New to 33bertram

[DaveCroucher]

I am new to 33 Bertram and I am thinking of purchasing a 33 Sport Fish. I live in Northern California and will mainly be using the boat inland on the California Delta. I am currently looking at a 33 with gas motors. Although The motors have low hours I am thinking of replacing with newer fuel injected motors. The reason for sticking with gas is of course money, but also the fact the I will be on the Delta most of the time with the occasional trip to San Francisco. Any suggestions on what engine model to chose along with what transmission? What sort of cost would I be looking at? Thank you for your time. Dave Croucher

[IRGuy]

Welcome Dave! Here you will find a great bunch of guys who are probably the best source of info on Bertram 33s anywhere. I can't help you with gas engines because I have diesels, but there are several regulars with gas boats so I am sure your questions will be answered soon. One thing I will warn you about though is the fact that all B33s have fiberglas tanks and there have been several gas boats that have had engine problems due to ethanol in gas leaching some materials from the tanks and causing valve problems.. also ethanol holds water very well, to the point that there is a concern about an ethanol/water layer forming at the bottom of the tank and eventually being sucked into the carburetors. I do have a question for you though.. not being all that familiar with CA.. what is the CA Delta? There are a couple B33s in CA, so you might find someone near you here.

[greysole]

Hi Dave. I have an '86 Sport fish with 340 mercruiser (454 CID) (Carburetors) They are original with over 1400 hours. If your engines get a thumbs up from your engine surveyor ( it's advisable to obtain a pre purchase survey) then you should feel comfortable running them to get a feel as to how you will use the boat as well as any shortcomings that you might want to improve on. Well maintained engines could get you near 2000 hours. Re-powering with new injected motors will improve fuel economy 20 to 30 %. Rick (Ticket) can speak to this. As Frank has said the Fiberglass tank was a huge plus until our elected officials had the bright idea to adulterate our fuel supply with ethanol. This is the death knell for the fiberglass tank. Its not a question of If but when it will fail. This is something you need to address during the purchase. People might say well after a certain year built, you will be ok, but there are no guarantees. Recently there was a thread here that said new injected motors run around 17K each. Diesels run somewhere around 26K each. I would not want to install new engines & take a chance on the tank. I replaced my tank last year about a 10 K expense, It can be less depending on how much of the work you do yourself. Share some more info on the boat, year, engine hrs, has it been laid up on the hard for any period of time, etc. Post some pictures if you have any. There are no dumb questions for you at this point, so ask away. There are members here with a tremendous amount of experience & expertise willing to share it here. Good luck with your quest. In my opinion, you will never regret owing a Bertram, just want a bigger one! My transmissions are Borg Warner 2:1 reduction gears with 1 1/2 Shafts spinning 23 x 26 three blade props. This set up is great as the response is tremendous when docking at idle RPM