Bertram Yachts

[capttonyf]

At www.bertram.com it states they will be announcing the plans of their new designs at the 2015 FLIBS. They have two prototype boats in production at the moment. The hulls were laid up in Florida but are being assembled at Lyman-Morse. Very interesting, don't know if I'd want to own one of the two Guinea Pigs. I know of other builders who have done the same thing, hulls laid up in one place and assembled in another, Roscioli/Donzi come to mind but I still wouldn't want hull number 1 or 2 of those. That being said I'm glad Bertram is making another go at it with new owners, it was always a legendary builder and very important to the yachting industry.

The website is very well done and has a lot of information about their plans. One thing that's pretty cool is they have every owners manual for every model posted online to take a look at.

One thing I found amusing in some of the owners manuals was the Boat Maneuvering Section. It states, "While docking side too, approach at a 30 Degree angle, then when 5 feet, yes 5 feet from the dock put the dock side engine in neutral and the other engine in reverse. This will reduce your forward movement and will bring your stern smoothly alongside the dock without a jolt. With some practice, this type of docking can usually be accomplished with the minimum fuss and noise." This was in most of their Manuals including their 72 Convertible.

I don't know about anyone else but if I wait until I'm only 5 feet away from the dock to put one motor in Neutral and the other in reverse there is going to be a lot more then the minimum fuss and noise going on. I'm thinking a major collision, with a crushed dock/boat, and possibly injuries etc. I'm thinking their version of "the minimum amount of fuss and noise" is much different then mine.

Any Thoughts?

Thanks

Tony

[tom5518]

At www.bertram.com it states they will be announcing the plans of their new designs at the 2015 FLIBS. They have two prototype boats in production at the moment. The hulls were laid up in Florida but are being assembled at Lyman-Morse. Very interesting, don't know if I'd want to own one of the two Guinea Pigs. I know of other builders who have done the same thing, hulls laid up in one place and assembled in another, Roscioli/Donzi come to mind but I still wouldn't want hull number 1 or 2 of those. That being said I'm glad Bertram is making another go at it with new owners, it was always a legendary builder and very important to the yachting industry.

The website is very well done and has a lot of information about their plans. One thing that's pretty cool is they have every owners manual for every model posted online to take a look at.

One thing I found amusing in some of the owners manuals was the Boat Maneuvering Section. It states, "While docking side too, approach at a 30 Degree angle, then when 5 feet, yes 5 feet from the dock put the dock side engine in neutral and the other engine in reverse. This will reduce your forward movement and will bring your stern smoothly alongside the dock without a jolt. With some practice, this type of docking can usually be accomplished with the minimum fuss and noise." This was in most of their Manuals including their 72 Convertible.

I don't know about anyone else but if I wait until I'm only 5 feet away from the dock to put one motor in Neutral and the other in reverse there is going to be a lot more then the minimum fuss and noise going on. I'm thinking a major collision, with a crushed dock/boat, and possibly injuries etc. I'm thinking their version of "the minimum amount of fuss and noise" is much different then mine.

Any Thoughts?

Thanks

Tony

I have no idea whether or not that works with minimum fuss, but I do know that anyone that reads the book and thinks they can handle a boat is screwed.

I have always had a hard time explaining to someone how to maneuver a boat in tight quarters. I can only do it by feel and experience and by not actually thinking about it. There are too many variables in every docking situation to put it to text.

[jim rosenthal]

No kidding. I want a front row seat for that one....

Actually, not front row. It might get sloppy. I think I want a third row seat.

[Avenger]

Amateurs!

Watch how it's done:

https://youtu.be/8alNxLjCBJc

[tellico]

duplicate

[tellico]

As Capt Ron demonstrates, when you have a sailboat that's how it's done!

Funny story - once I was coming into the St. Michael's Maritime Museum docks on a Saturday, back when they had free-ish docking for members. I was coming bow in to a slip a la Capt Ron, with all the confidence in the world after a long winter cruising south and back north, a good tan and many miles under my belt. Oooops... no reverse!!!

There was a very loud crash, a scream, lots of onlookers, some poor souls even running. I quietly slid below and downed a stiff cocktail for courage while the "crew" tied up. It was quite the conversation for the next few days until we got towed out. The ultimate indignity!

Tranny went out exactly when I went into reverse to back off the speed - no lie. (Subsequent rebuild receipts to prove it!)

Moral of the story - NEVER EVER come in faster than you are willing to hit the dock if all else fails!

[Walter P]

We were returning from a day trip aboard a friends 74' Hatteras MY and had a similiar experience. The tranny was fine but the shift cable end broke off and we were stuck in forward. By the time the engines got shut down it was too late. The dock was really destroyed and the boat......well folks, it was a Hatteras. No lie, it had paint damage to the bow on the hull. Another reason that I'm a believer.

Walt

[saltshaker]

A number of years ago I was at the fuel dock watching a capt back down fast in a big Viking SF. He backed in hard and just before he would hit the dock he'd throw the throttles forward with enough juice to stop the boat. This time something stuck and he slamed the dock pretty hard. Transom wasn't pretty.

[capttonyf]

The key is ALWAYS be careful, take your time, and no matter how good you think you are don't Hot Dog it to try to show off because you never know what can happen. I've been fortunate that in my years off delivering boats only twice have I had a transmission issue near a dock or a bridge.

The one time I was delivering a New 38 Luhrs Conv from the factory to Ft. Lauderdale and at a bridge near New Smyrna Beach I put it in reverse and one of the engines stayed there due to the linkage adjustment. My mate was good and fast enough to get to and do it manually until we were safely through the bridge and could repair it. The second time I was on a 57 Ferretti pulling into Atlantic City. I brought it down off plane and put the port engine in reverse to turn south out of the inlet and head toward Trump Marina and when I went back to neutral it again stayed in reverse so I shut the motor down and docked using one engine and the bow thruster. Come to find out even though it's electronic controls the cable from the Box to the transmission broke right at the ball joint so it was able to push the lever into reverse but was not able to pull it back out and into neutral. So I ordered a new cable to be delivered to Newport RI and the next morning we pulled out on one engine and once we got to the Inlet we manually put it in gear and ran to Newport to repair it. The throttle worked fine, "Different Cable" so it wasn't a huge deal in open water. When we got there my mate ran down and manually put it back in neutral and we came in on one engine again. I can say I don't really care about Bow thusters one way or another, they're not needed but really nice to have, especially in situations like this where you lose an engine. If I didn't have a thruster I would've never ran and attempted another one engine docking situation. Especially on Sportfish and High Speed Motor Yachts because the little rudders don't work very well against the torque of big wheels while moving at slow speeds.

Tony

[capttonyf]

Does anyone know where and or what marina this is in the Movie Captain Ron?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8alNxLjCBJc

These two are even better though, what a bunch of knucleheads running to fast for conditions and the amount of unprepared people onboard. The 2nd one in slow motion is great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE-nfzcUiPk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21ij4BtHsxw

Tony