Do You Think?

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By Capt. Jeff Waxman

Owner: Dr. Pasquale Petrera, MD

Boatyard: Worton Creek Marina – Chestertown, Maryland

Docked: Indian River North Shore Marina – Indian River, Delaware

Everyone, everywhere in our world knows the 31’ Bertram. Most of us have an opinion (usually a very strong one) about this iconic boat. The universal opinions stem from the boat’s impact. The 31 Bertram began the deep v revolution, in many ways paving the way for offshore fishing to gain popularity. Many of the several thousand built are still in use today, around the globe, still catching more than their share.

And many, probably most, have been modified, repowered, and renovated. The forms of resplash are as varied as the ports the 31s call home – from adding outboards to slicing off half of the topsides; if you can think of it, likely it’s been done.

With the variety of Bertram 31 modifications out there, comes the inevitable debate – who has done it best? There are many contenders for the throne, but there is something about one 31’ in particular, delivered new in 1971… the Priceless owned by Dr. Pasquale Pertrera and fished out of Indian River, Delaware. She is a Bahia Mar version of the 31, produced in the early days of the Express boats popular today.

My parameters for evaluating a refit lie at the intersection of three pieces of the puzzle: 1) Vision and good taste. 2) Execution (by the boatyard). 3) Funds (more than a little). We all know the Bertram story and have all seen some of the worst and some of the best renovations. Here are some key points on the Priceless: Thrust, Power, and Fuel Consumption: She is powered by twin 315 HP Yanmar diesels that provide the push to cruise 27 knots at 3150; with 34 Knots at 3800 WOT.

Priceless is equipped with oversized shafts swinging 18×19 wheels. The result is efficient performance. On a typical canyon run (65-70 miles each way), with a full day of trolling she burns 110-120 gallons. Fishability and Comfort: The cockpit is non slip (Dr. Pertrera is considering adding teak Sea Dek). It is equipped with a Pompanette Fighting Chair with striking rod holders center mounted. To accommodate all of the tackle necessary for canyon trips and trolling, the Priceless has 12 rod holders on gunwales and on transom, plus two additional rows of six rocket launchers on marlin tower.

The engine boxes are covered with blue/white striped cushions with four inches of heavy-duty foam, extra insulation added. Helm and passenger seating is a custom arrangement – they seat two each complete with footrests and storage. The seat backs flip both ways in order to watch forward or astern. She boasts full electronic instrumentation at helm and on tower.

The original windshield was removed and replaced by an EZ2CY three quarter enclosure with various openings for ventilation. Further modifications include a custom hardtop with several handholds, LED overhead lighting extended to ends of engine boxes and a custom safety raft mount on top below the marlin tower floor. The tower is anchored by stanchions of three-foot custom aluminum tubing and provides seating for two.

Dock Appeal: The boot stripe and house stripe blue were changed and painted in flag blue Awlgrip. The hull is polar white gel coat. The cabin is redone, she’s air conditioned, complete with a new head and enclosure. The refrigerator has been replaced and all new cushions complete with overhead rod racks. The deep step from cockpit to cabin is covered by custom starboard that provides a flat floor across entire cockpit.

She has controls top and bottom electronic, tachs digital. Four centerline automatic bilge pumps keep everything dry. All that said, Priceless is greater than the sum of her parts. She looks salty, runs true, is exceptionally comfortable…and catches fish! And, the way she has been designed with marlin tower location balance and engine weight set a bit deeper in the hull, this Bertram is not as wet as most…not dry, but much better than most 31s. Finest 31’ renovation around? You decide…I think so!

If you have any notable resplashes that you’d like to see in the magazine, send us a note and some pictures: info@inthebite.com – ITB

Touring the Highly-Anticipated Bertram 50

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Designed for the angler that wants a balance between cruising and sportfishing, the new Bertram 50 is an exciting addition to Bertram Yachts’ offshore family. Space is key on this boat, which features a 17.5′ beam and full-length hatch to the engine room. Matched with the right propellers, the Bertram 50 can reach top speeds of about 44 knots.

Bertram Product Development Manager Tommy Thompson gave InTheBite a tour of the 50-footer and broke down the boat’s specs at the Miami International Boat Show, held Feb. 13-17.

 

Bertram’s First Boat

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A series of articles about sportfishings first builds by Dave Ferrell. Reprinted from Volume 18 Edition 5 July/August InTheBite Magazine

Showing one of Bertram Yachts first boats ever

The Moppie, the first 31 Bertram, would win the 1960 and 1961 Miami to Nassau Race.

To build any boat from scratch is a magical thing. Having the gumption to take a big pile of your own money and turn it into a pile of materials that you intend to turn into a boat goes way beyond my perception or capabilities. Taking another fella’s money and trying to do it for the first time must spin the term “nerve wracking” to incredible new heights. Nevertheless, there’s always a few pioneers who step up and make something new that the boat-building industry just can’t ignore. Here are just a few examples of boats that have made a difference…there are plenty many more in North Carolina, Florida and elsewhere….

Richard Bertram Yachts, Moppie

No matter what far flung port you pull into, if there’s the tiniest chance that someone could catch a billfish, you’ll probably find a 31-Bertram, or two, still running folks out to the blue water. Pretty much indestructible, the huge cockpit and great ride of the Deep-V hull design, cemented the venerable 31-Bertram into boat building and sport fishing history.

