Bertram 28

[snelly1971]

Down our way there are plenty of Plate / work boats ..but no big Glass boats...I have alot of mates asking me about Bertrams ...But as i have never had nothing to do with them i thought i would post this and see what info i can pass on...They are all interested in the 28 footer....pref...dual shaft drive...

They would like to know the pros..cons ..Are they a good sea boat for fishing out wide...Which is better..shaft/ or leg....Petrol or diesel..ect....



Cheers Mick

[ozlongboarder]

I have a 25 with a single V8 Volvo, if I was buying a 28 I would want shaft drive for low maintenance and diesel for economy.

From what I have heard, the 28's are a good sea boat.

[snelly1971]

Is the old saying about Volvo`s True..green death....

[ozlongboarder]

Is the old saying about Volvo`s True..green death....

I hope not my motor is only 9 months old.

Its probably similar to Mercury being called black anchors. They had a bad rep years ago but are ok now..... I hope as I have one of those too.

[peterbo3]

Hi Snelly,
When I had my trawler in Cairns, quite a few other trawlers were powered by Volvo & there did not seem to be any problems.
They may have "earned" their reputation as green death simply because many pleasure boats were fitted with them. There were no real smaller, modern options. The enemy of the diesel is under use & I wonder how many engines were left sitting for long periods of time.
As with any engine, they were all good when they left the factory. Volvos were well made & as long as they were used as designed, serviced & run often, they should run for as long as any other brand. Parts were a tad expensive though. ;D ;D

[BM]

Excellent offshore fishing platform (thats why they have a sportdfisherman model). Very stable and roomy. Most 28's will be shaft drive and usually 5.7ltr Chev (MerCruisers).

Shaft is probably mor eeasily maintained than sterndrive as there is less involved however if they plan to operate in shallow areas at any time they'd need to be very careful. Shafts don't appreciate bouncing off the bottom and bending a shaft is a costly repair. Sterndrives are more forgiving in that environment.

Cheers

[snelly1971]

Would anyone know approx cruising speeds/ and fuel economy...

Cheers Mick

[Smithy]

The 28s can be slugs with the little diesels. Been on one with the BMWs and one with the little Mercruiser diesels. Would only go with the Yanmar conversions of 230hp a side. Maybe better again if you ever found one with Steyrs or Cummins but I don't think I have seen any.

For gamefishing, the shaft spacing is too close together for good manouvrability. Coupled with 4 cylinder motors you have to give them a boot full to get the bum around. Got to drive the Mercruiser one on some Mahi Mahi. The bigger flybridge boats with sixes and bigger running gear and better prop spacings come around heaps better. That might not be important for them and what they are looking at doing with them.

As for ride, only been out on them when it has been calm. I guess they would be good but both of them just plodded along at 16knots or so with their noses high in the air. They are sort of a stepping stone boat. Plenty of fellas have them as their first moored boat and as a stepping stone to a 35' Bertram or a Black Watch or something.

As for Volvos being green death - a lot of them are white now!

[snelly1971]

Ah yes...my fav motor ...the good old cummins....We have them here in our jet boats...Bloody powerful and realible motors....

Cheers Mick

[Big G]

I have owned a 28' bertram

[Big G]

I have owned a 28' bertram, shaft drive, twin 6 cylinder turbo volvo diesels. the engines were faultless during the 5 years I owned her. Good maintenance is required, diesel fuel has to be used and not left to stand around. The primary fuel filters should be changed every 12 months or every 100 hours and fuel conditioner should be used to prevent fuel related problems. My berti carried 600 litres of fuel and could make trips to the Barwins from Cleveland and have plenty in reserve.
Her cruising speed was around 22 knots with a top speed of 28 knots.
Great sea boat, a little unhappy in a big following sea, just had to get to know her. The volvo's were very responsive and had plenty of instant power left at 22 knots.
the boat was not the best thing at rest in a big sea, but I think you tend to fish in bigger seas than most as the berti feels so safe and reliable.

fuel economy was from what I recal, 45lt/hr/22knots.

her name is Ricardo'.....hope this has helped.

[snelly1971]

Thats a nice looking rig Big G....Thanks for the info...can i ask why you sold it....

Cheers Mick

[Big G]

Mick,
Sold the house that had the pontoon...... would still have it if I lived on the water.
moved to dry land and bought a Jaycat6000 on alloy trailer..... I still go to the Barwins but I can tow it anywhere which is great.

Maintainance costs are a little high on moored boats.

My old bertram was for sale recently for around $80,000... not sure how good it has been looked after as I sold it 5 years ago.........Its a lot of boat but believe it or not my 6 metre Jaycat has the same plus more features.

Big G.

[Nigel Smith]

G'day Big G. Just browsing and I found your message and thought I'd let you know I own Ricardo now. Done some work recently including head, turbo's, injectors and fuel pumps. Love the boat but want to go bigger.

[Big G]

Nigel,
You have got a great boat, I sold her around 5 to 6 years ago. She was in good condition but sold her to a young man who insisted on travelling from Cleveland to Southport leaving at dusk. I heard he managed to run aground near the Pin and caused some prop and shaft damage. Repairs were carried out but I think the transmissions were replaced later on as well.
With the repairs you have done plus the other reported repairs the volvo engines should be good for another few years.
I always felt safe in the 28 bertie and she never once let me down. I trust she will perform the same for you.

Big G.

[Ian1]

I had a V8 MPI volvo stern drive in a 23 Caribbean. It was a great motor and never let me down. I can't say enough about the new volvo petrol's. I think the green death comes from the yachting industry. Volvo sail drives have a bad reputation.

Cheers

Ian

[gofishin]

Mick, nothing wrong with Volvos. My family used to be the distributors during 70's & 80's in a country & boating environment where 400-500hrs a year was normal for private boats. The weather was always great & the fishing grounds/cruising destinations were never too far away. Been a while since I have had anything to do with them but can still remember a few things.

Few typical problems with the petrol’s (manifolds, heads etc), but the diesels mainly only gave trouble when they were not looked after combined with lack of use. In our last boat (twin 200 DP’s) we did ~1050hrs in 18 months and only needed to carry out normal maintenance.

Big G, nice boat. From the pics it looks like she had 155/165hp donks, the latter from the performance you were getting.

Mick, for moored boats definitely go with diesel shaft drives, and if Volvos try & stick with min 200hp as the 28’s performed really well with these. No problems with maneuverability, compared to petrol’s, due to the extra torque/thrust & therefore bigger wheels to spin.

One thing to watch out for with the 200’s (41 models), some models had glow plugs fitted. 2 off 6V in series connected by a Cu bus strip that was covered in heat shrink. Unless these were bent down properly, they were touching the injector line for the last pot. When the h/shrink finally wore away, resulting in a short via the injector line, 12V to the first glow plug meant the coil would end up in pieces in the cylinders – not good!

cheers

[Nigel Smith]

She is a good boat and yes both gearboxes only had a hundred hours on her 12 months ago. I have it on the hardstand at Scarborough at the moment getting soda blasted, new anti fouling and a freshen up on some top side paint. I am happy with her performance and will post some photo's when the work is completed in about two weeks.

Cheers
Nigel

PS any idea why she was called Ricardo?