Bertram 46 vs Hatteras 45/46

When I was in your shoes I learned of the Bertram 46 model as opposed to the more common 46.6 model. The 46 was only built in the mid 90's long after the 46.6 was discontinued in 1986 and lots of improvements were made but the problem I found was only about a dozen were ever built so finding one was a challenge but the video of one I missed is still online so you can see the difference. I was able to track down the current owner of this one in the video who raved about her but no interest in selling. Now and then one shows up in France and another in Spain but shipping was near $50,000. to Florida. Another that was sold before I started looking had been repowered with Cat's, as most have the 735hp. Detroit's and only mine and the one in Spain have 820 hp. Man's.

Although I developed an extremely low opinion of the brokers in general, one that had come to see my 38 Bertram when exploring the possibility of a downsize of his client's 46 he had sold the man 25 years prior, but was still to large for the guy, called me like a year later asking if I had sold mine and was still looking. The one he had in mind had been previously listed but way over priced. Seems the seller was "on the fence" with the selling concept after having owned her since new. LONG story short the next day I had her under contract and the broker then made arrangements for haul out and suggested several to survey hull & the Man's. I could write a book on what later took place but yes the deal closed; brought her home and started on the long list of items I planned; one of which was painting the hull back to white after which the new name would go on so for 12 months she had not left my dock while getting jerked around waiting for too many months for a yard in Pompano where the painter that completed a list of items while at my dock would have also painted the hull. The yard changed hands and it appeared to me the new guy had no clue how to run one so I took her to one 2 hrs. south where as of Friday she's probably 2 weeks from ready to come home; the hull paint finished and working on the boot stripe and then new bottom paint.

I believe the hull for the nineties 46 Mk.ii was used for the FG redesigned 450.
So that might open a few more options, if the 450 is to your liking and budget.

Two issues I had with the Ferretti Bertram. Unlike in my Miami built 46 and the older 46.6 models they moved the master stateroom from mid ship up to the bow and the bottom was cored and not solid. On the plus, I understand they relocated the main fuel tank to the forward end of the ER so little difference in ride and also helps to keep noise out of the forward living areas, but I've not found any issues with my set up. Mine has a 12Kw Northern Lights in the forward ER and compared to previous 38 Bert that had it under the aft deck it is heard but also not an issue as I don't spend time on the hook. To the OP; they also made a 50 & 54 of similar design. The 50's have an additional 12" of beam I liked but my limited dock was of major issue.

As far as I know they are not Cored and in the specification I never saw them specified as Cored.
What they changed was that hull sides where changed to PVC core rather then balsa and at a later stage (around 2006/7) this was resin infused (the cored hull side), which probably is what led to some of the failures, most notably on a couple 630s. Although again to be fair I have seen photos of delamination issues with 90s made Bertram before the FG ownership.

Also FG changed the building address, but they did in 2012 to Merritt, that did not last long and I imagine very few boats where produced in 2012-15.
1998 to 2012 Bertram was build in its known facility in Miami.
Gavio and the current ownership since 2015 has changed the address, moving to Tampa, as they bought the name rather then the assets.

The mid 90's 46 hull is certainly not cored. "Caught" them replacing an old transducer today.

You think? Remember she's only 46'probably the smallest in the yard.

Bertram engineers probably determined there came a point where more thickness would have needlessly added weight as the need for speed grew in the fish boat world.

Some important quotes re Bertram thickness from YachtSurvey which stands true to most of the models;

• While I would ascribe some of the industry's best R&D and quality control to Bertram, these boats are not the floating tanks like many people believe.
• For over two decades Lee Dana was the chief of engineering at Bertram, and from what we've seen of these boats Lee clearly knew where to put the beef and where to take it out.
  
• For the fact is that with a deep vee hull, the weight of these boats had to be kept down if you were going to get any kind of speed out of them, and that is a lesson Bertram learned early on.
• Model for model, you may be surprise to find that Bertrams are lighter than a Hatteras, especially in hull laminate thickness.
  
• These hull laminates are no thicker, or at least not much thicker, than anybody else's, but it is the engineering expertise - often utterly lacking in so many others - that makes the difference.
  
