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Random Quote: Somebody just back of you while you are fishing is as bad as someone looking over your shoulder while you write a letter to your girl. ~Ernest Hemingway
My buddy and I currently run a Sea Ray Laguna CC with twins but are interested in moving up to a 28-33 sportfisherman. Suggestions on a qood first boat under $60K?
The boats we have been looking closely at are the 28 and 31 Betrams, 30-33 Egg Harbors, 30-33 Penn Yans and 30-33 Luhrs. How would you rank these and what other manufacturers should we be considering?
For instance, we found a 1976 Egg Harbor 33 that is in excellent shape. Unfortunately, we don't see a lot of Egg Harbor's in Texas and we are not that familiar with them. We understand there are issues with window rot, but is there anything else we should be concerned about?
I should also mention that in addition to looking for a very functional fishing boat, it needs to be able to comfortably sleep a minimum of 4 people (got to keep the wife and kids happy).
I own a 1976 28' Bertram. In my opinion if you are looking at Sportfisherman in that price range out of the boats you named I would take a hard look at the Bertrams. The Bertram 28 and 31 are awsome fishing boats and hold their value better than any other boat mentioned. The down side to these boats is that even though you can sleep 4 people on them I would not want to spend more than a weekend on the boat with more than 2 people. If you drift fish the Bertram will rock and roll but on the troll there is none better! If you are looking at Bertrams look for a Bertram 30' Sportfish. They built them in the 80's (not many built) and they had all the creature comforts that the 31 and 28 lacked. Also check out Bertram31.com you can get any question answered about a Bertram. Here is a link to the site.
Have the particular one you find surveyed to be safe, but even if it needs work, factor it into the price, don't necessarily pass on it.
Just don't pay too much, and you can always get your money back out, or close to it, when you are ready to move up, or down.
Not to mention you may love it and keep it for years and years.
An old Bertram hull is worth the cost of maintenance and upkeep. They have pretty much bottomed out on depreciation a long time ago.
You can buy an old 28, and sell it in a few years, you might not lose a dime, or at least your yearly cost will be reasonable.
Good luck,
Whoops, I missed the wife and kids part,
The 28 is not exactly roomy, it is more like camping out, go look at one and see if you can live with it.
I would also consider the 33 Bert as well. There are several currently listed on yachtworld at or below your target price. I am currently on my second Bert.
My first was a 1981 28 Sport Fisherman. I bought it for $39K and sold it 2 years later for $43K. The only reason I sold it was because it was too small for my needs.
I can't say enough about my current 1986 33.
The other boats you mentioned are not even close to the same class as Bertram's.
Doesn't get any better than a Bertram. Plenty of them around in your price range too. Check out www.bertram31.com. You'll get a lot of feedback on the boats.
If you are going to fish where your handle implies, you'd do well to make sure and get diesel power. Gas engines will not give you the range you will need/want here.
I have had the pleasure of fishing offshore on 31, 33 and 38 Berts. You will be happy with any of them. Forget all the rest.
Bob
__________________ 25' Grady White - 2 X Johnson 150 Oceanrunners "Dutch Treat"
Anyone know why the Bert 31 isn't still built? I know they went out of bus in the 80's but I'm suprised someone didn't buy the molds and get them going again.
Hope I have this right, but mid 80's was the last year produced. Not sure why they stopped making the 31, but I do know there were a few new 31's that stuck around for a while. So sales were slow. Over the past several years there has been a lot of talk about Bertram making a new 31. Last I heard was Bertram was going to debut a new 35 at the 2005 Miami show and then the new 31 at the 2006 Miami show. Factory rumors say the production is a little behind right now. Also, the 31 will be in the neighborhood of 325K with diesels and genset. Now, lets hope they don't come out with a completely new 31 Bertram. Hopefully they'll make numerous improvements on the classic 31 and just make it better. Someone said Bertram was considering a 31 express...Who knows.
Might have a better idea of what the story is after the Lauderdale show. A couple of the faithful from the www.bertram31.com site know Don Jones (VP of sales) pretty well and usually spend a lot of time with him at the FLL show.
