38 convertible and cored hulls

jcooper · Post by **jcooper** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:13 pm

I am looking at the 38 Covertible and have heard that Bertram cored these hulls.....and it was a huge mistake. Does anyone know about this and were all the 38's cored?

Capt. Ed · Post by **Capt. Ed** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:46 pm

They did in the mid-80's on the 38 Take a look here: www.yachtsurvey.com/boatreviews/BertramYacht.htm 1979 Bertram 33' FBC ALEXANDRA Port Richey, Florida

jcooper · Post by **jcooper** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:51 pm

Yeah....I red that article, but there was no specific information on why it was bad or the specific years that were cored. I thought someone here may no more.

jcooper · Post by **jcooper** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:53 pm

I'm looking at a 1987....not sure if that constitutes mid-80" or not?

Capt. Ed · Post by **Capt. Ed** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 4:00 pm

You can call Bertram and speak with the owner support team, they are real good at getting answers. If fact, if you have the serial number they can pull the reports for you. 1979 Bertram 33' FBC ALEXANDRA Port Richey, Florida

Capt. Ed · Post by **Capt. Ed** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 4:38 pm

Here is what the 2005 Power Boat Guide has to say: Bertram 38 III Convertible The Bertram 38 Convertible was the second of three 38-foot Bertram models built over the years, the first being a Hunt-designed flybridge cruiser produced for the family market back in the early 1960s. In the case of the 38 Convertible, the emphasis was on fishability, pure and simple. Her deep-V hull was designed along the lines of the original Bertram 31, and her extra-wide beam provides the stability often missing in early deep-V designs. Long out of production but still popular with budgetminded anglers, her large and uncluttered fishing cockpit and practical cabin accommodations continue to have wide appeal in spite of her age. The two-stateroom interior is efficiently arranged with the galley in the salon, V-berths in the forward stateroom, and over/under berths in the guest cabin. The woodgrain mica interior of the Bertram 38 is conspicuously plain by today’s standards, but cleanup is quick and easy. Additional features include a large head compartment, wide sidedecks, and a well-arranged, albeit small, flybridge. Twin 325-hp gas engines were standard (16 knots cruise/25 knots top), however, most 38s were delivered with GM 8V53 or Cummins V903 diesels which cruise at 17—18 knots and top out at around 20 knots. SPECIFICATIONS Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37'8" Beam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14'5" Draft. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3'6" Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,000# Clearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NA Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350 gals. Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 gals. Cockpit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 sq. ft. Hull Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deep-V Deadrise Aft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22#730; Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ray Hunt Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1970—76 Bertram 38 III Convertible The Bertram 38 III replaced the original Bertram 38 Convertible built from 1970 through 1976. Faster, lighter and roomier than her redecessor, the 38 III’s large cockpit and tournament style flybridge made her well suited for serious sportfishing events. Her two stateroom floorplan was originally set up with an optional head in the forward stateroom, a novel arrangement that lasted until 1986 when an updated layout replaced the head with a storage locker. A lower helm was optional, and a spacious inline galley runs the entire starboard side of the salon. Note that in 1982 Bertram replaced the original Nautilex cockpit sole with a fiberglass deck (a major improvement), and teak interior woodwork became standard. A wet ride, the 38 III is a capable sea boat. Those powered with MerCruiser gas engines will cruise at 17—18 knots. Cat 300hp diesels (19—20 knots cruise) were popular as were the Cat 355hp and Cummins 380hp VT903 engines, both of which cruise around 23 knots. Production ceased in 1987 with the introduction of the new Bertram 37 Convertible. A total of 331 Bertram 38 IIIs were sold, making her one of the bestselling 38foot sportfishing boats ever built. SPECIFICATIONS Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38'5" Beam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13'3" Draft. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4'2" Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,400# Clearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13'0" Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395 gals. Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 gals. Cockpit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 sq. ft. Hull Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DeepV Deadrise Aft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Â° Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D. Napier Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1978—86 Bertram 38 Special T he Bertram 38 Special is a highquality, fastaction sportfisherman with a huge fishing cockpit and surprisingly comfortable cabin accommodations. She was built on the same goodrunning deep-V hull used in the 38 III Convertible but with balsa coring in the hullsides forward of the engine bulkhead. The design philosophy behind the 38 Special was to give the bluewater angler a pure, nononsense fishing machine with good performance and plenty of range. Although the interior is limited in size, Bertram engineers were able to include a separate stall shower in the head as well as a convertible dinette, adequate storage, and a compactbutcomplete galley. Visibility from the raised helm position is very good. A small hatch provides routine access to the engines, and the entire bridge deck sole is removable for major work. Caterpillar 375hp diesels were standard (23 knots cruise/27 knots wide open). GM 6V71TAs rated at 435hp were optional and increased the cruising speed to about 25 knots and the top speed to 30 knots. A popular boat in resale markets, the Bertram 38 Special enjoyed only limited market success due to her high cost. Production ended after just two years. SPECIFICATIONS Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38'5" Beam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13'3" Draft. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4'2" Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,000# Clearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9'11" Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395 gals. Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 gals. Cockpit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 sq. ft. Hull Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DeepV Deadrise Aft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17#730; Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bertram Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986—87 1979 Bertram 33' FBC ALEXANDRA Port Richey, Florida

