bertram31.com

Thanks again Capt. Patrick. The stringer work will be done in preparation of repower. I plan to stick with gassers. I currently have mid-1980 Mercruiser 350 GM (260hp) carburated, FWC with 1:52 Borg-Warner Velvet Drives. Any recommendations on new power/trans combos that will fit in 1973 B28? PaulJ

Thanks Patrick... Additional questions... 1) Do I wrap the 2 ends that abut the cabin bulkhead and rear bulkhead? 2) Both stringers currently have notches cut at rear to step-down the sister to receive the rear engine mounts. They would be too tall otherwise. When I wrap the wood with the cloth, how...

I need to replace the port side, inboard sister stringer on my B28. What type of wood is appropriate? It appears to be a 2x12 sandwiched between 2 sheets of marine plywood. What is the appropriate method for mating the marine plywood to the 2x12? The Stbd side, inboard sister stringer was replaced i...

On a smaller boat, I used Archimedes principle... "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." With boat on the trailer, I used 2'x6'x12' with trailer as a fulcrum. Lifted by sections and placed jack stands with boards to lift boat off trailer by 3". ...

It is definately a Bertram... note the bow light - Bertram model. It is not a 28... 28 is 11' wide. Looks closer to 26.

I have seen a B28 that was reported to have been customized during initial construction to contain three (3) tanks under the cockpit sole. The primary tank ~175 gal sits between the two stringers and runs from the engine bulkhead to the stern, leaving room for stearing mechanisms. To the port and st...

Gerard... Thanks for the 1800runsnew site. I'll call then next week and see what application they have that might work. CWJ... I'm going to work the boat next weekend and start breaking it down to see exactly what the cause was for oil loss and starter/battery problem. The amp draw only occurs when ...

Walter... I did not try to get that sorted out other than checking the main battery cables + and - and found no chafing or short. Starter is main suspect as it has corrosion on selonoid and housing. All oil hoses examined, cleaned and no hole or disconnection found. I put a torque wrench on the main...

Went down to run checks as advised. Stbd engine seized. All oil blew out while running. Time to repower.... at least the stbd side. Both engines have over 1300 hrs and are 1986 vintage. Port Engine: Did a valve job on the port engine last year... it runs great. All new risers, gaskets on the top sid...

SeanB... I have a similar type leak on my FWC GM 350's, but it is an easy find. My engines use a kit to convert to FWC. The thermostat housing has a 3rd party spacer block between the intake manifold and the thermostat housing cover. Spacer is used to offset the plumbing/hoses from the raw water hos...

Sim.. 4 years ago a broke my port tiller arm off doing a hard turn coming back through Sebastian Inlet. Made the 25 mile run back to dock on one rudder. Bought new tiller arms from Capt Pat and he advised on how to drop the rudders and replace while boat was in the water... while I'm sure it can be ...

Sim.. Not my first rodeo! Replaced blown head gasket once in bahamas (try 1982)... had to have parts and torque wrench flown in by sea plane. That was a fun one. Done everything but rebuild lower end myself. I must admit though... I more of a parts replacer than a mechanic. I follow directions (have...

Sim.. Good advice on removing plugs first. I can check all cylendars for liquid that way and hand cranking will definately be easier. Last fall I did a valve job on port engine. When I went to adjust valves, used my torque wrench on front pully... with plugs in! Couldn't hardly make it turn. Removed...

I too am concerned about the engine shut down more than the electrical problem. After replacing the battery, I did the following... 1) Turned on stbd battery switch; 2) checked for any problems at battery connection; 3) turned on power to bridge electronics - power on good; 4) place engine switch in...

Thanks all. I will follow all advice. I have a new/spare starter in a box. I will run testing on all cables to check for cross over. I will try the oil pan drip test with small amount of oil. If no leak from bottom of engine, then it must be oil line. Oil filter is on top-mount in front of engine. I...

Walter/Dick, Thanks for replies. I spent most of Sunday cleaning the bilge. Did the eco friendly thing by using my oil-changing pump and pumped the oily water mix into buckets and disposed at automotive store. Used bilge cleaner and oil drop rags to clean up most of the mess. Storm on Sunday afterno...

It's been a while since I have posted. Hoping to get some help from this forum. I have a B28 with 350 Gassers. Had a near catastrophy this weekend. I was running in ICW at 3200 rpms for 2 hours with no issues. Without warning, my stbd engine lost ~1000 rpms for about 2 secs and then shut down. All g...

John, You indicate that more "steam" is seen in stbd after warm-up and initial white smoke blow-out. In your initial post you said...."Engine temperatures on both engines run where they always have (Port runs just over 160 degrees; starboard runs about 180)" 1. Higher temp would mean more steam afte...

Todd, I run a B28 out of Melbourne, FL... bought it about 1.5 yrs ago. I agree that the one for sale here in the Melb Hbr is priced too high ($39,990). It would be better priced close to $30K or slightly less. Big thing is that it has new (~1 yr old) 350 gassers... guy is trying to get his money bac...

I would be up for a trip in Jan/Feb down south from Melbourne, FL.
Sean... maybe we could buddy boat.

Paul J.