To get some background into how the company started, we turned to Morgan Bertram, son of Richard Bertram, the company’s founder. “The first 31 was built of wood at the Richard Bertram Yard on the Miami River. That boat, Moppie, won the 1960 Miami to Nassau Race by a wide margin. A Sports Illustrated article written about the race by the boat’s navigator, Charlton Mitchel, brought national attention to the design and its performance. The demand for a 31 was so great that they decided to make a plug off the wood Moppie to initiate fiberglass production of the 31. The first fiberglass 31 was built in Hialeah and would become Glass Moppie which won the 1961 Miami Nassau Race and a bunch of other races that year. My father purchased the property across the street from the Richard Bertram Yacht Yard and built a state of the art fiberglass boat manufacturing facility and started building the 31, 25, and 38s there. So technically, the Glass Moppie represents the very first Bertram Yacht,” Bertram describes.

Tommy Thompson, Product Development Manager at Richard Bertram Yachts, likes to point out that the original 31s weren’t just great boats in their time, but that they’ve gained a mythology all their own. “Hunker down if someone starts a story with, ‘I’ll tell you a story about the time I ran a 31 Bertram from…’”

Sure enough, if you name any top-notch bill fishing spot in the Caribbean, Gulf or Central or South America, the first sportfisher to chug into the inlet or harbor was probably some crazy guy making an incredible crossing on a 31-Bertram. They aren’t very big, but they are seaworthy and will definitely get you where you are going!

Bertram 31- one of the first for the boat builder

An early 31 Bertram which made its debut in 1961. 

“The ‘Deep V’ really over simplifies the bottom of the 31,” says Thompson, “More important, is that the dead rise carries all the way back to the transom. No matter how you explain the geometry, that bottom revolutionized the offshore boating industry. We looked hard at what it is about the 31 that has survived for three generations. Our new 35 captures the four main attributes that we think made the 31 so successful and popular with sport fishermen. First, it’s the timeless shape of the boat…it’s cool looking and inviting. Second, the low profile…low center of gravity that makes it so functional. Third, the ‘more-cockpit-than-house’ proportions that make it so practical, and of course, fourth, the ride. All of those same attributes carry over to our new 50 and 61 as well. We have captured more subtly the shapes of the famous Bertram 54, and kept the ride at Bertram’s core philosophy. It has to be a Bertram!”

 

InTheBite Dock Talk: Tropic Star Lodge in Pinas Bay, Panama

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Panama’s Tropic Star Lodge has been a staple of the sportfishing landscape since 1963. The present is a very interesting time at Tropic Star.

This all access pass provides a look at one of the most unique and historic fishing operations in the world:

Read Tradition and Trajectory at Tropic Star in our latest issue of InTheBite

 

 

Bertram Yachts Being Bought

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Screen Shot 2015-02-06 at 9.40.21 AMThe parent company of the Baglietto shipyard said it signed a letter of intent to buy Bertram Yachts from the Ferretti Group.

Several Italian publications are reporting that the Gavio Group, which took over Baglietto in 2012, expects the transaction to close by March 31 and that it is conditioned on due diligence. Baglietto is located in La Spezia, Italy, and Bertram is based in Florida.

“I am very pleased with this transaction,” Argofin and Baglietto president Beniamino Gavio said in a statement, according to the La Spezia Citadel.

“Bertram is, for sure, the brand most akin to Baglietto, as they share many similarities: a family history made by legendary yachts; records broken and competitions won; a logo that, for both brands, are symbols of freedom and strength (the eagle and the seagull); and a very strong national identity that goes hand in hand with far-reaching international recognizability.”

The Gavio Group entered the boatbuilding industry after buying Cantieri Cerri in 2011, according to the Medi Telegraph.

By including Bertram in its portfolio of brands, the group will further extend the range of boats it produces. It will also create a “hub” in the yacht segment, capable of creating strong synergies by sharing resources, optimizing costs, integrating sales networks and further promoting its chances to successfully operate in the fast-growing U.S. market, the publication said.

Bertram was established in 1960 by Richard Bertram to build the iconic 31 Moppie.

The Ferretti Group acquired Fort Lauderdale-based Allied Richard Bertram Marine Group in September 2008.

In the summer of 2013, Ferretti Group America president and CEO James Henderson discussed with Trade Only what he called a “fairly significant reorganization.”

“We have brought on board Robert Ullberg, who is one of the best-known sportfish designers in the American industry,” Henderson said at the time. “We’ve relocated the factory from Miami to Cape Canaveral, Fla., and we’ve hired a brand-new team. We brought some of our existing employees to Cape Canaveral, but we also brought a lot of new people on board.”

Henderson played a key role in restructuring Bertram, developing a new operating plan, repositioning the brand, recruiting a new team and relocating the manufacturing operations.

Asked during the interview whether the group was equally focused on Ferretti, Riva, Pershing and Bertram in North America, Henderson replied:

“I would put Bertram to one side a little bit because it’s a brand we’ve only really started to refocus on in the last couple of years. The main focus for us in the Americas is Ferretti, Custom Line, Pershing and also Riva. Bertram, as well. But in terms of our sales performance and success, Ferretti and Custom Line because Ferretti is a flybridge motoryacht that goes from 50 to 96 feet, and we have an incredible range.”