Bertram 50 Express and 50S Review, Specs and Prices

Bertram yachts for sale today, and where the 50 fits

Anyone shopping Bertram yachts for sale meets two very different eras of the brand. The older boats, from the Ray Hunt-designed 31 Moppie to the 54 and 57 foot battlewagons, built Bertram's legend. The newer boats come from the Tampa, Florida, yard set up after Italy's Gavio Group bought the brand from Ferretti in 2015. The 50 belongs to the second era. It joined the 35 and the 61 Convertible as one of the first designs built in Tampa, and Bertram's current lineup still lists it, now as the 50S or 50 Sport, alongside the 28CC, 34CC, 39CC, 35 Flybridge and 61 Convertible.

When people search for a 50 Bertram for sale, they are often also looking at older Bertrams in the 50 foot range, such as the 510 and 511 convertibles of the 2000s. Those are flybridge boats from a different company structure and era. This page covers the modern express-style Bertram 50, first called the 50 Express.

The middle sibling that deserves more attention

Marlin previewed the 50 in August 2019 as one of the most anticipated new designs for 2020, an all-new express in open and sport top configurations with a two-stateroom, two-head layout. When Power and Motoryacht's Charlie Levine tested hull number one in 2021, he called it the nicest 50 footer you have not heard about, arguing that pandemic show cancellations and the attention paid to its siblings left the 50 overlooked.

It still carries the cues buyers expect from the name: the stepped sheer, a forward trunk cabin and an aggressive profile. Marlin noted that the hull-side windows blend into the engine room vents, a neat way to modernize the look without losing the Bertram silhouette.

An air-conditioned command deck over a 178 sq ft cockpit

The 50 is an express, so the captain sits close to the action. Owners can order an open bulkhead or a fully enclosed, climate-controlled command deck with glass all around and a large retractable skylight; hull number one had the enclosed version and Levine found it very quiet for an express. The helm is dead center on a raised platform with three Pompanette helm chairs, two L-shaped lounges behind, about 7 ft of headroom and a Palm Beach style teak or faux-teak pod with throttles on either side and integrated bow thruster control. Electronics on test boats ran to dual 22 inch Garmin displays and Octoplex digital switching.

The cockpit measures 178 sq ft with an average depth of 27 inches and a 39 inch reach to the waterline. It has two insulated in-deck fish boxes of about 7.5 sq ft each, an aquarium-style transom livewell with a viewing window, a tuna door with a lift gate, a mezzanine with a tackle center, grill and sink, and a wing station with joystick for single-handed docking. A centerline hatch on gas struts opens to the engine room.

• Cockpit: 178 sq ft, two in-deck fish boxes, lighted transom livewell, tuna door
• Mezzanine: lounge with freezer below to port, tackle center and grill to starboard
• Docking: cockpit wing station with joystick, SidePower bow thruster
• Fishing upgrades: PipeWelders or other tuna towers, rocket launchers and outriggers

Two staterooms and two heads below

The accommodations follow the brief Marlin described before launch: a master stateroom forward with an island berth and en suite head, and a guest cabin to port with upper and lower berths opposite a U-shaped dinette that converts to another berth. Both heads have glass-fronted shower stalls, and the hanging lockers are cedar-lined, which Marlin called an uncommon touch today.

The galley is offset to port to avoid a bottleneck, with an upright Liebherr fridge and freezer, ice maker, three-burner electric cooktop, microwave and teak cabinetry. Bertram now offers two decor packages: Atlantic with creme upholstery and light counters, and Pacific with dark blue upholstery and Amtico teak and maple flooring.

Caterpillar or MAN power, measured on the water

Standard power is twin 1,150 hp Caterpillar C18 ACERT diesels through Twin Disc gears at 2.0:1 turning Veem five-blade props. Marlin tested a Cat-powered boat on Tampa Bay with five adults and 933 gallons of fuel: it cruised at 30.3 knots at 2,100 rpm burning 92 gph and topped out at 36 knots at 116 gph (58 gph per side). The engines sit at a 10.5 degree shaft angle, which Marlin credited for modest running angles and minimal bow rise.

Hull number one carried the optional 1,550 hp MAN V12s. With 500 gallons aboard, Power and Motoryacht recorded a 36 knot cruise at 80 percent load and a 42 knot top speed in 4 to 6 foot Atlantic swells, with no spray on the windshield. Zipwake interceptors were fitted but not needed. If you plan to run the canyons or chase tournaments, the MAN boat is the one; for most owner-operators the Cats deliver a 30 knot cruise with lower purchase and service costs.

With 1,236 gallons of fuel and a 4 ft 5 in draft at the design waterline, the 50 has the legs for Bahamas and offshore runs and can still reach shallower harbors than many convertibles its size. A Seakeeper is standard, a 9 on the early boats and a 10 in the current specification.

How the Tampa yard builds it

The hull is resin-infused with a vinylester blend, with Kevlar reinforcement in the keel and lifting strakes and composite cores in the hull sides. Watertight bulkheads divide the hull into five compartments, each with its own high-water alarm and bilge pump. The house and decks use a vinylester and epoxy blend finished in white gelcoat as standard.

In the engine room, Marlin found 6 ft 3 in of centerline headroom, service points on the inboard side of the engines, a Reverso oil change system, dual water separators on the stringers and a 21.5 kW Onan generator. That attention to service access matters on a boat many owners will run themselves.

Bertram 50 price, resale and running costs

The 2021 base price was $2 million with Caterpillar power. Allowing for MAN engines, towers, the enclosed command deck and five years of industry price increases, we estimate a new 50S in 2026 at roughly $2.6 million to $3.3 million. Used examples from 2021 to 2024 are uncommon and should ask about $1.6 million to $2.5 million depending on power, hours and fishing equipment.

Expect annual costs of about $150,000 to $260,000 excluding depreciation for dockage, insurance, a part-time captain or mate, diesel and generator service, Seakeeper maintenance, bottom work and fuel. At 92 gph, 200 hours of cruising alone burns more than 18,000 gallons of diesel.