1963 Bertram 31 Competition -“Thunderstreak”
** All reasonable offers considered **
Have you ever dreamed of owning a legendary race boat?
Thunderstreak is that boat!
There are plenty of old “cafe-racers” and uber-quick cats’ out there, but owning Thunderstreak will simply take you to another level. This 1963 Bertram 31’ “Competition” was built for the legendary English playboy-racer Tommy Sopwith who planned to compete in the celebrated Cowes-Torquay offshore race that year.
It is a great privilege to be involved in a legend of this scale and celebrity. Designed in the USA in 1957 to show speeds of 30mph in rough weather by the acclaimed Ray Hunt, dubbed the “father of the deep-vee hull”, this GRP Bertram boat became the go-to race hull in the early 1960’s. Thunderstreak was built by Dick Bertram, powered by 400hp Ford Interceptors and achieved 45mph.
Her present owner was just 13 years old when he first witnessed Tommy Sopwith thundering past the stern of his father’s motorboat and leading that year’s Daily Express Cowes-Torquay powerboat race. She was raced throughout the early 1960s and then disappeared in the mid 1970s for over 30 years.
Thunderstreak was eventually re-discovered in 2013/14. She was abandoned in an East London marina employed as a houseboat. After partial restoration by the previous owner, who raced with mixed results, the present owner re-restored and re-engineered her in 2018/19 to be competitive among the historic racers under the “Team Royal Yacht Squadron” banner. Now she has seen speeds in excess of 70mph, with a race-winning average of 66.7mph last year.
Her engines and drivetrain (Mercruiser 8.2L Mag H/O’s and XR drives) are deliberately standard, thus she is “under-stressed” keeping her hull strong. After each race all transmission fluids are faithfully replaced and her engines and drives are completely serviced. She has a full-time Team Skipper whose watchword is “reliability” and under his care she finished every race she started, making her the champion that she is.
Considerable love, smart engineering, thought and attention to detail have gone into recreating Tommy Sopwith’s 1963 Bertram race-boat with the singular philosophy of creating reliability. This has paid off handsomely as she is tough, fast, surprisingly comfortable and versatile.
She recently secured her third consecutive Class Championship in 2024. She and her team have walked away with almost every trophy, for which she is eligible for, over the past five years since her substantial refit in 2019/20. Thunderstreak is an extremely valuable piece of competitive offshore racing history that can never be duplicated.
This winning rig turns heads and wins hearts everywhere. Thunderstreak represents an easy-handling and stable entry into the world of offshore powerboat racing. If racing is not for you, then she will provide a new enthusiast with a fast open day-boat or a unique poker-run “star”.
A quick Google search of Thunderstreak will lead you down a rabbit hole of information, videos and articles that any Bertram fan or race enthusiast would appreciate.
Want more info?
718-619-7001
Jcseabound@gmail.com ️