Bertram Closing Merritt Island Facility?

At least one more very soon and maybe two. Just their future might be sorted out by the time they're exposed. What continues to amaze me on Bertram is that there is no information given publicly by Ferretti and apparently no one in the media really pursuing the question with them, or at least not with any luck.

IMO, Bertram would have to be bought quietly, and redesigned from the keel up to produce something equal to Viking or better(if that's possible) then spend mega bucks and several years proving their equal or better to attract buyers away from Viking/Hatteras along with the semi custom builders. I doubt that anyone would be willing to spend that much money and time to try to revive the Bertram name and reputation. Richard Branson comes to mind. It would be a several Billion dollar investment with a 10-15 year payback at the very least. Most investors don't have that kind of patience...better to let Bertram die a quiet death.

OK, I am sure that your estimate of "several Billion dollar investment" is a typo? You haven't worked in the industry or manufactured boats before?

In 2001 Brunswick bought Hatteras from Genmar for about $80 million and Cabo in 2006 for about $60 million, both were at or near Industry cycle "peaks". Lock, stock and barrel. They overpaid both times, which was typical for Brunswick. Hatteras AND Cabo were sold in 2013 together for probably less than $100 million although I have never seen the terms.

You could re-launch Bertram on a different scale for $20 - $40 million or less if you are on a shoe-string budget.

As Hatteras is now making their own 45 & 52 Express models, it would not be the wisest move on their part to sell a competing line, especially back to guys who know how to make it work.

The NC guys never wanted Cabo, have no taste for anything that isn't "home grown" and would just as soon bury it and forget about it.

It's not just about the molds.
Someone buying a company, even one in financial distress, expects it to have some valuable proprietary expertise and products. And a team. So that after refinancing, said company could advance onto the market.
Buying a brand name only and having to design a product and establish manufacture from the ground up is an entirely different story altogether. Even if you get some old molds in a bundle.

Not saying it can't be done, just saying, if you have a company in distress you'd like to sell, you should really try to do that before closing factory's doors.

This adds up to some abysmal numbers, actually. Say the acquisitions were made at P/E 15, which is a kind of historic average (bit on a cheaper side, too). This gives us Hatteras earning like $5mil/year, as you said, "on a peak". That would be a sweet dream number for a "fresh re-launch" today, making investments of a scale of $20 - $40 million quite... dubious.

These posts only serve in my mind to reinforce the fact that there truly is no Bertram to revive. Name only. We talk about revive the old but with new twists. What I'm hearing is that the designs and molds may have little or no value, that it's truly starting over. Not just quality control issues, but design issues.

As to the amount of money that would be required, we're not even talking Hatteras in it's heyday to Brunswick. We're talking closer in dollars to the $10 million that Carver, Marquis and Larson went for combined. To restart a Bertram would probably take a total in the ball park of PacBlue's numbers. I'd say $40-50 million on the upper end. Perhaps $5-10 million for the name and the rest for tooling and first year's cost plus inventory.

The most expensive boat builders in recent times have been Ferretti Group and Sunseeker and they were only $500 million, so no billions.

As to whether Hatteras would resell Cabo, let's not forget that Hatteras is owned by an investment firm, not a boat company. A few million to them would be more valuable than retaining a brand they didn't use or protecting against a competitor.

I'm told a number of media inquiries have come in, myself included. There hasn't been an official announcement regarding Bertram's next waypoint, so most in the media are still on hold. I was fortunate to get a call back from James Henderson, president of Ferretti Group USA, last week. It is no doubt a troubling time, but he's working to find a resolution and remains positive. He wasn't able to disclose further details, but thought enough of YF's readers to give me a call back.

Maybe there will be more at FLIBS...

The big issue would be that Napier's modified-vee's were just not fast enough for todays market. You need a true 40 - 43 knot 60-some footer. That hull design will not hit that mark and will have dynamic stability issues at those speeds. It is not just a question of installing more power in a fixed loa.

I think there is enough design talent out there to hit the performance mark, just need to bring the stylists' back to the right look/stance and "fishiness".

At first I thought they just didn't feel they could disclose what is planned and yet the more I sought the answer the more I began to think that they truly don't know what it going to happen. Also wonder who is handling it. I think perhaps the decision to stop producing was made at one level much higher up and the decision of what to do with it then was left to those at lower levels to deal with.

Seem to be a lot of builders making half decisions. Shut down a brand with no plans beyond that. Like quitting a job with no future job prospects.

Let's see....Brand damaged tremendously by recent years of debacles. Large potential warranty claims to be dealt with and potential litigation, although recent sales couldn't make them too large. Molds and tooling outdated. Sure doesn't sound like much there. Sounds like a start up whether you use an old name or new name.

I believe if someone started from scratch with new hulls and facility building on a semi-custom order only set-up Bertram may stand a chance at emerging as the powerhouse it once was. The old hulls as good as they were would not be able to compete in todays market, but the classic styling with a modern hull would be a force to reckon with. Get the ageless styling with modern hull performance should be the goal.

Imagine the good looks of a 31 with a more modern layout and hull design. I believe there would be a market. And given the fact that most of the manufactures have all but abandoned the small boat market there is a lot of potential for a semi-custom builder in the 28-40ft market.

Semi-custom in 28-40' market? You really think someone would pay the prices that would require for a boat that size? That's Boston Whaler and Grady White sizes and prices.

New hulls, new building, semi-custom, classic styling, modern hull. Sounds like an entirely new start up.

A lot of potential? That's not even in the SF market. Forgetting SF, who is building 28-40' semi custom and successful at it?

I don't see it.

Well obviously you won't be the first customer...

Who will be? What boat are they buying now that you'll replace in their buying patterns?

I recently spoke with a close friend that works with Hatteras/Cabo, and I've been told that there are no intentions of selling the CABO brand. The new owners (Versa) are now busy relaunching Hatteras with 7 new models in the next three years (the new 45EX and GT70 will debut at FLIBS followed by a totally new 70MY in 2015) and in the meantime plans are also been made to relaunch CABO Yachts in a near future.

Nope PacBlue, not a typo. All of the molds (should there be any) need to be destroyed. Like I said redesigned from the keel up. Viking every three or four years changes their bottom design, usually on their larger hulls. Do you have any idea how much R&D costs? You could drop 500 million on R&D alone. I'm not talking about an $80 million dollar acquisition, and maintaining status quo, that will never work. No. It has to be a ground up effort, and designing and building a boat that will lets say just be even with the likes of Viking, let alone a better product, could easily go into Billions of dollars. Now we get down to personnel, you're going to have to recruit smart passionate people to make it work, which means pulling the best of the best away from existing companies, which cost tons of money. If it's not going to be done right...don't even bother. I'm an eternal optimist, and if I had all the money in the world, I wouldn't tackle a project like Bertram on a bet.

Sounds cheaper to just buy Vikings and rebadge them as Bertrams...