1969 Bertram 20ft “The Red Baron” – SOLD

$38,500.00

1969 Bertram 20ft “The Red Baron”

This is the smallest in the Baron line of race boats. The Bertram name carries a great reputation in classic as well as modern boats as they are very well-built boats. This one in particular is one of a run of only of 20 or so in 1969. In the mid 60’s racing was popular and boat builders were looking to dominate certain classes of boat lengths. This was a tried and true hull in the early 60’s known as the Mopie fishing vessel. It had great hull lift due to the heavy interior and overall construction.

Sammy James was the heavy hitter in Bertram Racing at the time and the current seller of the boat tracked him down in Florida some years ago. He asked him if he was familiar with the boat and Sammy James said “Familiar???? Hell son, I built them. You mean there are still some left? That’s great.” Sammy James then filled the seller in on the boat. They basically stripped the Mopie and built this custom deck for the boat to go racing. The boat was a really great performer up to about 60 MPH and then it got a little sketchy. They lost about ½ the boats in testing and regrouped, sold the remaining boats (repowered with less power to control hull speed) and sold them off to recoup some funds for the next boat to test. They were powered with Holman-Moody engines and had Volvo outdrives of the period.

This boat was purchased in New York by Dick Clarke of Sierra Boat Company about 45 years ago and sat in the warehouse until Tony Brown of wood boat restoration fame bought it and it sat some more. The current owner bought it and proceeded to do a period correct refurb on it. It is not representing a restoration as there are original pieces that were not serviced or restored and the seller did take some liberties that are correct but upgraded. He installed a period correct Volvo outdrive with outboard trim rams which is rare. He also built a Holman-Moody Ford 351 Windsor engine as this was for altitude. It does 45 on GPS at Tahoe’s 6300’ elevation. The boat comes on a custom trailer that was fit to the boat.

The seller has all the receipts since he bought it. This is truly a great collector’s boat that can be enjoyed and then restored with room for future profit on a sale.