REBIRTH OF A CLASSIC
THE 50 BERTRAM
By Paolo Ameglio
To travel from Cape Cod to Miami seems a long trip just to repair your boat. Clearly there are many qualified facilities up and down the East Coast. Tasha’s owner began his research the way many of us do—first magazines, then the internet, and boat shows. At the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show he spent considerable time speaking to the folks from Cay Marine. Within a short period of time he gained a comfort level with our people, taking into account how much they listen and want to understand what his goals are with his boat. At this point, regardless of whether he decides to sell his boat or refit her, she needs to be improved.
Coming away from the Lauderdale show his research continued—who are these Cay Marine guys? A quick search on the internet turned up quite a few boats we have completed. One of the first things he noticed is that a Cay refit boat has a much higher resale value then contemporary boats of the same design. Also, most of the CAY refit boats stand out. They are not just restorations, they are updated and many show custom touches that sets them apart and makes them more desirable. Now his decision became a little clearer. Having spent time on many boats in the Lauderdale show he realized that his boat is something that he truly was happy with. Yet in the back of his mind there are worries. The 32 volt electrical system has always been a pain to work on. The 8V92 engines were showing their age and the exterior did not quite shine like she once did. Deciding to make a trip to Miami, the owner sat down with our crew just to make sure we could deliver the finished product he wanted.
This part of his journey was the most important. He produced his wish list which included increasing storage ability, updating the interior, and provide leakless windows throughout. He also had some questions. Should we rebuild the engines or re-power with new ones and should we give the TASHA a total electrical re-wiring?
The most important part of going through a refit is understanding the customer. In this case, Tasha’s owner was looking to make his 50 Bertram exactly what he needed in a boat. He started with the desire to make the boat more livable by creating a new layout with improved storage, flat screen tv’s, LED lighting, re-routing the air conditioning, and adding new cabinetry. A complete updating of the heads with custom shower doors and flooring was on his list. The interior would never again look like 1988. After seeing Cay’s building process on other boats, the design was finalized for the interior.
Mechanical and electrical concerns were discussed next. After looking at many different options and understanding fully the performance gains and potential pit falls of the different choices, the decision was made to re-power Tasha with 900 hp common rail Man engines. To compliment this re-power, the entire electrical system of the boat was replaced from a problematic 32 volt system to a much more conventional 24 volt system.
Coming away from the Lauderdale show his research continued—who are these Cay Marine guys? A quick search on the internet turned up quite a few boats we have completed. One of the first things he noticed is that a Cay refit boat has a much higher resale value then contemporary boats of the same design. Also, most of the CAY refit boats stand out. They are not just restorations, they are updated and many show custom touches that sets them apart and makes them more desirable. Now his decision became a little clearer. Having spent time on many boats in the Lauderdale show he realized that his boat is something that he truly was happy with. Yet in the back of his mind there are worries. The 32 volt electrical system has always been a pain to work on. The 8V92 engines were showing their age and the exterior did not quite shine like she once did. Deciding to make a trip to Miami, the owner sat down with our crew just to make sure we could deliver the finished product he wanted.
This part of his journey was the most important. He produced his wish list which included increasing storage ability, updating the interior, and provide leakless windows throughout. He also had some questions. Should we rebuild the engines or re-power with new ones and should we give the TASHA a total electrical re-wiring?
The most important part of going through a refit is understanding the customer. In this case, Tasha’s owner was looking to make his 50 Bertram exactly what he needed in a boat. He started with the desire to make the boat more livable by creating a new layout with improved storage, flat screen tv’s, LED lighting, re-routing the air conditioning, and adding new cabinetry. A complete updating of the heads with custom shower doors and flooring was on his list. The interior would never again look like 1988. After seeing Cay’s building process on other boats, the design was finalized for the interior.
Mechanical and electrical concerns were discussed next. After looking at many different options and understanding fully the performance gains and potential pit falls of the different choices, the decision was made to re-power Tasha with 900 hp common rail Man engines. To compliment this re-power, the entire electrical system of the boat was replaced from a problematic 32 volt system to a much more conventional 24 volt system.
