Bertram History

It was 1958, and yacht broker Dick Bertram was on the foredeck of the 12-Meter Vim during the America's Cup Trials. In the afternoons, the breeze could built into a nasty chop off Newport, Rhode Island, but Bertram had been watching one particular small boat that seemed to revel in the lumpy conditions.

Designed by Ray Hunt and named Hunter, the 23-footer was a semi-production boat serving as the tender for Easterner, another America's Cup contender. With the winds gusting well over 20 knots, the little boat was unfazed by the 6-foot seas.

"This little 23-footer stopped every sailor in the fleet in his tracks. No one had ever seen powerboat performance to approach it," Bertram said years later. "I made a mental note to corner Ray after the race and get to the bottom of this amazing exhibition".

And the bottom is exactly what made this boat so seaworthy. V bottoms were nothing new, but the so-called "Huntform" shape carried a deep-V section all the way to the stern with a 24 degrees deadrise right at the transom. In addition, Hunter had longitudinal strakes to give added lift and to throw the spray out to the sides, as well as cushion the impact of landing.

After talking to Hunt, Bertram commissioned him to design a 30-foot wooden utility or commuter boat to use from his Miami waterfront home.

One of Bertram's good friends at this time was Sam Griffith, a highly decorated WW II flier (Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, several Purple Hearts, England's Distinguished Flying Cross, and France's Croix de Guerre, among others!) who was working in the Bertram yacht brokerage. When Bertram raved about the new boat (named Moppie after his wife), Griffith suggested that they enter the Miami-Nassau Race with her. But when his friend saw the deep-vee boat for the first time, he told Bertram, "Maybe you ought to put in a centerboard and make a sailboat out of her."

Griffith was a man's man, having raced dirt track sprint cars, flown with the Inman Brothers Flying Circus, and raced hydroplanes. Gruff, aggressive and courageous, he had a bigger-than-life quality and, with Bertram crewing, had won the 1956 and 1957 Miami-Nassau Races — the first year in a wooden Chris Craft and the second in a 35-foot sportfisher with Cadillac engines that took 11 hours to complete the race.

Griffith's skepticism quickly disappeared after a trial run on Moppie when, with twin 275 horsepower. Lincoln-block Interceptors, she topped out at 45 mph and easily handled 6-foot seas.

With offshore yachtsman Carleton Mitchell joining Bertram and Griffith, Moppie got her baptism in the 1960 Miami-Nassau Race that would see one boat burn, another would swamp, and all but six would turn back before going even ten miles into the ferocious Gulf Stream. Only two boats would finish before dark.

"By the time I lost sight of the Miami skyline", Bertram recalls, "I had lost sight of the competition as well." Exactly eight hours after leaving Miami's ship channel, Moppie crossed the line at Coral Harbour Yacht Club on New Providence Island in 32 knots of wind, more than 2 1/2 hours ahead of the second boat. The third boat finished the next day. Although Moppie had a defective compass that forced the crew to stop regularly and take time-consuming sun bearings, the 30' prototype did two things: set a new course record and launched a new company — Bertram Yachts.

Bertram promptly took a mold from Moppie and introduced the fiberglass Bertram 31 at the New York National Boat Show in January 1961. First built at a temporary plan in Hialeah until the present Bertram Yachts facility was finished across the street from Bertram's brokerage office, the deep vee was initially considered a fad, but orders poured in for the $12,000 yacht.

In the 38 years since Bertram Yachts opened its doors, much has changed. Over the years, the company has passed through a number of owners — some good and some not so good. Declaring bankruptcy at one point and down to just 60 employees at another, Bertram Yachts barely survived both the luxury tax and the marine industry recession, and the company has had a revolving door policy for presidents and owners over the past decade. Under the new ownership of Intek S.p.a., an Italian industrial management company, however, Bertram appears to be on the mend.

