bertram31.com

Scenario Don't be surprised. Bertrams are very popular in Italy. At the Marina where I keep my B28 at Porto Ercole in the South of Toscany there are three B28 and two B31. A guy is also building a new Bertram 31 from scratch molded from one of those Bertram 31. She is a Bahia model with a lot of imp...

correction:
Please notice the cockpit was raised starting from the early 80s models . These are the one with less deep cockpits. It is easy to detect looking at the transom scuppers. In the old models they are closer to the waterline.

Eddy, I have a 1975 model and the cockpit is as deep as the latest models. I know because I have been fishing on 1990 model just like yours few times. I am 6.1 tall and the gunnel hit my legs well above the knee level. I find just pefect for fishing. I think since 1990 they rose the cockpit few inch...

I felt a little bit guilty to have posted the picture of Buddy Boy and have created all this fuss, so yesteray I called the italian broker to find out what the story was. Yes they are selling Buddy Boy but it is not in La Spezia as advertised. I pretended to know nothing about and I asked why they w...

Hmm...the Broker's Ad says that it is possible to see boat in La Spezia near Genova. I can find out.

This boat is for sale in La Spezia, Italy. They ask 240K euro. She looks like Buddy Boy...

Hi Capt,

could you please give me the instructions so that I can send my contribution to this great site from Italy. If it is ok I would send it via wire transfer.

Ciao

Lore

Bruce, two years ago I upgraded the shafts from the original 28mm (1 -1/8) to 35mm (1-3/8 (?)) and also put stronger custom made struts. Probably I am OK for handling higher torque. But what size of propeller should I look for ? Do I have enough space for the prop needed ? Now if I am wright I have ...

Hi daydreams, I have done this job in my B28. First, go in your v-berth cabin and remove the teak sticks above the carpet on the sides, then tear out a little the carpet. You will see the nuts that hold the bow rail. I found some of them corroded and falling apart. You have four bowrail holders on e...

Thanks, Capt

I did not know much about these engines untill last year when Bruce started to post information here. Few weeks ago I was in Venice (Italy) and I discovered that most taxis are powered with Steyr. People that are using them say only good things about these engines. Meanwhile I was lucky to find a ve...

Kevin, I have a 1975 B28 which I re-powered last year with Merc 260 Bluewater. After the installation I found out that hatches hit the flame arrestors. I had to modify both the flame arrestors and the inside of the hatches to have a nice closure. No a huge problem. I am thinking about a Steyr repowe...

Matt, I have the same engine that you have, Mercruiser 260 FW, but at 3200 RPM speed is between 21/23 and often even more with full tank and 5 people. Probably you have a problem with your gauges...for the trim tabs I would think twice before installing them. I have come to the conclusion that on th...

I just put recently Bennet 9X36 trim tabs on my B28 with the indicator. They work fine ! The boat is very sensitive to this trim tabs size. I would not go for a bigger size. I found out that you need trim tabs only to balance the boat when you have uneven weights on. The installation requires a lot ...

The size of the transom mounted fish tanks is about 24X52X12 inches, not sure about how many gallons. I would like to see a picture of yours fish tank. Thanks.
It seems that not many people has adpoted the transom mounted solution...maybe too expensive or are there other reasons?

My next project is to have a fish tank flushed mounted in the transom area of my B28. CaptPatrick is offering a nice one but I understand his tank is designed just for the 31. High Tide and Glasstech are offering similar products. Prices are little steep. I guess if you want to have custom designed ...

Yes, trolling valves would be the best solution but unfortunately I have FW Merc 260 wih old trasmissions that are not compatible with trolling valves. I can double check but I am pretty sure that they are not

Bruce, with 2 engines at idle about 4+ knts (GPS), 1 engine hardly below 3knts. Too fast for the live bait fishing we use to do here. Trolling bags might be an option. An advantage of having an outboard is that it can be used as an alternative to the boat engines even when you troll at higher speed.

Thanks guys for the advices. CaptPatrick, I thought that the electric motors did not have enough thrust for kicking a boat like the B28. I will do some research in this direction. Even if at the moment it will be more likely that I will go for a traditional solution. Here near and along the italain ...

Thanks UV but I would like to know how a small outboard would perform on a B28 or B31 transom. I asked to a local dealer which engine (hp, 4s, 2s..) would be appropriate for trolling at 1.5 knots on this type of boats and he answered "ask Bertram"...here I am

I said Bertram 28...Yes the transom area is a kind of weak. You can push with your hand and it would flex. This is the case for the 28. I dont know about the 31. I reinforced inside with wood and glassed it before installing the swim plat... now is very sturdy.

I am sure that some of you are using outboard motors for trolling... I have a B28 with a pretty sturdy swimming platform. I have reinforced the transom that in the B28 is very weak and also have enlarged rudders. Now I have to choose a small outboard motor to be mounted in the swimplatform. I need t...

thanks Bruce. Here in Italy Steyir is not a vey popular brand among diesels. AIFO, Cummins, Volvo and Yanmar are the most commun

It seems that you are getting very interesting figures. I have gas merc. 260 on my B28 and I get more or less the same cruise speed that you get at the same RPM. Just one more question. How comes that your diesel steyr's RPMs are very simiar to those of a gas engine ? Should they not be less? I woul...

what is the cruise speed ? what about fuel consumption ? Why did you choose steyr instead of yanmar?

Todd, a year ago I was in your situation. I loved the B31 and I wanted to get one. The fact is that here in Italy for a gasser in good shape they ask easily 80K and for a diesel 120K. Too much for me. Instead I found for 25K a 1973 B28 in bad shape. I changed the engines with reb. 260 Mec. new shaft...