Cool new Bertram 35: Video

As the old slogan said: the sun never sets on the Bertram Empire...

Under new ownership, Bertram Yachts has announced a stunning new retro 35-footer gamefisher that hearkens back to the iconic boat's roots and embraces all that is great about this bluewater brand. Including speed, with 40 knots+ anticipated at half load.

Of course, there wouldn't be too many boaters walking the earth today who haven't heard of Bertram.

The famous boats bearing the eagle badge got its start in 1960, when founder Dick Bertram — a yacht broker, bluewater sailing-yacht racer, and powerboat racer — built the first eponymous Bertram.

That first boat was the 31-foot Moppie and it went onto make racing and, later, fishing-boat history. Today, there are whole legions of fans devoted to this boat's existence, who still embrace the timeless lines and large fishing cockpit when putting to sea.

Meantime, Bertram has undergone a rocky road after Italian boating giant, the Ferretti Group, bought the beleaguered boatbuilder in 1998 but failed to make a buck.

Last year, Bertram was sold to Beniamino Gavio, a boat-building entrepreneur and avid boater involved with superyacht giants Baglietto and CCN yachts.

Evidently, Gavio is committed to returning this iconic American brand back to its roots. He has garnered widespread opinion from Bertram devotees and skippers, engaged the services of revered Michael Peters Yacht Design, and now a new Bertram 35 is in build at a respected American yard.

Hearking back to the original Moppie 31-footer that aroused so much passion, the new Bertram 35 designed by acclaimed Michael Peters Yacht Design is now underway at the Lyman Morse in Maine. A beamier, longer version of the famous 31, the new 35 is sure to arouse huge interest.

The hull will be built with composites and extensive Kevlar reinforcing for the projected 40 knots + top speed. A cool little side story to read is the converted, rebuilt, classic Bertram 31,

Of course, the new 35's designer Michael Peters is sure to resonate with the sportsfishing and game-fishing fraternity. "One thing I tried really hard to bring to it... it's not my design... it's Bertram's. I feel very strongly that it shouldn't represent what I think the world should be, I think it's what Bertram should be for the world," Peters says.

Meantime, Bertram says in its teaser released on the weekend during the 2015 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show that it is "proud to present the first rendering of the new Bertram 35. Inspired by the iconic 31, designed by Michael Peters and being built my Lyman Morse, this all-American battlewagon will be, in a single word: uncompromising,"

You can see the new 'Making the Betram 35' video below. The new 35 looks fantastic and there will be a lot of the brand faithful awaiting further news and following the build right up to its 2016 launch.

You can have some fun with the build-a-boat configurator on the Bertram page, as indeed we have with the second image posted above, and follow the news at www.bertram.com.

At-a-Glance: Bertram 35
Length Overall Hull: 35'1", 10.52m
Length on Design Waterline: 31'5", 9.42m
Beam: 12'5", 3.72m
Draft: 2'6", 0.75m
Displacement: 20,800lbs, 9435kg half load
Fuel: 350 gallons, 1325lt
Water: 55 gallons, 210lt
Max Speed Half Load: 40+ knots
Construction: Infused vinyl ester , solid glass bottom, Kevlar centreline line, strake reinforcement and structural grid