Capt. Ed · Post by **Capt. Ed** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 4:40 pm

The first review is for the Bertram 38 Convertible, NOT the III. The second review is the III. 1979 Bertram 33' FBC ALEXANDRA Port Richey, Florida

franklyprice · Post by **franklyprice** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 1:45 am

My understanding is that only the 38 specials were cored, though I could be wrong. The weights of the boats would tend to confirm this. Frank Price

Capt. Ed · Post by **Capt. Ed** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:54 am

I agree with you Frank, only the SF mentions coring. 1979 Bertram 33' FBC ALEXANDRA Port Richey, Florida

Post by **Admin** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 6:50 am

Interestingly, the 38 Special is described as "high quality". David Sumich 33 Megabites Huntington Harbour, CA Forum Administrator

franklyprice · Post by **franklyprice** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 7:47 am

David, Coring is considered the quality way to build a boat. It offers greater performance because of the lighter weight and it makes for a quieter hull when you hit waves. The only real problem with the core is when you need to repair it or add holes and end up with water in it. Those of us with old boats look for non-cored hulls because there are no ugly surprises as time passes, so our boats, though slower and heavier will be around forever pretty much as a opposed to a potential nightmare of a cored hull. It's getting impossble to find new boats without a cored hull. Like cars these days, they're not going to be around forever so the core makes sense. Frank Price

CB35 · Post by **CB35** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 7:57 am

Only the 38 Special had coring. Only the hull sides were cored. I have looked at several 38 Specials; and only one of those had problems. Something happened to that hull. It has hundreds of de-laminations. They were easy to see and the tap test confirmed. I beleive that boat was repaired because some time later I saw it with black circles drawn around the delams. It had ablue hull and was for sale in NJ 5 or more years ago. Charlie

Post by **Admin** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 11:40 am

Curious what made it a "failure" then as Pascoe's article calls both the Bertram and Hatteras versions that tried this. I usually wouldn't equate "high quality" with something that is deamed a "failure". Know what I mean? [:p] David Sumich 33 Megabites Huntington Harbour, CA Forum Administrator

Capt. Ed · Post by **Capt. Ed** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 1:34 pm

Doe Pascoe have no shame? To dare use use the Bertram name in vane! What is this World coming too anyway?[;)] 1979 Bertram 33' FBC ALEXANDRA Port Richey, Florida

Post by **dougl33** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 3:15 pm

None of the 38's ever came with a cored bottom. I didn't even know the specials had cored topsides. Bertram used the same exact molds on the Specials as they did on the Convertables. I always assumed the weight diff was due to the missing cabin and bridge. Regards, Doug L. 1986 33 Bertram FBC Queen Elizabeth Marblehead, MA