bertram31.com

Hi folks! This is my first post to the forum but I've been lurking a while. I'm currently looking to become a proud Bertram owner, shopping for a Bert 33 FBC. Generally I've been eyeing '84-90's boats with ~10 year old Cummins power. I'm wondering whether I should be considering exceptional condition gassers and doing the conversion.

I haven't seen much discussion of recent Bert 33 repowers on this or other forums. Is it just too cost prohibitive these days? Are Cummins 6BTA 330 recons still considered the best option? Any idea what the current ballpark price is including the engines, gear etc., and, maybe shafts if necessary. Ive tried calling my local Cummins dealers but they won't give me the time of day given I don't even have the boat yet.

Welcome!

The Gas/Diesel discussion is never ending, but my 2 cents......Going out in the bay to catch some fluke or a bass? Gas. Heading off shore to do battle with the tuna and marlin? Diesel. If money is no object, it can't hurt to convert. For me, the deciding factor was not wanting to have to get gasoline from a bunch of 5 gallon cans, into the tank in 4 foot seas. That wouldn't have been an issue if I was just fishing in the bay.

If you want a diesel boat buy a diesel boat it is way cheaper in the long run.

If the price is right go diesel. Easier to repower down the road with new diesels.

Ten year old Cummins are just getting broken in.

Get a good survey worth it's weight in gold.

I am not sure how many 33s were made, but there were not as many as other models. It was stuck between the 31 and 35 and even though the 35 was only 2 feet longer, it was just amuch bigger boat and given the cost difference, for most the 35 was the better choice.

I have never been on a 33 but I can tell you the 35 and the 38 were beasts in rough weather. Almost unstoppable. I have fished on both.

One thing I can tell you, after running a 31 for over 40 years once you get a feel for one of them will move in rough water, you will realize all the old Bert's tend to move the same way.

I am sure the same holds true for the 33 it probably reacts the same way as it's family members.

I have spent a bunch of time on a 33 in Cabo and it is a very nice hull. The ride is dry and smooth and it has a set of Capt Pat's rudders on it and it turns and backs down like a bad ass! It wanders a little while trolling but we'll blame Napier for that. I think you would enjoy it if you are looking forward to all the refit work. In the end it should be a solid platform!

-Mark

Thanks for all the thoughts. The boat will be more family cruiser than hardcore offshore fish boat, although as the kids grow I hope to bring some mahi and tuna into her cockpit. Near term i'll have to settle for striper. And I like the piece of mind of a boat that will get us home in much worse conditions than we ever plan to be in.

The 33 FBC seems right to me because of the two stateroom layout and flybridge that will seat my whole family. I know cockpit space is limited but that's a reasonable compromise for me. I also like that with Cummins or yanmar power she should cruise at ~23kts and get 1nmpg or better.

I certainly wouldn't say money is no issue but I'm willing to pay for reliability. There's nothing worse than spending my very limited family time in the bilge instead of on the water.

Which yanmars does it have?

The nice thing about Cummins is that parts are cheaper and probably easier to get than yanmar. Almost any truck supplier handles Cummins parts.

My friend has yanmars in his 28 and hehoes crazy when I only pay tenbucks for an oil filter.

One has yanmar 370's. maintenance cost is a factor, but how much more are we talking for yanmar 370's vs 330 BTA's? I'm guessing in the grand scheme of boat ownership not enough to make a big difference. It also seems, although who knows if it's really apples to apples, the 370's will cruise a knot or two faster but give up a couple of the tenths of a mpg to the Cummins. But again, not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. Reliability, relative quietness, and ease of maintenance are all far more important to me.

Which model 370, the 6ly or the newer V8 8LV?

Cummins by far will be the easiest and cheapest to maintain.

Repower was done about 10 years ago. So I'm guessing 6ly.

Incoming...

I just answered your identical post on the Bertam 33 site, so there is no need to copy it again here

Hi Frank. I'm a bit stumped - is it possible you have me confused with someone else? I don't recall posting the question on bertram33.com. As a matter of fact I lost track of my login details some time ago and haven't been able to access the forum there for quite a while, which is part of why I was posting here. Although I suppose it's possible my 2am alter ego did something my daytime self doesn't remember...

Just to give you an indication, my 2 X 240hp 4LHA STP's require € 600-650 in parts, for their annual.
This comprises all filters, zincs, impellers, oil and new coolant, which has to be absolutely the yanmar pink juice.
Of course, you dont need to change coolant every year.
The 375's might need more oil, but the cost difference shouldn't be all that significant.

Unless your planning to do a lions share of the work yourself, doing the conversion yourself is going to cost more then buying a boat done correctly, thats a couple years old. Well maintained motors will have loads of life left in them and the prior owner took the "brunt of the new conversion hit".

Cruising with gas motors you start navigating to fuel docks over destinations. I used to do my summer vacations on the boat...440 gas with a 160 tank meant I had to know where a fuel dock was going to be on long legs. As fishing Raritan Bay, a dock and dine, the occasional 10 mile trip to the beach and howdy trips, gas worked well for me.

Larger cabin of the 33 is a bonus...spent Saturday night on the boat with the wife, I forgot just how small the 31 cabin is.
But...she fits a kayak, a paddleboard, several rafts and float toys, cooler and a couple chairs in the cockpit for our ride over to beach...so its trade offs with boats...everything is a compromise...just depends on what needs come first.

Good luck,
Carl

Incoming, Frank didn't respond to you specifically about the gas to diesel on the 33 site but he answered the same question to someone else on the 33 site.

Thanks Buzz. I think I'm sufficiently convinced that trying to do the gas to diesel conversion myself is probably not a great plan. It seems like there were a whole bunch of them done back in the 2000-2007 timeframe, probably coinciding with the era of $5/gallon gasoline, when it was a little easier to make the financials work out.

Most of my diesel conversions over the years were not done for fuel pricing. Like any bubble, the gas to diesl conversions on mid 20 to 40' boats was driven hard from mid 90's to 07. That bubble burst. Unless you just want to do the work and enjoy doing your own thing, it would be cheaper to buy one done.

But be careful. Not all work done well. As one of my manufacturer reps told me after inspecting a refit just completed, many of my dealers I inspect to validate warrantee installs look like they backed a dump truck up and just dumped everything in place.

SURVEY on the boat and engines is well worth it by a competent surveyor.