• These hulls are plain old woven roving construction and hold up better than all the exotic materials you hear about put together. (probably he is speaking about ChopStrandMat)

Quote from YachtSurvey.

I was only on a 46.6 one really nasty day off Nassau, Bahamas for a few hours but impressed with the ride and although I've owned a 46 about 14 months was only out for the sea trial and and the 2 hr ride to the yard where she was just painted and not yet run home. After purchase it took about 3 months for the CC to re document with the name change so with an incorrect name, thought best to remain at my dock and since I had a long list of upgrades planned and another smaller boat, was in no rush. Many improvements in the 46 but far as I know only about 12 were ever built and rare to find one for sale. I even contacted some owners of not listed boats to explore possible interest in selling.

I believe the 46 is more stable due to the aft chines, and with a ft. less beam, faster with same power. Engine room access is via fold up salon stairs so maintenance keeps salon clean. Instead of tall single unit refrig.-freezer in galley they changed to a fridge & a freezer so if one craps out while on a trip, not all lost. Both have mid ship master stateroom and 2 full bathrooms with full showers. I believe most have their generator under the aft deck which provides the best service access but they do tend to rust back there. Mine is forward of the engines and I've no idea how if she ever needed to come out and since they put the starter on the bulkhead side I'm sure replacing that would be hell.

Standard power is one of the major differences with the 46.6's having various lower hp. Detroit's but only in 1986, the last year of the 17 year model run did I ever find the 735 hp. 892, which was standard in the 46. Mine has a pair of 820 hp. Man's but I only ever found them in one other 46 that was on yachtworld and located in Spain where cost to ship to Fl. would have un $50,000.

I did come close to exploring that one and one in France but then a local one came to me by a broker. The boat in Spain was also the ONLY galley up one ever found, giving her 3 "staterooms" and 2 baths plus she also had the Man's. Previous to the 46 I had a 1979, 38 Mk 111, also with full tower and like all the 46.6 models she had the front salon window. About 5 years prior to selling I had it glassed in and that created a major improvement with the AC cooling. Not sure how many units the 46.6 has or how the AC works but the 46 has a 16,000 btu for the salon, an 8,000 for the master stateroom and it's private bathroom, and a 3rd, 8,000 for the forward bunk area and the other bathroom. All my units were replaced and the AC works great.

At one point I had looked at a few 46.6's but noticed the older ones had 32 volt systems which I was warned to avoid due to availability of items and cost to convert to 24 volts. I also ran into a 46.6 in Miami that had undergone a complete refit including new Cat's but could not make financial sense spending as much as they wanted for the old style. There was also a 46 that had also been repowered with Cat's and refit in a Palm Bch, Fl. yard but I had not yet sold my 38 and she sold in a few months; I later learned for $310,000. which sounded high until you explored the cost to repower and all the work that had been done.

One of the owners I located had repowered and renovated a 1986, 46.6 he claimed mostly by himself; kept her about 5 years and then sold but was only able to get about half his dollars back. Like every owner of both models, he also said the boat was great. I'm sure I probably left out a bunch of differences but just looking at them you'll see one looks dated, and like the broker for one in the Ma. video previously posted, said to me, he would put the 46 up against any of the much newer boats.

Can you shed some light on the cost of your paint job and how long it took? I’m looking at similar vintage boat that needs paint. Wondering if my estimate is accurate.

I would contact Cable Marine West in Ft. Laud. I think a chunk of the price depends on the current condition and if previously painted. In my case, they only painted from rub rail down, including the boot stripe and she was probably in their shed 2-3 weeks. They only have one TALL in the water shed that was needed to handle the Tuna Tower and when I first visited them the wait was 4 months but turned out to be less but after they called to bring her in it was like another week till the one in the shed was finished and moved out. During the waiting time I had other work done at my dock that included repainting the upper stripes so they were all done by time I got to Cable so they took them off the initial quote but I think I paid just as much having them done at my dock and their not cheap. About 4 years ago I had the bridge on my 38 painted and learned that's the most expensive part; maybe since a number of things had to be removed.

Thanks. I’ll call them and a few others here in miami. Trying to get a rough order of magnitude before I make an offer on the boat. I do not think the seller will take the boat anywhere for a specific quote however. So there is risk I’ll be low balled only to experience a high actual cost.