Newbie Help

We looked for a boat that fitted us.

We finally decided on a Navigator Pilothouse.

The instant I touched the swimstep I thought that if the price is right and she surveys out, then I want her!

It did and now she is at our dock!

Do your homework and you will find one that "spins your propeller"!

I ran a 46 Maxim, it cruised at 25 knots. It had cummins, but not sure which HP it had in it.

Well I'm in the same boat, so I might as well jump in after all this time. I'm not new, just been reading and searching for 6 months before I beat the horse. I've looked at a number of boats in the 40 to 60ft range. After my searches it's taken me to SP hatteras and viking with reserve for an ocean. At this point I'm in love with hatteras but to get a nice well kept one I'm looking at 200 to 300k 80s early 90s. My focus is doing some deep sea fishing, and possibly doing the loop at some point. But things took a turn last week as I put a contract on a nice townhouse on the beach instead pouring all my money into a big boat. So Im thinging something a little smaller now. So here I go again......

Congratulations, I sincerely hope you will have many hours of good cruising and dock side pleasure doing the inevitable chores that a boat demands.

May I be so bold as to advise you study this forum and others with regard to the care of your vessel and particularly that of your main engines and generator.

Hope I don't appear traitorous to suggest checking the Boat diesel web site, there is a wealth of info there.

Please remember it is not the number of hours the engines have run, but their actual age which is most important. Unfortunately, corrosion does not stop just because the ignition switch is off. Thus your maintenance schedule should be adjusted accordingly.

Finally, should you not already own a copy, buy a copy of Chapmans 'Piloting and Seamsnship' universally regarded as the boaters bible.

Congrats again...enjoy.

well Hello all new member . Your post caught my eye. I'm now looking at a Bert 42 mind telling me the year and motors and what your deal was? thanks

READ Pascoe He's very wishy washy but has great info.
Like in your case with a kid and wife stay away from Express models the bows have no flat surfaces so having Honey up front with line or the kid up front is an accident waiting to happen off you go and no railings to speak of.
Find a boat with walk around decking , Fly Bridge ladders are tricky for Kids and most ladies. Also make sure when driving from top you have a high wind screen so you and company are not being blasted by the wind or you'll find yourself driving alone.
Pascoe puts Bertrams as high end builders But his reviews diss them.
Hatts are over rated heavy fuel hogs and ugly as sin That's why people are always staring at them (lol) but you want to go Fast so that tells me you have very deep fuel pockets. First Ocean boat stay under $100,000.
That's my Two cents .
Oh and another thing get on pop yacht, YW, Boat trader and READ READ READ

Do not fall for pop yacht. Avoid avoid avoid. YW is good.

LOL The diference between POP and YW One has Exclusive listing one does not. All boat brokers are dogs and most have Min. experience with Boats except they know how to drive them. Pops is good for the simple fact that if you do your research online you can find the owner and bypass the broker.
Also I said read The only way newbie can learn and he needs a fast learning curve so has to put in hours and hours of reading.
Funny thing is He states Fla. has so many boats, And so many times I've said Man I wish I was in Cali look at all the neat boats. esp. the deals out of AK, etc. lol guess grass is always greener or water Bluer

Don't think for one moment that what Pop shows is their listings or anything they have knowledge of or are handling. There is nothing exclusive about them at all.

Also, your slamming of all boat brokers is completely inappropriate. There are excellent brokers on here and I know many others. You want to bypass brokers, that's fine. You'll find out what that can lead to, but you coming here to call brokers dogs is totally wrong.

I stick to my initial statement to avoid POP as a recommendation to all.

I wish you luck in your search and hope you find the perfect Bertram for you.

I bought my 42ft Bertram aft cabin 18 months ago, the PO sold her largely because his new wife was not a keen boater.
He repowered with Yanmar 6LY3, with 480 hp engines during June of 2006....they still have less than 500 hours. For a variety of reasons, mainly weather, I have spent relatively few hours at sea.
During a trip to Exuma, I lost the generator due to dirty fuel..., the main engines have run like sewing machines, never missing a beat..,.they are as clean as a whistle, I'm presently doing a 2000 hour service..which is strongly advised by another blog......stripping and cleaning the heat exchangers and aftercooler etc......turned out to be an unecessary exercise for they were all very clean internally.....the cores came out with just their own weight. I don't believe they had been serviced before.
The boat handles very nicely, and to be quite frank, not nearly as rolley as I had anticipated. She is fitted with 'fly by wire' engine controls, a delight to use.

I improved the exhaust system, it did not meet with the standards recommended to prevent water falling back into the turbo charger, creating problems which that can cause.

The layout is super, the galley one step down from the main saloon creates a large area which keeps the cook in direct contact with guests.
Comfortable aft cabin had been modified to accept a double berth.

In buying tbe boat, I paid approximately half the cost of the repower, I believe it was a great deal. I anticipate many years of trouble free boating.

Please don't hesitate to call should you require any further info.

Good luck,

Bahma.

PS... Pascoe is a good read....google him and your can read his comments about the 42ft Sports Fish.... he prefers the 46 ft versions,
But that's boats, they're all compromises.

I used a broker who was highly recommended, as I live in the Bahamas it was very handy to visit boats he recommended, as it happened, the one I bought was the first I viewed.
He also arranged the sea trails, a hauling and the two surveys....one for the boat the other for the engines.
As far as I was concerned it was money well spent, I highly recommend him, if you're in the Fort Lauderdale area.