bertram31.com

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“Normal leak” - probably should have said “leaks” :-D The gasket no longer leaks at all. However, both of my engines have small leaks that I’ve never totally isolated. They are small enough that I generally only need to top off oil ~once mid season, if at all, between oil changes. The only way I kno...

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Just wanted to report back on this. I decided to bite the bullet and drop the oil pan. In hindsight, I shouldn't have spent so much time wringing my hands over it. Removing the broken studs was simple and the oil pan itself was not heavy at all. I decided to replace the gasket as well, although I di...

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very good question about why this is happening in the first place. there were 6 bolts - in a row - missing. 2 were missing completely 4 had their heads sheared off I found 2 heads in the bilge - so either i just couldn't find the other 2, or they sheared off long ago, possibly before i was the owner...

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clearly demonstrating my igronrance...i didn't realize the oil pan was aluminum. i thought it was cast iron like the block and head. that sounds much easier to deal with. like the idea of the studs & nuts too.

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Getting a drill bit started on a snapped bolt is difficult when you have it on the bench. It is extremely more difficult in your situation. They do make deburring carbide bits. There is usually one in the kit that has a very sharp point. This bit can be used in a high-speed drill and can make a gre...

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Tried both of these methods. Not sure if it was because i couldn't get the studs clean enough, or if the surface isn't flat enough, but couldn't get the bolts to adhere. Held them in place for several minutes, but they just fall off. Didn't have luck with the picks either. I can slightly wiggle the ...

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I think I just need to bite the bullet and drop the oil pan (with help). I’ve had success with ez outs but only when I had good visibility and access. I keep thinking maybe the break torque for a fastener stud with zero preload should be minimal, and maybe the ez out wouldn’t be too hard. But I real...

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I've been living with an oil leak for a while and its suddenly gotten much worse. Went to retighten the oil pan bolts and to my horror, there are 6 missing bolts on the aftercooler side of the engine. 2 of the bolts in the middle section were just plain missing - so I got some metric bolts from the ...

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Inspiring work. Can’t wait to see her splashed. With your skill set, ever thought of doing this stuff for a living? Or would that ruin the fun of it?

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Anthony - I have an 85 Bert 38 with 480ce’s, pretty simliar to the qsb’s you are putting in. As a matter of fact, if you can get 480ce remans cheaper than the QSBs it could be worth a thought. In any case I think you’ll be happy. I have her propped for ease on the engines and (hopefully) longevity. ...

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Apologize for being sloppy with the wording. The structure I was asking about is probably more accurately referred to as a "rib," not a "stringer." Below is a pic of one of the "ribs" on the other side of the hull for context (and part of a second just barely visible in the bottom left corner). Ther...

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only thing i can think of is that the stringers may have been "trimmed" when the new engines were put in (hull is 1985, engines are 2002), and the metal longitudinal stringers were put it in to support the new motors.

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is this any better?

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that's strange. i'm using google to host. i'll try another hosting service and see if that fixes it. anyone have any suggestions of hosts that consistently work with this site?

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I was changing the impeller on my port engine and noticed this cracking where the stringer is glassed to the hull (right in the center of the image): https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/cDgrl4K39hX_katt3V2cZHg0dFPbzbI8GxSVH9UAjCfS8PRE6osFQ_Jq5xNUheqKzxVrMBBOxUMlDRASHfCK6ISi0KChxL4rKW_bqZrqviSIU7eyYEx6...

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Great news guys - I was offered and accepted a great job that will keep me in DC - at least for now. Crisis averted!

Thanks to all of you for your support and advice. I'm certainly glad I didn't have to act on it!

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I read it as may and hope to come back some day. Maybe if they relocated boat closer to where they are moving they "might" be able to find the time to use it there...someday. If it was a couple year temporary move, for me that is a no brainer. Put boat on the hard, pickle motors, pull batteries, sh...

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You guys are great. Regardless of what I decide I will definitely accept the invitation to stick around on the forum and, if nothing else, "boat vicariously" through you guys. And maybe start the ultimate find-an-old-bert-and-refit-it planning thread that will keep the wheels turning until the time ...

