Bertram33 User Forum

Just saw this on thehulltruth.com. Al http://www.thehulltruth.com/northeast/2 ... arbor.html

That's a heart breaker, I wonder whose 33 that is?

Based on the canvas color and radar mount it looks like one that has been in Scituate at the town marina for quite a few years. They closed the marina Oct. 10.

Bill, If that is the case, I wonder if the owner had just moved it down to Plymouth & was on a guest mooring when she broke free.In any case I hope he has good insurance coverage. That looks to be totaled. Al

Al Boat was on the hard next to me a couple of years ago. He was on the mooring waiting to haul. Boat has been for sale for a few years. Brian 1986 Bertram 33 FBC Mercruisers Seahorse Ellisville Harbor, Ma

Well that's convenient as long as he's properely insured. It looks like an 86. I think I looked at that boat back in 2002 when I bought mine. If its the one I looked at, it had been re-powered in the late 90's, but was not well cared for. Although the more I look at it the more I'm thinking it may have been that 86 with yanmars that was on and off the market.

Looks like the radar antenna is still good ! What a shame, probably another $39 float switch that died again. Rick Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's Falmouth, MA

From the pictures it looks rough but nothing that should be sinking boats. I've never used a mooring bouy. That type of mooring is not used very often in NC. You see some sail boats using them but not many power boats. What gives way the rope from the boat to the bouy or does the line from the anchor to the bouy give way? Does the weight holding the bouy ever drag or are they stuck so far in the mud it's no way they drag? Buzz

It can be a combination of things. The block rarely moves. Mine is a 4K llb block of concrete that's been in the mud for 10 years. You should have various thicknesses of chain from the block to the mooring bouy. You should have enough chain so that when not in use most of the thickest chain off the block sits in the mud when not in use. After 10 seasons we have not had to change the bottom chain yet. The upper lengths we have changed numerous times. Finally, you have the pennants from the mooring ball to the boat. These should have proper chafing gear installed and should also be changed when they start to wear.

Does the bouy stay out all year or do you have ice that will damage the bouy? What do you do send a diver down to check the chain or is it not that deep? Buzz

We take our main buoy off every year as my brother and I are very specific about what we want the mooring buoy to be and replace it with a winter buoy that we wouldn't mind losing if it got really messed up. Where my mooring is I only have about 13 feet at high tide and maybe 5 or 6 at low so we can pretty much pull up most of the chain to check the condition at low tide. The very bottom chain on our mooring is something like 5 or 6 inch links. Again, this is what everyone should do, but I doubt that very many people do. That's why I'm always leary of picking up someone else's mooring. Who knows what condition their ground tackle is in? The real messed up part is that I have a slip and only use the mooring about a half dozen times over the summer and the mooring itself is only a few hundred yards away from the marina. I like having it though.

I understand that you have to keep the mooring up but do you have to pay for the mooring? Or is there an area that you just install your own mooring? Do people use moorings that don't belong to them? What happens if someone comes along and uses your mooring? Buzz

Mooring 411: Generally you have to pay an annual fee to the town the mooring is in. Its usually less if you're a resident of the town. My mooring is in Salem and I live in Marblehead. I think its around $100 for the year. I belong to a private yacht club that has its own mooring field. The city of Salem generally lets us drop moorings in our own area for our members. Otherwise, there's a waiting list you have to get on with the town. People use other people's moorings all the time. I don't mind if someone else uses my mooring for a few hours as long as I'm not using it. If I see someone on it, I always swing by and tell them its my mooring and that I would appreciate it if they'd put the mooring pennants back in the bucket that sits on top when they're done. Haven't had a problem yet.