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Several years ago, I
stood shoulder to shoulder with other marine journalists as the then-president
of Bertram Yacht discussed the future of the company. Even though things
were looking up, he explained that due to financial difficulties, morale
on the shop floor had dropped so low that "Nobody could find the
eagle," a statue that symbolized what Bertram Yacht stood for.
At that time Bertram
was owned by an Italian investment group that had no experience in boatbuilding,
and ultimately the relationship turned sour. Today Bertram is again owned
by Italians, this time the Ferretti Group–which includes such well-known
marques as Ferretti, Pershing, and CRN–and these days you can’t
miss the eagle at the company’s headquarters in Miami, Florida. It’s
over the doorway. It’s in the waiting room. And most important, it
is prominently affixed to the company’s latest model, the 510 Convertible.
The 510 is roughly based
on the old 50, but size is about all the two have in common. The 510 is
14 inches longer, the added hull length providing more lift for a flatter
running angle. Where the 50 ran at a nine degrees, the 510 runs between
three and five degrees, which the company says results in better fuel
economy and improved forward visibility. Gone are the hard lines of the
50, replaced instead with a smooth shape that exudes class but doesn’t
encroach on the 510’s battle-ready appearance. To maximize interior
room the cabin has been moved forward, and exterior lines flow gracefully
from the flying bridge down to the foredeck, which now seems more like
that of a 40-footer.
Other styling touches
are evident as well. The squarish windows are now frameless and of smoked
glass, and even the flying bridge overhang has a few curves while doing
a great job of keeping people dry in the cockpit, as we found out during
our rain-soaked test day.
So the 510 is handsome.
But that’s not why you’re looking at a Bertram. You’re
after the legendary seaworthiness and fishability, and the new 510 is
built for the task. The hull is hand-laid FRP with a fiberglass encapsulated
stringer system, but for extra stiffness the transverse stringers run
halfway up the hull sides. An aluminum backing plate runs around the entire
perimeter of the hull at the deck joint to serve as a rock-solid anchor
point and to distribute the deck’s weight evenly along the top of
the hull. Divinycell coring adds strength and stiffness to the hull sides
and deck, and unlike the 50, the 510’s flying bridge is incorporated
into the foredeck, creating a unitized superstructure. All together, the
new Bertram appears to be even stronger than the old, but that’s
just the beginning.
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