Review: Bering Yachts 55' Steel Trawler

Centerline steps from the salon lead to the staterooms with the master being forward. Interior headroom on the main deck is 7’. As well, the height for the staterooms is 7’ which gives a voluminous feel. All interior doors have a head clearance of 6'6” and are 2” thick solid wood with closet doors and furniture being 1” thick. The centerline bilge is easily accessible from the contiguous hatches from the engine room to the forward bulkhead and houses the fresh water manifold system enabling the quick isolation of leaks. There are nine 24v DC bilge pumps each with in-line check valve, float switch, and auto/off/manual selection.

The centerline bed is on a wooden base, all contributing to a solid feel of a quiet, segregated enclave. Numerous lighting options are from courtesy lighting at furniture kicks, mood lighting, and Japanese screens for manipulating natural lighting from the portholes. There are 2 emergency hatches which are required for the CE certification.

The master head has marbled walls, granite counters, and a 1/2 glass frameless shower with seat. The amidships guest stateroom to starboard is generously comfortable with queen bed and plentiful stowage. The portside guest cabin has an L-shaped settee that easily converts to a bed and also accommodates a desk and cabinets to serve as an office.

Entry to the engine room is from the 3rd stateroom/office which is ideal for a live-aboard crew member. Past the solid wood vanity door to a watertight dog-down door is a 5ʼ5” headroom entry; however, once inside the engine room height is 5ʼ8” although subsequent hulls will have a 6ʼ2 head clearance. The engine room is bright, open, well organized, and downright roomy as well as practical. The centerline single Cummins 285hp engine surrounded by a sturdy guardrail is easy to see, service, and even to get underneath. Quick inspections for underway checks are made easier with the forethought put into the engine room design. The sea strainers are all visible on entry; the day tanks have visual gauges, and the fuel management is by the door.

To port is a stainless steel storage cabinet and work center with sink, Reverso Oil Exchange system, battery controls, Sea Recovery 700 gpd watermaker, Victron Energy System, and Onan 27kW generator. To starboard is the Cummins 65hp wing engine and DeAngelo exhaust systems. Aft is the fuel management system, two sea chests, AC compressors, and watertight door to the lazarette. Forward, at engine room entry, is the used oil tank and battery charge switches.

Bering Yachts, as per nomenclature, are designed on the basis of the North Sea fishing trollers. Aided by Russian naval architects, the hull form is designed for efficiency and sea keeping capabilities simultaneously. While the comfortable and fuel efficient cruising speed is 8 knots, a maximum of 9.7 knots is attainable with the Cummins 285 hp engine, ZF 325 gearbox rated at 500hp, and Nibral 38” 5 blade prop (Aquamet shaft with dripless seals). The Cummins 65hp wing engine, with a separate shaft and a Gori 26” 3 blade folding prop, can slug its way home at a respectable 5 knots.

The exhaust system was designed by the engineers at DeAngelo using Bering’s CAD files. There is a water separator for both the main and wing engine and the exhaust outlets are just above the waterline portside aft. This accomplishes an ultra-quiet, fume-free, non-gurgling exhaust. The muffler is baked with carbon fiber insulation contributing to the low sound production and to the cooling of the gasses to the point that even the muffler is cool to the touch. With the piping being 2” above the water level, then advancing to the elbow, there is no chance of seawater getting back into the engine. Simple, efficient, stout, and well-designed systems are no headbangers for DeAngelo.

The electrical system is a work of simplistic brilliance provided by a Victron System. There are 3 Victron 5kW inverters in parallel which power off the Discover AGM batteries of which there are 20 at 6 volts each yielding 2,000 amp hours. There are two 24v starting batteries for each engine and generator and windlass and bow thruster; the battery for the electronics is 12v. Discover Batteries are a non-hazardous, non-spillable AGM dry cell power block which means they can be installed in any position, have higher charge and discharge capabilities, and are kinder to the environment. Discovering Discover batteries was no accident as the Discover Batteries owner cruises his 55’ steel trawler, aptly named Discover, in western Canadian waters. The Victron battery chargers consist of one for the main bank and a separate charger each for the electronics and bow thruster batteries.

To support the ship’s power needs, the fully charged system will allow unrestricted usage for 3 to 4 days; all the appliances and 220 outlets are supplied by the inverters. If air-conditioning is included in the full load power sucking, then at anchor power life is shortened to a half day at anchor before generator re-start is necessary. Back at the dock, the Bering can take any power, through the chargers or direct, from 45 - 70 Hz again substantiating her intended worldwide usage.

Sound, vibration, and thermal insulation starts with the hull being painted with sound dampening paint. The top of the engine room and the tanks are covered with a bitumen type rubber vibration absorption material; superior to that is 1/2” layer of porous rubber and then fiberglass. There is 4” fiberglass matte sandwiched between aluminum sheets at every bulkhead and the ceilings. Above that is 1/4” marine plywood and finally the bamboo flooring for soles or the microfiber vinyl with foam backing for the ceilings and walls. The total thickness of the engine room insulation is 6” at the ceiling and 8” at the bulkhead adjoining the cabins.

The Cruisair reverse cycle air-conditioning/heating system (6 units with a total of 84,000btu) has an electric heating coil; if the water gets colder than 40 degrees, the electric heat automatically kicks on. The heating system is designed to keep the occupants toasty with air temperatures up to –10 degrees regardless of water temperature. Additionally, the engine room has 16000 btu of heating/air with the engine room temps not getting more than 10 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. Bering has provided an a/c vent to the engine room to help keep working conditions tolerable underway.

All Bering Yachts are built to ABYC standards, while those intending to include European cruising are built with CE certification. MILA has the CE certification stamp on all major equipment, and electrical and plumbing systems. The steel used for construction is Lloyds certified A36, is factory sandblasted, and epoxy coated.

The 530 gallon fresh water tank is epoxy coated; all tanks are integral to the hull providing essentially a double steel hull. There are 5 water-tight compartments, bilge keels, bulbous bow, and fully protected prop and rudders, all contributing to safety, ease of maintenance and the ability to sit on her own bottom.

The steel is 8mm thick below the water line and for the tank sides; the hull is 6mm above the waterline; the superstructure is 5mm. Hull sides have a 4” stainless steel pipe rubrail. The hull is treated with an Alexseal premium paint system consisting of 2 primers, fairing, and topcoat. All stainless steel is tested to assure 316 quality. With an LOA of 55 feet, LWL of 50, beam of 18, and 6’ draft, the hull is designed to feel heavy in the water.

Underway, one can feel the beefiness and power of the vessel, while experiencing a soft and gentle motion. This small ship took her first few excursions cruising from Antibes to Corsica and back mostly in seas that other vessels felt compelled to stay in port. In 9’ seas, the Bering 55’ was taking it on with little more than splash on the windshields. The noise underway was minimal and the vibration almost nil. Bering has produced an affordable, comfortable, safe, and purposeful yacht. With two additional vessels under construction, Bering may have succeeded in satisfying the international needs by maintaining the slogan... Steel The Best.

Review by Judy Waldman

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Specifications:

LOA: 55'
LWL: 50'
Beam: 18'
Bridge Clearance: 25'
Draft: 6'
Displ: 132,000 lbs.
Cruise Speed: 8k
Max speed: 9.7
Fuel: 2300 gals.
Water: 530 gals.
Holding: 260 gals.

For more information contact:

Bering Yachts
12608 Leatherwood Ct.
Raleigh, NC 27613
www.****************
(919) 345-0240

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Deck Plans - Top to Bottom:

1. Side Profile
2. Fly Deck
3. Main Deck
4. Lower Deck