No Ordinary Fishing Boat

Richard_Bertram_Sail

No Ordinary Fishing Boat.
Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show 2009
October 2009
Conversation with Michael Myers, Bertram Yacht’s COO/President
By Daedrian McNaughton

The golden celebration of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show withstood the test of times. Although the turnout for this year’s show was reportedly lower than last year, exhibitors reported positive interests and serious buyers.  The show has been around for 50 years, with an extravagant display of large and small yachts from around the world. 

There were several new features and introductions at this years show. However we became particularly interested in the Introduction of the Bertram 511. The Bertram family is headquartered in Miami, and has been a part of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, since its inception.

Known for it’s sleek fleet of luxury sports fishing yachts, Bertram certainly knows how to please its customers. They unveiled a fully loaded 511 with amazing features and with all the amenities of home and some and a price tag of around $1.2 million. The amenities include generous storage integrated into the standard mezzanine deck in the cockpit, ample seating which allows every angler to relax while trolling the high seas waiting, for the next bite, a large fish box with removable tub in the cockpit sole, can be used to store the days catch, along with a second fishbox that is located in the transom. This is no ordinary fishing boat. Bertram 511

The minute you embark on the Bertram 511 you feel at home. It is very open and inviting, with a sense of spaciousness  throughout the yacht. The 511 exudes a new edge and modern appeal from its previous predecessors, without compromising the traditional look of a Bertram boat. It offers a full wrap around windshield that is designed to withstand the roughest offshore conditions, yet interior storage is not compromised. This unique new feature also makes for an incredible 360 degree view of the surrounding water, while out in the ocean, and is a great asset for capturing the wide open seas, with a clear view of what lies ahead.

                    “It fishes good, it rides good and it brings you home“.
                           _Sunny Parks, South Carolina, A loyal Bertram Owner.

The Bertram family have people coming back for more, like Sunny Parks who is a current Bertram owner since 2006. Sunny owned several fishing vessels and when he was first introduced to Bertram he sold all others and made Bertram the one. He stopped by during the show to preview the 511 and to say hello to the team. When asked about his current purchase he said he was quite happy and comfortable with it. It is quite obvious that they deliver excellent service and their product is a superior brand.
Michael Myers Bertram President
Richard Lemar, Bertram’s Chief Engineer took us on a tour while Micheal Myers, Bertram’s President and COO talked with Premier Guide Miami about his new Bertram Family.

PGM: Give us a brief history on the Bertram family.

MM: Bertram has a very rich heritage and  history not only in America, but around the world. Bertram was founded in 1961 by a gentleman by the name of Richard Bertram. He worked on a new boat design with a famous American Navel Architect by the name of Raymond Hunt. They won a race that was conducted for many, many years from Miami to Nassau. They won that race not just by a little bit but by 2 hours a head of the nearest competitor,  and that basically put Mr. Bertram in the boating building business up until that time he was a boat broker and he says he had so may yachtsmen waving check books at him he could afford not to be in the boat manufacturing business. So he begun building boats in 1961 and in 1962 was when we opened the facility we are currently in now in Miami near the Miami International Airport. We are known as luxury sports fishing yachts and we offer a very fine balance between sports fishing  and luxury cruising you can use both. Many of the boats that we have build are for certain international markets, some are used primarily for cruising while here in America many of them are used for sports fishing and cruising.

PGM: How long has Bertram been apart of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show?

MM: Since the show started. This is one of the biggest  boat shows in the world and Bertram has been apart of this forever.

PGM: How has the market conditions affected sales over the past year?

MM: The market conditions are very tough, and  you will  have to be living in a cave not to recognize the fact that discretionary purchases are certainly something that has been reduced over the last year since the global economic meltdown. Bertram has such a fine name, a high brand equity that not just in the U.S., we sell boats all over the world. We ship boats all over the world, we are especially big in  the US, Italy is a big market for us, Venezuela, Panama,  Australia, Greece, and Japan. It’s truly a wonderful brand, it’s recognized in all the countries in all the major boating markets around the world, so we are making through these times. We have been through some tough times in the past, and the boating industry certainly goes with the economy but on the other hand its not a better time to buy a boat than right now. We are seeing some signs of activities out there, people are out buying boats. We still have ways to go, but I think we have hit bottom and I think we have started to bump along started to come back up again.

PGM: Why have you decided to launch the 511 at this show?

MM: Just like any industry making good, you have to come out with something newer and better and  this is a new revolution of a 50 plus foot boat.

PGM: What are th special features of the Bertram 511 and what makes it different from all the other models?

MM: The 511 Bertram is being introduced here at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. What makes it somewhat unique to many of our other models is that it has a complete forward windshield, a nice 360 degree view as you enter the salon. It also has  half size windows in the master state rooms and in the master guest state room, so a lot of the natural light comes in. The cockpit has a large size cockpit for a boat this size. On the bridge, there is  U-shaped360 degree view  seating which is really nice for conversing, discussing and having a social atmosphere. Of course it is a Bertram which means its built very rugged,  very  robust and the ride is second to none.

PGM: What major changes or improvements will  you introduce next? What can we expect from the Bertram family after the Boat Show?

MM: We are working on the 800 and that will be a flagship of the Bertram line up that will be introduced sometime in the 2010 calendar year. 
 
 About Michael Myers

Previously President of Boston Whaler and Brunswick’s Saltwater Boat Group Division, Michael Myers joined Bertram Yacht in its Miami headquarters on January 7th, 2008. Myers holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, and has 28 years of managerial experience, including 8 years at General Electric and 20 years in the marine industry.

For more information on Bertram, please visit http://www.bertram.com/

For more information about the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, please visit www.showmanagement.com.

The Premier Guide Miami team would like to thank the Bertram team for all their support.

Photos courtesy of Bertram Yachts 

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