Their first step for the new management was to toss out the deadwood of aging and uncompetitive boats from the line. One problem they faced was that Bertram was its own worst competitor: with boats like the benchmark 46 nearing its 25th anniversary, buyers could find essentially the same boats on the used market at a fraction of the cost of a new boat. By eliminating the 30, 35, 43, 46 and 50 from the line, the new owners have set their sights on the large convertible sportfisher market with just two offerings: the 54 and the 60, which have been updated with some styling changes. In addition, a 72-foot convertible may re-enter the line, and Bertram is working on styling concepts for a motoryacht, a model that the company dropped in the mid-80s, as well as an express-cruiser version of the 60.

Bertram 54

The Bertram 54 has been an outstanding design since it was first introduced 17 years ago and, over the years, the yacht has proven to be a success on the tournament circuit as well as a benchmark in rough water performance. With a 17 degrees deadrise hull by Dave Napier, the 54 has undergone numerous changes and upgrades over the years. For 1998, the 54 carries the same proven hull and deck, but with minor changes on the exterior to freshen up the styling. In essence, the window lines are curved and contemporary, and the traditional Bertram notched sheer line now has a more gentle breaking point aft.

Inside, two versions of the 54 will be offered for 1998: a Classic sportfisher and the Cruise edition with different salon treatments. The Classic has the traditional teak sportfisher salon with the galley to port, L-shaped dinette opposite, and large settee aft facing an entertainment center to port. The Cruise edition will be essentially the same arrangement, but with softer curved lines, a larger galley and dinette, an aft facing lounge and a new light maple decor.

Accommodations for both versions share the same three-cabin layout, with the owner's stateroom to port with a private head and shower stall, plus two guest cabins with bunk beds and private heads with shower stalls. The forward cabin has a twin lower berth with the foot of the bed tucked under a single upper bunk, while the midship cabin opposite the owner's stateroom has upper/lower singles.

On the flybridge, the 54 keeps the tournament arrangement with the helm console (oversized to handle electronics) set well aft and a forward lounge area for guests. Standard power for the 54 is a pair of Detroit 12V92 DDEC diesels of 1,110 horsepower each which should give the yacht a top speed in the 33-knot range. One notable change in the systems is the addition of side exhausts to minimize the "station wagon" effect that pulls fumes from transom exhausts into the cockpit and salon.

Bertram 60

The Bertram 60 received all of the same upgrades as the 54, plus a few more. First introduced eight years ago as a Dave Napier-engineered stretch of the 54, the 60 has become a classic in its own right.

On the Bertram 60, the salon layout remains the same for both the Classic and Cruise editions although, as with the 54, the former gets the traditional teak interior while the latter gets a lighter more Euro look. A horseshoe-shaped lounge is to port, mated with a wedge-shaped galley, and the port side has a dinette for casual meals and a cabinet with entertainment center.

The standard layout is similar to the 54, although with more space in each cabin. The master suite is to port, with the private head and stall shower aft behind a curved bulkhead that serves as headboard to the queen-sized berth. A vanity is outboard, and a large bureau and hanging locker is forward. The bow cabin has a diamond-shaped berth and another private head with shower, and the crew cabin is to starboard with upper and lower berths and a similarly sized head. It should be noted that four different arrangements are available on the 60 with three or four staterooms and the galley either up or down.

The flybridge on the two 60s remains the same although the Cruise style has a U-shaped seating area with a hi-low table in place of the L-shaped lounge on the tournament Classic. Both versions can be fitted with the climate-controlled enclosed bridge, with a forward helm, wet bar, lounges to port and starboard, and a fishing helm on the aft bridge deck.

Standard power on the 60 is a pair of Caterpillar 3412 diesels of 1350 horsepower and, although the 60 has gained somewhat in published weight over the years, it should have a top speed in the 35 knot range. Like the 54, the 60 now has side exhausts. Both the 54 and 60 have similarly sized (145 and 148 square feet) fishing-equipped cockpits with bait prep centers including freezer, livewell, and tackle lockers.

With the corporate decision to focus on the larger convertible sportfisher market as well as to introduce European styling, the fate of Bertram Yachts falls squarely on the time-proven shoulders of the 54 and 60, two yachts now moved closer to the millennium with facelifts and fresh makeup.

Bertram 54 Specifications

Bertram 60 Specifications