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There are some nice lakes in the area but they aren't connected to anything. Transporting a boat that size over land to the continental divide, if it's even possible perhaps with significant disassembly, seems like it would be...prohibitively expensive. I'm guessing tens of thousands of dollars. The...

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Just wanted to get some thoughts from you guys on this. I bought a B38 a year ago and have been investing heavily in her planning to keep her basically forever. She's unique in that she's a 1985 that was re-powered with 8.3L cummins in 2002, and had an interior refit (possibly around the same time, ...

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Yes, they are Detroits, and yes that means 2-strokes. Probably 6v92's. I've never owned them, and don't consider myself an expert, but the research I did suggested the Detroits are less fuel efficient, louder, and smokier than modern 4 strokes or previous generation mechanical 4 strokes (such as the...

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I used the 3/4" x 1/4" tape made by taco sealing the engine room hatches on my tiara: http://tacomarine.com/category/cat_weather_seal/Weather-Seal-and-Hatch-Tape I picked it because it was the widest and thickest I could find. My experience with it was that it worked very well initially, but it is v...

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I'll add a "plug" for a floating handheld VHF with GPS. You can grab them for $100-$200, and they check a lot of boxes. As long as you have it on you, if your boat sinks in a hurry you will not only be able to get out a distress call even after you are in the water, you can continue to communicate w...

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fantastic map the area i am concern with is the" Great pocket " and is 25mph all year between markers.ok if you change your avatar i will build you the most efficient props you ever saw or direct you to the correct specification.there is a little propeller manufacturer in Jacksonville were i get bl...

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I lived in the cocoa beach/indian harbour beach area for 15 years, which I still love, but if I had a choice of anywhere in FL that I could live it might be Stuart. I spent some time boating down there recently as I bought my Bertram 38 there last fall and kept it there until Christmas. Really I don...

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I've got the 465hp "480ce" variant. Basically the one where they took the all mechanical 450 diamond and added an ECM to eek out a little more hp. However I'm working to get them propped "conservatively" to get closer to the 450 diamond fuel burn (and thus hp) curve as I've seen some pretty compelli...

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on the engine question - just as a reference my 38III with 8.3L cummins cruises comfortably anywhere between 21kts (2000 RPM) and 27kts (2400 RPM). I generally cruise her at 2200 RPM which is about 23-24kts. I think once the engines and props are "dialed in" I should be burn 27gph at that speed betw...

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Question - are you asking about the convertibles or the express (moppie, 38 special, etc.)? I shopped the convertibles extensively and chose the 38III. I'm not as knowledgeable about the express models though, I'd imagine the hulls were the same with the expresses being generally a little easier to ...

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Good suggestion to peek through the anchor locker. They are indeed bolts. Which means it's going to be a two person job and I'll have to figure out some way to get to the nuts from the inside. There is a rectangular "box" shaped corner piece between the topside and hull with headliner material glued...

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You guys are a wealth of knowledge. I had thought because the fastener tops were countersunk-style phillips heads that they were screws. But if they are bolts that would explain my problem. I will look through the anchor locker and see if I can see any of them. I'll post a picture but I don't think ...

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I am not familiar with the 30, but can you see the screws/bolts from the bottom? They should have a nut on them. You need to get that nut off. The ones spinning you should be able to hit and pop out from the bottom. I guess that could be my problem but I thought they were screwed in, not bolted wit...

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Most of the stanchions on the bow rail on my B38 are starting to corrode. It seems the PO bedded the fasteners and sealed under the stanchions with 5200 and they are all now letting water in. Thought it would be simple enough to rebed the fastners properly but I can’t get them out. Many simply won’t...

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A couple of things to think about are whether you have a preference for touchscreens vs buttons and what brand of charts you tend to like. If value is important to you, you can find a bunch of deals on a brand new (recently discontinued) Garmin 840xs right now - at or under $450 shipped. I find the ...

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There's no diamond or similar patterned texture anywhere. The cockpit has a light grit that I assume was painted on by a PO. There's a mild textured finish on the areas where you walk from the cockpit around the saloon up to the bow, and then a very mild texture on the bow itself. The cockpit gunnel...

