bertram31.com

Hi Folks, I'm a new member to the forum. I live in South Jersey and boat primarily on the Delaware Bay. I have been researching Bertram 28 flybridges and have a few basic questions. Were there any major design changes during the course of production? Any years better than others, or any years to stay away from? I know about the fuel tank issue, any other areas of concern to be aware of? Most of the boats I am seeing are small block V8's, is this adequate power? Anything else I should be looking at when inspecting prospective boats?

I have been boating for most of my 54 years. Never thought I could afford a Bertram, but the economy seems to have helped with that, used 28's seem reasonably priced at the moment.

thanks

Two things you will almost surely have to rebuild/replace are the strut pads and the rudder shelves. The strut pads are most likely too small to withstand a grounding or impact of hard submerged/floating objects. Also the strut pads and the rudder shelves are likely wet and rotten. You can repair both of these issues by following Capt. Pat's instructions in http://www.bertram31.com/proj/tips/index.htm (Boatbuilding Tips and Tricks).

Others will chime in with more concerns I'm sure. Small block V8's are adequate but keep in mind the ethanol issue with the fiberglass tank. I left the stock 165 gallon fiberglass tank as my boat was repowered with small Cummins diesels.

Early 80's they made the cockpit deeper - the earlier boats were pretty shallow.

Like Face said - check the rudder posts / shelves - mine were actually in decent shape.

Check for rot on the cabin bulkhead (again mine was replaced with starboard at some point in it's life)

Check windows for leaks/rot

Obviously survey for engines/ etc.

Fuel tank - especially if your marina has ethanol

The SBC engines are more than adequate - you can repower for reasonable money if you replace with the same - if you go diesels - than I could try and find a diesel boat.

With a clean bottom my 260's will move the boat along just fine - lower 20 cruise - 3000 rpm's

She rides much better around 3500 rpms and mid 20's but gas usage goes up when the 4 barrels open up.

Fun boats - roomy cockpit - they will go just about anywhere.

Check the engine beds where they mate with the bulkheads, that's a common rot spot. The later models had a nicer interior layout with a more modern outdated decor, if you're into that.
I think the 28 is the best value out there.

OK, Looked at a few 28's and found one that I like. New aluminum fuel tank, newer FWC mercruiser MPI 5.7's with 250 hours on the meters. Dripless shaft seals. Interior cushions redone and new curtains (wife likes!) and one season old radar/gps/ combo, not sure of the brand. Full bridge enclosure with radar arch. Outriggers. Boat is pretty clean, none of the problem areas described above. What would be fair price for this boat? Boat is located in South Jersey.

JeremyD wrote:
Fun boats - roomy cockpit - they will go just about anywhere.

and more importantly...they will also take you back!

RockinW wrote:OK, Looked at a few 28's and found one that I like. New aluminum fuel tank, newer FWC mercruiser MPI 5.7's with 250 hours on the meters. Dripless shaft seals. Interior cushions redone and new curtains (wife likes!) and one season old radar/gps/ combo, not sure of the brand. Full bridge enclosure with radar arch. Outriggers. Boat is pretty clean, none of the problem areas described above. What would be fair price for this boat? Boat is located in South Jersey.

Good question...post some pics on one of the hosting sites (photobucket, etc.) and link them to this thread for us to see. Is this a painted boat, or original gelcoat, what year? Have they added a bow pulpit, working windlass? Do you know if the bottom has ever been re-done and barrier coated?

pics to come. Model year 1987, original gel coat, hull has good shine. Didn't think to look if bottom was barrier coated. It presents very well, considerably nicer than some of the others I looked at.

No windlass of bow pulpit. No airconditioning (wife says a must add!)

OK, having some issues uploading pics to photobucket. The boat is listed on iboats, is it OK to post a link to it here?

OK, finally got a few pics to upload to photobucket. Here is the link
http://s1019.photobucket.com/albums/af3 ... idge%20II/

Check this site if you have not already done so. Lots of good comparisons.

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/ ... Search.jsp

The prices for the year you are looking at vary from the teens to the 70K range. The average seems to be in the middle, though I did not crunch the numbers.

I agree with all the advice given.

I would find out which came first, the engines or the tank. Has ethanol already affected the engines?

Overall from the photos it does present very well. If your wife likes it you are almost at the finsih line. Good luck and keep us posted.

The tank was replaced after the motors, the date stamped on the tank is 12/06. The motors are at least 7 years old with about 250 hours each. The motors were replaced by the prior owner. This owner has had the boat since 2003. The current owner replaced the tank. I'm assuming that these tanks are custom made, so that would put the tank replacement 3 years ago. How would I tell if there is any damage to the engines? Would I be accurate in assuming that if the ethanol had done any damage it would have shown up before now?

As the boats an 87, I doubt there would've been any ethanol damage anyway.