Bertrams have a reputation as tough sea boats. Surveyor David Pascoe's reviews of the newer boats mostly support it, and his articles on the large cored sportfishermen show what to check when a boat is built light for speed.
Hull failures on the Bertram 63 and 630
Pascoe wrote about photos of a 63 built in 2008 whose outer skin came off the core along about ten feet of the port side and bottom. It happened in fair weather and the boat got back to port. From the photos he saw secondary bond failure between the skin and the rest of the laminate, separation between all plies and the core, gaps of up to a quarter inch between core blocks, bonding putty that hadn't stuck, and fabric laid in one direction only. He thought the hull side had been panting from too little framing. He didn't see the boat, and said one failure didn't prove all Bertrams built that way were bad.
A second boat, the 630 Absolutely, built in 2005, sank 20 miles off Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; the crew were rescued. Underwater photos showed a torn foredeck, missing hull skin along the starboard side and the transom gone. The owners sued Bertram and its dealer. Bertram's updates to its dealers raised a possible collision, and the cause hasn't been settled in public.
Where to look. On any large cored sportfisherman, sound the hull sides and bottom on a grid for disbonded skin, look for print-through, cracks and bulges along the panels, and ask for the boat's structural repair history.
Foam cored hull sides on the 30 Moppie
On the 30 Moppie he reviewed, Pascoe found foam cored hull sides and a solid bottom, stringers glassed over wood with no wood showing, plenty of framing, and no fasteners run through cored sections. He calls the limed oak interior a poor choice in any boat because it discolours when wet, especially round the cabin door, and suggests heavy varnish and sealed panel edges. The rudders are stayed with aluminium channel instead of steel.
Where to look. Sound the hull sides; check fittings added through the cored sides; water staining on the interior wood.
Electronic engine controls
On the 30 Moppie's sea trial, both engines shut down. The fault turned out to be an electronic fuel flow sensor wired to a central processor that cut fuel to both engines when it didn't like the reading. Pascoe warns that computerised engine controls bring costly troubleshooting.
Where to look. Stored fault codes on the engine computers, the service history, and a sea trial long enough to get the engines fully warm.
The engine room on the 36 Moppie
Pascoe reviewed a 1995 36 Moppie and found the engine compartment short of room, with the space between the engines reduced by the 8 kW generator. You can reach only what's next to you; the front, back and outboard sides are out of reach. The seating modules over the hatches are heavy, so owners won't lift them to inspect what needs inspecting.
Where to look. Lift the hatches and use a mirror and camera on the outboard sides of the engines, the hoses and the stringers. List what you couldn't reach.
Recalls
The USCG recall list holds one Bertram Yachts record, covering the 28, 34, 39 CCS and 28 XC. The public page doesn't give the defect; check the hull number with a dealer.
What to check on a Bertram
| Area | What to look for | Source of the concern |
|---|---|---|
| Hull sides and bottom on large cored boats | Disbonded skin, print-through, panting | Pascoe, Bertram 63 |
| Hull sides on the 30 Moppie | Foam core, fittings added through it | Pascoe, Bertram 30 Moppie |
| Interior wood | Discolouring where wet | Pascoe, Bertram 30 Moppie |
| Electronic engine controls | Fault codes, shutdowns | Pascoe, Bertram 30 Moppie |
| Engine room on the 36 Moppie | Areas you can't reach under heavy seating | Pascoe, Bertram 36 Moppie |
| Recalls | Open campaign for the hull number | USCG recall list |
Writing it up
"Port hull side, frames 4 to 7 above the waterline: dull sound on tapping over an area about 600 mm by 400 mm, slight bulge visible in raking light, no cracks in the gelcoat. Possible disbond of the outer skin from the core. Recommend the area is investigated by core samples before purchase." Give the area's position from fixed points so it can be found again.