From a Speedboat Might - Yachts Grow The History of boatbuilder Bertram
The 1960 Miami-Nassau powerboat race was a brutal test of endurance. Winds gusted to 35 knots and seas reached 12 feet.
Yet despite these conditions, Moppie a 31 foot prototype blazed a full two hours ahead of the second place boat and a full day ahead of other competitors. “That boat changed the face of yachting forever” says Jim Martenhoff, long time boating editor of the Miami Herald, and a member of the south Florida racing fraternity.
Moppie was a wood prototype owned by yachtman and yacht broker Richard Bertram. In short this vessel ushered in the era of modern, dep-vee hull technology that dominates the market today.
Ironically, Dick Bertram was sailing when he received inspiration for his powerboat company, one of the most famous names in the marine industry. Bertram was foredeck boss on the 12 meter yacht, Vim,, during the 1958 American’s Cup trials when he spotted a 23 foot tender for one of his competitors. The vessel sliced through chop in Long Island Sound with ease.
The boat, designed by C Raymond Hunt came to be known as the deep-ve. It represented a radical departure from both displacement and flat-bottomed planning hulls of the time.
Bertram drove the vessel and marveled at its performance. He later wrote: “knifing through six foot seas at 30 knots, this little 23 footer stopped every sailor… in his tracks. No one had ever seen powerboat performance approach it.”
Waving Chequebooks
Bertram commissioned a 30 footer from Hunt, originally planning to use it as a utility boat. “He had no intention of building a company”, continues boating editor Martenhoff, who rode with Hunt in the 1961 Miami Nassau race. Bertram won the Miami Nassau race again in Glass Moppie, a fibreglass version of the original prototype. Publicity from the two victories propelled Bertram toward the inevitable “there were so damn many yachtsmen waving chequebooks at me that I had to go into business”, he says. The 1960s ocean racing led to quantum leaps in powerboat construction. The combination of the deep-vee hull and fibreglass construction pushed powerboats toward today’s performance and comfort standards. Accordingly, Bertram Yacht ran a aggressive offshore racing programme for several years; always experimenting.
Expanding lines
Bertram Yacht and the 31 came into existence at the same time when the boat was introduced at the 1961 New York National Boat Show. The company sold scores of 31s at the show and thereafter, many are still in use today, world-wide. Bertram Yacht became a division of the Natec Corp, in late 1961, making possible larger manufacturing facilities and a research and development department. Nautec opened the 25-acre plant in November 1962, at its present location one mile east of Miami International Airport on the Tamiami River.
Tolled for greater capacity, the company gegan building Bertram 25s, one of its most popular models ever. A 20 foot stern drive was introduced in 1964 and 1,300 were produced within five years. Bertram’s first 31 also was introduced as a sportfisher.
Big Boat Boom
Bertram was sold again in 1968, during the first of the boating industry’s shakeouts. Whittaker Cop. Assumed Bertram reins and began manufacturing larger boats, somehow maintaining the high performance standards exhibited by the 31 Moppie. In fact, Bertrams honed their reputation as finely tuned quality yachts and kept pace with anglers’ growing demand for longer-range vessels offering greater comfort and style. The first of there sportfishers was a 38 footer.
By 1972, Bertram was shipping the first of its 46 foot models, followed three years later by the Bertram 58 convertible. A 33 foot flybridge cruiser caught anglers’ attention in ‘779. Bertram brought additional manufacturing facilities on-line in the early ‘80s. The innovative 54 foot Convertible made its 1981 debut to much fanfare.
Coming Full Circle
Bertram was acquired twice over the next seven years. A 1985 leveraged buyout found Bertram in the hands of yet another owner. Thought quality remained consistent. In fact the Bertram 50 Convertible made a spectacular 1987 debut as “the slickest Bertram yet”, according to Boating Magazine. Bertram’s impressive 60s and 72s hit the waters in 1991, setting standards for power and luxury.