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Master Moppie Found

Hi All,
Thank you for letting me join your forum. However I must confess that I am not a boat enthusiast.

My friend has a boat that he is looking to sell but he is not computer savvy, he is barely competant on a mobile phone!! He has asked me to research the history of his boat and this is what I have found.

The boat is a Bertram 32 1967 and was one of the 2 original race boats from the Bertram Boat Company. It was originally called Master Moppie and was built for the Bahamas 500 race, piloted by Peter Rittmaster, in which it finished 5th.

The name was then changed to American Moppie and was raced by him until 1969. I believe it was then sold to Ronnie Bonelli and raced by him as Mr Charley.
It was then renamed as Canadian Moppie, with race number 123, piloted by Tim Powell
Another rename to McQueens Jeans and raced by Roger Kelly.

She was sold in 1980 and converted to a cabin cruiser and fitted with 2 Ford Sabre Desiel engines.
She was sold again in 1985 to a hotelier in New Brighton and my friend brought it from him.

She is now living in the South of France.

Any additional information anybody can provide would be greatly appreciated

Hopefully when Lars sees this we'll all be schooled .

Cool story regarding that race.
sorry I can’t seem to post a link.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...c91b3dee1f.png

1967 Bertram 32 Master Moppie.

Dear Master Moppie. Thank You very much for reaching out to the crowd of old school offshore endurance powerboat racing fans here on the OSO forum. Good to hear that Rittmaster's Master Moppie is still around. I've heard stories about the boat several times throughout the years from my European offshore racing friends, but after the boat got converted to a standard cabin boat I've never seen a photo of her, and the truth is that after the conversion to the twin diesels by Roger Kelly most racers lost interest in the boat since it became a shadow of its former self performance-wise. You did a good attempt to record the boat's history for your friend, however there are a few things wrong as far as what I know to be the facts. I'm awaiting response from a couple of my limey racing buddies who might have a couple of older photos of her after the pleasure conversion.

Mr. Peter Rittmaster ran her as new with racing number 15 as Master Moppie with twin Chrysler 426 hemi engines a ~525hp each. He then gave her the name American Moppie with number 52. Sold her to Tim Powell who ran her as American Moppie and Canadian Moppie, both numbered 123. I believe Powell tried a re-power to twin Merc. 482" a 500hp each, and if not, then Mr. Barker did who then raced her as Moppie number 65 in 1977. Roger Kelly bought her in 1978 without power and converted her to run with twin Ford Sabre 250hp diesels in 1979 and ran her as McQueen Jeans 009 'till he sold her in 1980. Kelly could not even get her to run 40 mph consistently, but he was a great fellow that just liked to participate in good spirit. Several fellow racers got 300hp out of their Ford diesels and did OK in lighter crafts, but with a 26-degree vee at the transom, the Bertram 32 with shafts needed twin 500hp plus gas or theoretically twin 400hp diesels to fly and that was not optainable for most normal guys. Kelly sold her in 1980 to a gentleman, that I'm fairly certain had the surname Stoft, who made her into a cabin cruiser. He ran the diesels, and as you mentioned kept her 'till around 1985, and sold to the hotelier in New Brighton, just outside of Liverpool. What year did your friend buy the boat, and when did he move her South to the French Riviera? In what condition is she now, and has she been fairly regularly used by your friend throughout his years of ownership?

One misconception many make is that after Rittmaster re-named this 1967 Bertram 32 Master Moppie #15 American Moppie, with number 52, it also had something to do with Rittmaster's American Moppie (II) number 53. The 53 boat was however a new boat out of the modified mold, with a straight vertical cut at the lower part of the transom to accommodate, as legendary racer Alan 'Brownie' Brown named them; "The Devil's inventions", twin outdrives. After Rittmaster ran her he sold her to Ronny Bonelli, who called her Mister Charly. Bonelli's boat is now an older restoration leisure boat on the Riviera too. I will come with an update when I find out more about the conversion in 1980 by the Mr. Stoft fellow after his purchase of her as 009 McQueen Jeans from Roger Kelly. Mr. Stoft's son's name is Brian Stoft.

Here are some photos and articles about Master Moppie in the press. No fake news articles those days, just fresh salty tales from the sea!

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...301a97ada5.jpg

Excellent information and pictures.

Thanks

# 8 Yellow Bertram

How does Eddie LeCareau (sp) fit in with his #8 - Yellow 31 - 32 Bertram with Stern Drives, Saw the boat on a trailer at the Kings Grant Inn, in Point Pleasant NJ for many months. Bill Wishnick once told me Eddie L., went into the Priesthood to avoid a situation. No mention of this boat or Eddie in the articles. Info appreciated !

WOW! Great stuff, what a race! I thourghly enjoyed the articles and pics. Also enjoyed the numerous mentions of the Maritime boats as I had a 1967 21 foot Maritime that I was told had raced. You could see by the welds on the transom that it once was outboard powered but when I purchased it it had a Chrysler/Volvo IO.

Thanks for posting the articles,

Padraig

Quote:

Originally Posted by madbouyz (Post 4754329)

Hopefully when Lars sees this we'll all be schooled .

Good call.....🙂

As always, thanks Lars for the great info, always welcome your posts.

RR

Was Bill Wishnicks "Boss A Nova" a Bertram?

yes, 31 Bertram with Stern Drives, then he went to a 32 Cigarette and eventually to a 36 Cigarette

Please note that when the boat raced with number 123, that it also had midship, a Cigarette Racing Team decal on both sides.

Such a sign of the times and the friendly rivalry of the era.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil M (Post 4754819)

yes, 31 Bertram with Stern Drives, then he went to a 32 Cigarette and eventually to a 36 Cigarette

Thanks for the reply. That boat got me interested in offshore boats. I remember him switching to the Cigarettes later on but I've always loved the look of those competition Bertrams.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrippM (Post 4754852)

Thanks for the reply. That boat got me interested in offshore boats. I remember him switching to the Cigarettes later on but I've always loved the look of those competition Bertrams.

Further to the previous information published regarding McQueen Jeans / Master Moppie, my dad purchased her from Roger Kelly as McQueen Jeans back in late 1979/early 1980 from Roger Kelly and converted her to a cabin cruiser and sold her to a hotelier approx. 1986.

I have received the following information from Christian Toll a couple of days ago
"Brian, after your message I wrote to Sammy James, he was the main man at Bertram who developed these boats and raced the living hell out of them, I wanted to make sure I had my facts right. He came back to me just now and said the following....."That boat was hull #1, named Master Moppie with 2 Hemi head Chrysler’s. The American Moppie was a different boat, built for Peter Rittmaster but I drove it in Key West and then it was sold to Ronnie Beneli.

The 32’ Bertram was a slope transom but was cut 13 degrees to make it 31’ so they could run out drives". My own personal belief is that Tim Powell named the boat American Moppie simply because it came from America. He soon changed it to Canadian Moppie I think because of a sponsorship deal. All the best, Christian"

Are there any original type configuration survivors from the 31/32 Bertrams still around?