I beg to differ with the comment that you need diesels in a Bertram to run offshore. Yes they are very nice to have but again it all depends on how much you are going to use the boat. I went through the whole deal last winter between repowering my Bertram with diesels or gas, and opted for 325hp MarinePower MPI's. I saved around $30000 from the diesel cost and get on average 1.2 mpg. You have to remember that the Bertram 28 was designed to run with 350's where as the Bertram 31 was designed to run with 454's
I beg to differ with the comment that you need diesels in a Bertram to run offshore. Yes they are very nice to have but again it all depends on how much you are going to use the boat. I went through the whole deal last winter between repowering my Bertram with diesels or gas, and opted for 325hp MarinePower MPI's. I saved around $30000 from the diesel cost and get on average 1.2 mpg. You have to remember that the Bertram 28 was designed to run with 350's where as the Bertram 31 was designed to run with 454's
Waggles, it is a range issue here. If he is going to pursue pelagics such as tuna and marlin, he needs the range. Fishing out of Galveston or Freeport, the best conditions for those begin at about 70 miles offshore. Gas power works great in Florida or other areas where you have the shelf in close, but not here.
Bob
__________________ 25' Grady White - 2 X Johnson 150 Oceanrunners "Dutch Treat"
I had a 1973 28Bertram. 302 Fords at 225HP. It was a 19-20 kts boat at about 20 gallons per hour. My boat had extra fuel; but still not safe 70 mile each way canyon range. Standard fuel in early models was 165 gallons. If you need range than diesels are the ticket. The 28B can still be had "cheap" as compaired to a 31B. You pay a premimum for the Bertram "Cult" boat; but you are making an investimate instead of the money pit most boats are. Why did Bertram stop making them? The answer is easy. They cost way too much to produce; and most folks were not willing to shell out the bucks for a spartan fishing boat. I skipped the 31B's and went to the 35B; but when I get old and can't climb the flybridge I am getting one of the 31 Bahia Mar's.
Good Luck
Maybe I was not clear. Some of you from the 31 and 28 sites are familiar with my project 1976 Bertram 28 "Casino Action". We fish out of Bass River on Cape Cod (Mass). Tuna and Canyon runs for us are 70-90 miles one way. As my boat is currently configured with the original 165 gallon tank I can get there but not back. But now put into the mix adding more fuel below the deck or a removeable bladder tank on the deck and the Canyons and Tuna grounds are well within striking distance. For me this makes the most sense as our season is so short here that I would have to run my boat for many years before the extra money in diesels is recooped in fuel etc... I hope this better helps to explain my statement. Again don't get me wrong I would love to have diesels in my 28 but for me the money just couldn't be justified as our season is so short up here.
offshoretx - there's good advice here - especially in that you get what you pay for. Consider your range, speed and economy requirements - if you run to the far rigs you will need diesels and you'll need to invest much more.
In my experience, great boats like Bertram, Blackfin and Topaz get you there and back in the rough stuff, but need torque and horsepower. You might want to expand your search to Rampage and Albemarle as there are many loyal Captains that charter these hulls. Check out yachtworld.com for comparatives. BTW, we just added a Glacier Bay 26 cat for the offshore stuff - very pleased.
I would like to thank everyone for their input. It appears Bertram is the crowd favorite and it certainly has a fantastic reputation as well as great resell value. Some of you have provided good pro's and con's for the Betram as well as ownership testimonials. Does anyone have any pro's/con's or experience for some of the other manufacturers mentioned (i.e. Blackfin, Albermarle, Topaz, Tiara, Luhrs, Egg Harbor, Hatteras). There is no doubt in my mind that Bertram would be a great choice, I'm just wondering if there is a boat that combines Bertram's quality and fishability with more space for the family. We need something we can fish out of extensively but also have a family of four spend a somewhat comfortable weekend on.
Thanks again for taking the time to respond as I find everyone's input very valuable.
First Sportfisherman 
