1973 28' Seabird (Bertram) Flybridge

[Capt_Waters]

I just bought a 1973 28' Seabird Sport Flybridge and am having lots of trouble getting information about her. Ironically, the 28' Bertram Sport Flybridge is like the identical twin to this boat.

She has twin Chrysler 318 inboards making 450 hp. Motors run smooth without any uncommon noises, etc. Transmissions shift into gear smoothly and she really just needs cosmetic work.

Does anyone know where I can find information on this vessel? We are going to begin the restoration soon.

[B Dobz]

I think that boat is something like the 29 phoenix.

[modunlavy]

seabird and bertram are two completely different boats! I've always like the seabird and thought they were neat boats...

[Capt_Waters]

Ok, so where would I find information on her? I have the LM318 engines manual, but that's all the documentation I have. What I'd like to find is someone with some documentation they would possibly sell copie of, etc.

Thanks!

[Seacat FL]

I always liked SeaBirds. About 1993 they tried a comeback. There was a new Seabird at either the Miami or Ft Lauderdale boat show that year. A company down in Miami apparently had the old molds and was going to build new Sea Birds. Must not have worked out as I have never seen them again.

[boater108]

Seabird, now that starts a trip down memory lane. We had a 1968 Seabird Sedan Cruiser. Had an OMC IO (the old white one with the big rubber boot). Seabird's claim to fame was full balsa core construction (hull bottom, sides and deck). All the hardware was aluminum, rails and all. They had a good design sense. About 1971 they went with a very "new" look. Disappeared not long after that. I still have some of the old 1968 brochures. I remember my dad behind the wheel...

[76GMC1500]

I think Seabird used a lot of molds associated with other manufactuers but used their own construction techniques within the molds. I have a 1968 Seabird V21, the hull is exactly identical to later Wellcraft v20's. The Seabird V23 seems awfully similar to Fomula's 24ft. However, while everybody else used solid hulls and stringers, Seabird used a sometimes stringerless composite hull. It makes for a very lightweight, rigid boat.

[Capt_Waters]

Here is a picture we took last week. If anyone has information on these boats please let me know.



and

[76GMC1500]

The only information I can give you about your Seabird is that just about every single piece of fiberglass on that boat is balsa wood cored including the gunwals and the top. It is very important that you make sure every piece of hardware that involves screws or drilling is sealed or else water will get into the core. You can sometimes check for delamination from the core by pushing firmly against the hull. If it deflects at all, there is delamination in that spot. Don't let all of this worry you too much, there are a bunch of 40 year old Seabirds on the water with their original balsa coring intact.

[Moppie]

Just to shed some light on the SeaBird topic, SeaBird boats were different from all others at the time. (post 68)There is little in common with a Bertram. The major re-design came about in "69", with the famous 23' model, actually the major design features came from the 23' ChrisCraft Lancer models, which were popular in the late 60's. The proportionaly larger 28' came about in the early 70's. Carefull examination of the Bert, and the Bird should tell all. With the core hull, and complete inner liner of the Bird, it is a much stronger built boat. (also a bit heavier) The 21 came soon after that. Most Bird models remained un-changed for a few years, they did add a 22' model in the late 70's. It didn't fly for some reason, and later became the 22' North American Boat.There was also a 26' to be built in 76, few if any are out there. The 28' was redesigned for 79, and became the 29. Some time shortly after that, Pheonix bought the tooling for the 29, and even built them in the same plant, in Hialeah Florida. The 28 was also increased in size to make 36 and 42 foot models. Those were built by SeaBird,(the come back years) and later also Rossioli International. (the Big Donzies). Answer Marine built their version on the 23. The 21, was never really copied, as someone had said it was the same as a WellCraft 20(not even close) OMC in Stuart Florida had the molds, built and used them for test boats for many years. Years ago I went to a sub-contractor plant for Black Fin boats, they built the 27' model, he had the molds for the 42 SeaBird, which we were thinking of building a custom boat from. I still have a 28 Bird hull, and 20' Bertam, 28' Cary, and a 25 Magnum. I love the old Birds, and their history. Moppie

[Moppie]

I might add, that I've owned a WellCraft step lift 20, two 233 Formulas two 21'and 23' SeaBirds, they are NOT SeaBird copies, or vice versa. The wellCraft is a much different boat, it was a copy of the old FiberForm, Fibercraft, or some-such name from the mid 60's the Formula was designed in late 59-60(it has more lift strakes and less of a deep entry in the bow, than a SeaBird) for the Miami- Bahama race. (also one of the the first stern drive powered boats) by Volvo Penta. Moppie

[76GMC1500]

The 70's Seabird V21 has nothing in common with the Wellcraft V20, but the 1968 Seabird V21 sure looks like one:

[Moppie]

There was a model V-202, that's listed in 68, 20'-2" till 69, that hull was a mid 60's design from someone else. 1970 shows the V-21, at 20'-9", but only 7'-4" beam(the newer one). There also were 18, and 19 foot models as well. The 19 was some what of a Donzi type sport boat. They also had a V-26 (25'-11") till 68. This should not be mistaken for the 76 V-26, which was more like the 28, and SeaBirds response to the 26 Bertram of the time. I still have a lot of factory info, and two of the "Life Time Hull" warranty cards from my old boats. Moppie

[76GMC1500]

The title says the boat is 20' 2" so it's likely the V-202. I measured a beam of 7' 2". It's also serial number 28002. Have you got any information on the hull?

[Moppie]

Since SeaBird had no fishing/general runabout model in the 20 foot size from 65, they needed a fill in boat. They used an existing hull for two years, while the tooling could be developed for the V-21, which was more complicated to build. The hull number you have, could very well mean it was built Feb(2) year (8)1968 and hull production number 002. As I stated before, I've seen mid 60's hulls of the same design. The specs also show the beam to be 96", where did you measure it? Thats about all I can find on your boat.

[76GMC1500]

I measured the beam at the top of the hull, just under the cap.

[firemedc1560]

What do you know about Spacecraft boats? I had a 1979 that was a 25' with a single OMC outdrive.

[Moppie]

As far as Spacecraft boats, I can't help you much. My preferred area of knowledge are: older Bertram's, SeaBird's, Cary's, Cigarette's Magnum's, Donzi's, some WellCraft Nova's, and Formula's. Sorry. I will say this, most common boats end up being an existing hull design that gets a bit of tweeking from the new builder, why re-invent the wheel. The basic Formula hull was probably the most copied hull as far as deep vees go, simply because it worked.

[Moppie]

The beam measurement is the widest part of the boat, in your case it should be about where the windshield is.

[Capt_Waters]

Correction, gentlemen. The title says she's a 1972 (28'), not a 1973. Not sure that makes much of a difference, but the VIN plate inside the cabin confirms this, as well.

Anyone have any leads on where one of these may be sitting so that I could possibly find the interior to replace in mine? I could likely put any interior from any cabin-style boat assuming it would fit inside.

Jim