Bertram33 User Forum

The cockpit is not big enough for fishing if you have more than four people on the boat! Believe me I know this for a fact. Down under you will probally want a fighting chair and the cockpit will become extremely cluttered! PS, did catch a blue marlin on the Bertram boat this week!

Larry Congrats! Blue Marlin Pics?

[IMG]http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg19 ... lin004.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg19 ... lin002.jpg[/IMG] These are not the best picture as things were moving quickly. Funny story the fish bit and the angler with the reel was in the later stages of recovery from hernia surgery. He couldn't hold the rod and had to put in in a rod holder. The fish sounded and and kept reeling it in. Lucky for us the fish was hooked on a fifty wide and the TLD 50 acted like a winch. When the fish got close to the boat I had to come down stairs to help with the release. Boat in neutral and an upset marlin thrashing around the transom. I snapped the pictures with my phone and leadered up the fish grabbed the lure and released the fish! All good as the fish swam away except the scratches on the port corner in the gel coat! Those I don't mind so much.... I estimate the fish to be in the 175 to 200 pound class and was around ten foot in the body length with out the bill. I would have like better pictures but with the mate holding the rod, angler in the way and boat drifting we were lucky to get the release! To the subject the cockpit was way to small for three anglers. The problem with the Bertram's and many other boats are they try to deliver to much to a customer. They build a boat for fishing, cruising, diving, etc instead of one purpose. the cockpit on the FBC is what 80 square feet, add a cooler or a chair and and it shrinks quickly. The main reason for me starting rebuilding the Merritt boat was that size of the cockpit. I fish and don't even sleep on the boat so could care less about the bedrooms. Now for the Bertram Sport fish, no more cockpit floor space with the motor boxes but there is the illusion of more room with the smaller cabin. Having the head on the first floor was a great idea and was well thought out. [IMG]http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg19 ... cks004.jpg[/IMG] Merritt deck twelve foot long in a similar size hull as the Bertram. this is a fishing boat and was designed that way! Ps, I am thinking of converting the 33FBC to a day boat but even then the space in the cockpit along with the proximity of the step and motor boxes doesn't give any more workable space. [IMG]http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg19 ... ure048.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg19 ... ram027.jpg[/IMG] This picture shows the cockpit will hold the bodies but you are thinking about marlin on stand up eight pound gear, that's big stuff and the usable space will vanish quickly with two or three anglers, fish box, bait well, and the transom ice box you want to add. Think if you take a cooler 48" x 24" in the cockpit that is ten percent of the space gone right aay not including a baitwell. I watch this on a daily basis and am having to replace the Bertram 33 fbc with a different style boat due to the limited space.

Thanks Capt Larry for the pics and the insight to how the 33FBC fishes in the real world. Maybe a 33FBC is not the best idea for me as its main purpose in life will be to chase Blue, Black and Striped marlin around. Varying from 16lb to 80lb stand-up gear. Your Merritt in your photo is a "dream boat" of mine. I love the style of the early American boats. We just never had anything that stylish here in the early days really. Thanks again for your input, Cheers, Myles

Please do not let my thoughts be your only input on the Bertrams. The comment about the swim platform did get me to smile as this captain has never backed down on a hot bill fish with 12 lb tackle. The swim platform will tear of of the boat and mine is sitting in the back yard. The boat is not a bad fishing platform but at a 10 knot troll there is a bit more white water than I like plus the boat seems to be plowing at this speed. You know why I mentioned this. The other draw back on the Bertram is the deep v hull in a beam sea but to be fare I have a full tuna tower installed so I am a little top heavy. It can roll a bit but is great going in a head sea but like almost all of them gets pushed around in a following sea. I have thought a wing on the bottom would be a good idea for the roll and control in a following sea. My boat has the 270 hp cats and isn't a speed demon with my average cruise at 13 knots at 2300 rpms depending on seas and weight. The boats that have been re powered are faster and lighter but I am not sure how this affects the roll in a beam sea? I will probably get beat up a little here but I do fish a bit and know the facts in how the boat will fish. A good thing is the boat will spin on a dime with almost no lag from the time you shift till the time it starts to spin. You will learn that the boat backs up very strange as it is a battle to keep it moving straight. Having a high profile it does tend to get pushed around by winds when backing down at times. The gunnel's height from water line is a little to high when billing a fish for me being short. If I were getting a Bertram I would get a moppy, or Del Mar model but they are expensive but quality always is. I am quickly approaching the 250 point on the Merritt boat. There is a Merritt similar to mine for sale in the states along with a 46 Merritt that I know. Both boats are starting around 400k. I can't even get a nibble of the Bertram at 50k in this market as to be expected. I read the posts here about gas boats being re powered to diesel and sort of scratch my head as the conversion bill in the end is going to be around what a used diesel boat can be bought with the diesels factory installed.

No worries Larry, The 2 concerns I had with the 33 when looking at the photos (i haven't seen the boat in the flesh as it is over 1000mi down the coast), where the cockpit size and the visibility of the cockpit from the helm. These 2 things are a bit of a deal breaker for me as we fish pretty hard and next season we are going to be concentrating on "bait and switch" for the Striped marlin and also some switching to Fly. So, that being the plan I can see the 33 cockpit will be just too small. The roll from the deep V doesn't bother me as I am used to it, and I like the way deep V's ride. It looks like I will have to stick with a little 28 Bertram or this Cresta 32 I am also considering. (I couldn't work out how to add a photo, so have had to add the link. Before you have a heart attack at the price, it won't sell for that, and is already advertised elsewhere for 25 grand less. Boats aren't selling hee either) http://www.boatlocator.com.au/boats/14141 The Cresta is a locally made boat from yesteryear. 20 degree deep V and quite heavy, so they ride nice and have a great reputation for being good fish chasers. Thanks again everyone for all the advice. Cheers, Myles

Interesting layout but very functional. Do they make a 36 to 40' version as it would give you the room needed. In the end a production boat doesn't fit our purpose well. Some of the express boats would work like a Viking or Cabo or even an Albermare. The fly thing is very cool and I saw a boat made by Key West #1 hull or Torres that offered a full cockpit with a two foot walk around the cabin. Hook a sail or strip on the fly and be able to walk around the boat, or to cast to the second fish in the group without riggers and all the other stuff that bets in the way of a decent cast! Now that's something I would look at! Thanks for the kind words on the Merritt boat and please catch a black and a stripe for me. Funny I lived in NZ for a brief bit and never fished offshore but only for trout. Then I watch the madman of the sea and find out I missed some of the best marlin waters on the planet!

Nice Pics. Thanks.