Bertram 54
By Scott Shane
Back in the early 1980s, if you wanted a Sportfisherman over 50 feet there were only two production-boat choices, and one was the awesome Bertram 54. At the Miami Boat Show in 1981 when she was first introduced, the impressive Bertram gave new meaning to the company’s catchy slogan, “The sun never sets on the Bertram Empire.” Here was a boat that could cruise anywhere in the world and in comfort while snubbing its nose at big water. Capt. Andy Verber was so impressed, he called his boss in Alabama to tell him the exciting news. He’d been running a Bertram 46 and knew the owner was eager to step up. The 54 proved to be an excellent choice for their cruising and fishing adventures in Mexico.
Capt. Danny Scotti ran a 1984 Bertram 54, the tournament-winning Gina Lisa, owned by Richard Addeo. Home port was Staten Island, N.Y., an outstanding place to dock for quick access to the Mud Hole for shots at giant-size Atlantic bluefin tuna. At that time, the New York Bight was red hot with masses of bait and plenty of giants, and the fleet of boats competing for hook-ups with these magnificent fish stretched for miles along the edge of the Mud Hole drop-off, especially around several local wrecks famous for attracting a steady run of giants.
The Bertram 54 was one of the “Wow!” boats of the 1980s and quickly earned a well-deserved reputation as a terrific head-sea boat. According to Capt. Scotti, “She ploughed through anything and rode well at anchor,” two important qualities when fishing the Mud Hole, where afternoon westerlies could make the ride back port a hellish trip for lesser boats. On the troll, she was steady and comfortable.
Gina Lisa also fished the northeast canyons into the fall season for bigeye and yellowfin tuna, and longfin albacore. “Back then the fishing was extraordinary,” Scotti said. The big Bert’s ability to run in a head sea was much appreciated again on those fall days when return trips of 90 miles in stiff northwest winds made lesser boats very uncomfortable, but not the Bertram 54. Winters saw the Gina Lisa off Palm Beach catching and releasing sailfish and participating in many of the popular local tournaments. Side trips to the Bahama islands such as Walkers Cay provided more fishing adventures for the Addeo family.
Although earlier Bertrams, like the 31, 38 and 46, had extremely deep-vee hull bottoms, the 54 had a variable-degree dead rise design with only 17 degrees at the transom. This made her much more sea kindly, especially at anchor, and she had much less tendency to rock and roll than previous Bertrams.
“The 54 had a much superior ride as compared to the 46 I had been running up until that time,” Capt. Verber remarked. “That added to the appeal of the boat to the owner’s family, as did the great salon and berthing layouts. The comfortable ride and uncrowded living space made everyone in the family very happy.”
More than 200 Bertram 54s were built and all had the same bottom, which remained unchanged through its 18-year production run. The interiors and salon amenities were upgraded to keep pace with the evolving tastes of boaters and fishermen, the engine room improved for easier access to all systems, and the cockpit and helm deck layouts improved; but the basic hull bottom was sacrosanct.
With a displacement of 75,000 pounds and a beam just a tad under 17 feet, the Bertram 54 was a surprisingly quick boat for its day. Depending on the power choice, she could cruise at 26 knots and hit 30 knots wide open. Richard Addeo tweaked the Detroit 1271s in the Gina Lisa with larger racing/truck injectors to squeeze out just over 30 knots at cruise and about 35 knots wide open.
To this day, the Bertram 54 is still much in demand among knowledgeable tournament and cruising fishermen, and maintains excellent resale value. Typical upgrades and renovations include new towers, new paint, customized interiors and, of course, the latest in electronics; but it’s unusual that any restoration work, other than cosmetic paint, is needed to the hull. The 54 was built to last.
Capt. Danny Scotti summed it up nicely when he said, “The Bertram 54 was the best boat you could buy at the time. The Gina Lisa was big and fast, with a great ride and had all the amenities you could ask for.” The Bertram 54 is truly a Timeless Classic. After several years being out of production, the latest Bertram 54 lives on today as part of the Ferretti Group. The topside design is more modern and the interiors dramatically updated, but the famous hull is still the same.
Why change a winner?
