Bertram Sportfish Yachts Coming Back???

He could and maybe the name Bertram carries a lot of value in Europe as a historic US SF, without any of the negatives known in the US from their latter years.

I very much doubt that olderboater, there's a 63 sitting in Brisbane that has moved maybe once or twice in the last 5-6 years - stringers and bulkheads have all pulled off and needs a complete rebuild inside - talk about a cluster f#$k! I think everyone knows world wide . Cheers

Far

Give it some time. Think about the retro Mustang/Camaro cars selling today.

There are plenty of waterfront homeowners that can put one of these on their docks as an iconic battlewagon or just something pretty to spruce up their view. Happened in Newport Harbor, CA a few years ago, 35-ish Tiara's started showing up for no real hard reasons than just to join the "club".

More then a European market there is a different market for these boats.
Like tenders and run-about to Villas / Superyachts / and wealth rich man in posh harbors and marinas.

I mean the Aquariva sells close to 3/4 of a million and they sold over three hundred of them.
The Ocean Yachts 37 Billfish was its best seller in the last years selling over 40 units.
Viking 42 is again a big hit for them selling over 50 at the moment.
Hinckleys Picnic boats also sold over a hundred.
and Chris Craft which was in trouble in the 90s since it took the direction of the runabout has been resurrected quite well.

May be this market is not as bad as one might think for entry level niche boats.
Yes if you think competitive sportfish, as the 31 was in its early days its wrong, that want work, but as a classy day boat the new Bertram 35 will work.
I know many people who like the 31 but hate to buy one and refit and the costs that this can involve.

With those sort of numbers its going to be tough to make some money building them,...when you consider the upfront cost of tooling. etc


BTW what ever happen with the Rybovich 42 Express Walkaround. I think Jimmy Buffett had a couple of these built?
Margaritavich,...The new 42 Rybovich Express Walkaround is the result of Jimmy Buffett's passion for fishing and Rybovich's desire for a semi-custom build.
http://www.yachtingmagazine.com/rybovich-42-express-walkaround
That was a nice looking vessel if I recall correctly.
(why is it I could not find any info on this vessel design on this forum?)

And why is it so hard to find photos of these boats? (all the links on this boat test are dead ends?)
http://www.******************.com/boat-tests/rybovich-42-express-walkaround
http://www.******************.com/boat-tests/rybovich-42-express-walkaround-0?tab=review

Buffett's Boat a Big Draw

The last I saw, Margaritavich was located in the Great Lakes for sale. Not sure how a saltwater battlewagon made it up north, but to each its' own.

I have seen high volume builders require a return on tooling in as little as 12 months and up to 30 months depending on size /type / dealer network. At the 35's price point, I would venture to say they have accounted for the tooling ROI given their market predictions, and it really comes down to how much tolerance the new ownership has. They have given all indications that they are in it for the long haul, and I like their business model supplementing the building side of boats with the service side.

How about other Rybovich 42 Express Walkarounds,...didn't they continue to build them??

I don't think the series production thing with FRP hulls ever took off for Rybovich, but would also be curious to know what was the build count.

from another forum

http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?showtopic=168372&p=5433373

I guess he chose water-jet propulsion for its shallow draft


.

Water jets... sure its not just turbulent water from the tunnels in the hull. Usually there's a large devise out the back for jets...? Cheers

Far

You've got a valid point there Far. I wonder if anyone else knows for sure?

I saw it mentioned on another forum, and made an inquiry as to whether it was true. No response yet.

Hi Brian,
Yes, I'm pretty sure it's just tunnel turbulence.
I'm doing a lot of work in the commercial industry at the moment and see a lot of them used in that app - mostly defence/parks... Looking hard for a private build again . I'm actually trying to put together a 100' power cat utilizing hamilton jets - will mostly likely use shafts though.

Plus J/B seems like a purist and would be very surprised he went jets - especially on a Rybovich. Cheers

Far

I had thought he might have been tempted to waterjets as he like shallow water fishing so much. But when I looked at Dan Pikes onboard water test (link not allowed on this forum) it does indicate props,...and no mention of jets which surely Pike would have done.

Margaritaville has shafts and props.

The new owner of Rybovich decided to not build boats anymore. Michael Rybovich moved on and I've heard is building custom boats, but forget the name.

Michael Rybovich and Sons.

They've built two boats and working on #3 and #4.

They're also a brokerage and have several Rybovich boats for sale through it as well as a few other boats.

I was told today by a few people in the business that Bertram has orders for 9 new 35's so far. Also that they are currently building hull #3.

That is good news. I heard in mid Summer that they sold five, and had already secured an order for the new 58, with a second coming in.

Producing ten boats a year from nothing is not so bad.

Pretty amazing, if these numbers are accurate. I'd be very interested in knowing where they're being sold/delivered. Reviving a brand is one of the most difficult things in business.

No, but for a company out of business and returning, it's pretty impressive. As to other overhead and finances, they aren't dependent on Bertram at this point as they have Baglietto and Cerri Cantieri Navali and boatbuilding isn't their primary business. These are just three of their 43 businesses. I think it's shown they were determined to take the steps to revive the brand. As to long term success, there is no way to know.