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Thank you! Just what I was looking for. Would you do that for everything but the textured non-skid areas, including the bow deck? And then for the non-skid areas just wash and a non-skid protectant like woody wax?

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One of the items on my long list of to-do's for my new B38 is a good compound/polishing/waxing. I had the hull done while it was on the hard getting a bottom job so I "only" need to do the topsides, cockpit, etc. Searching online there seem to be as many different (and conflicting) tips on boat comp...

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They are brand new units. I picked up one from semperfishing when they were $465. He lowered the price the next day to $425. D'oh!! Anyway, he shipped it quick and it arrived as advertised. I've been using one on my tiara for a while and wanted a second screen to go along with the 7607 on my new-to-...

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again it just really depends on your specific situation. Often when someone does something as intrusive as swapping engines they do a lot of other stuff "while they are in there" - like stripping out old wiring and harnesses, painting the bilge, maybe re-doing the mounts, battery trays, etc., etc. S...

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there's a tremendous amount of variability depending on what all has to be done. You could be looking at anywhere from $15k-$50k+ for gassers and the high end of that or quite a bit more for diesels - maybe $75k ballpark if you are hiring someone to do the work? Cheapest option would be remanufactur...

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I'm having repairs done at Apex (Kurt) there on Dixie Hwy. There's also a guy with a marine carpentry shop onsite (Kyle) who has a pretty good reputation. I'm having both of them do quite a bit of work on my new-to-me b38. Experience has been good so far, but I'll obviously know a lot more when all ...

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We climbed around on the 35 and it was the same as last year. This time I asked them what it's listed at. The guy gave me one of those "if you have to ask it ain't for you" looks and then I could swear he said $950. Maybe he said $750. Beautiful lines, but both times I've been on it it struck me as ...

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Well, it's official. As of today I now own a 1985 B38 Convertible with Cummings 480CE 6CTA's. This is my first diesel boat, and I'm moving up from a Tiara 3100 open...which is for sale by the way - I'll give any Bertram31 member a special discount ;-) ...anyway i'm sure i'm going to have more questi...

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Ha! Well hopefully no one is ducking for cover. Jan '68 - Tet offensive, right? My dad went over in '69 (USMC infantry). Never has talked about it much. Anyway - good news on the B38. They were able to get her out today after changing the secondary fuel filters and both engines spun up to 2600 no pr...

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No, no signs of trouble other than the RPMs not going above 1950. I told them to verify the marine cruise control function was disengaged - it'd be nice if it was something stupid like that. But I'm pretty sure they would have checked that.

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Well the saga continues. Finally got the second sea trial arranged to verify WOT RPM. this time, the stbd engine spun up to 2600, but the port wouldn't go higher than 1950. Racor clean, no other sings of trouble. Owners mechanic suspects secondary fuel filter. Does that make sense? They are going to...

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Incoming: Where on the Bay are you located? I am on the Rappahannock about 10 miles from the Bay. You are right about the Bay conditions. Now you know why the preferred workboat is a 40' deadrise! It will cut through 3 waves at the same time, thereby avoiding all of the pitching and pounding! Rawle...

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Well after additional consideration and further negotiations with the seller it looks like we may be moving forward after all. Still need to complete the sea trial and verify the engines turn correct RPM at WOT, but looks like I'll soon be a proud member of the bertram owner's club. I suspect I'm go...

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Depending on how much I trusted the surveyor I would be more inclined to listen to his advise. It sounds to me like you haven't looked at enough 38's to satisfy yourself on how much you should be paying. How long and how many 38's have you looked at? If I didn't feel good about the boat I wouldn't ...

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I totally get what you are saying. The reality is there's about $12k of stuff that absolutely has to be done right away and another $15k of stuff that will need to be done in the next year or two (not counting regular maintenance like bottom job, etc), or more if I wanted to refresh the electronics....

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Welcome to the world of older boats. How good is the surveyor and How good is the wood guy is the question. Maybe the wood guy just is not interested in getting involved. I think both are good they are just coming at it from different perspectives. The marine carpenter is a custom boat builder who ...

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