bertram31.com

pschauss

Where do you recommend locating the manual release cable for the Fireboy system? The manual suggests minimizing the number of bends in the cable which would seem to rule out the flying bridge or even the lower helm.

Thanks,

pschauss

Does anyone have installation instructions that you could for the Fireboy that you could scan and post. Before I get too far into this project I would like to be certain that I have appropriate places to mount these units in my engine rooms.

Thanks,

pschauss

. Does the sole have molding around it where it meets the cabinets and helm? It might be WAY easier to cut the sole out to the cabinet and helm and just replace that. If you cut it out perfect you could caulk it or run some small quarter round and be done. Ernie, Unfortunately the sole runs under t...

pschauss

Ernie, My boat does not have the refrigerator. The space aft of the lower helm seat is taken up entirely by a fiberglass counter top with an integrated sink at the aft end. Below the counter top is a cabinet with three door behind which are shelves. Two forward sections of the cabinet are lined with...

pschauss

I need to repair/replace a section of the cabin sole on the starboard side. Since I have the sport fisherman model, it looks like I am going to have to remove all of the cabinets associated with the lower helm seat and the kitchenette (plastic counter top and sink). What is the best way to take all ...

pschauss

Peter,

Do you plan to buy a long block or a complete engine?

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

pschauss

Pete,

For the front windows, are you talking about the seal between glass and the window frame or between the movable and fixed parts of the frame?

Thanks,

pschauss

Any suggestions on how to repair leaks in the window frames? From the location of the wet spot on the paper towel which I taped to the bulkhead in the picture below, it looks like the water entering the cabin at the corner of the frame.

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/307687/47780886

thanks,

pschauss

I got some 1/4” thick fiberglass angle from McMasterCarr. This stuff is HEAVY and dense. What’s the best way to cut it? Can I drill holes into n it with regular drills?

pschauss

Peter S, Looks like there is a 1/4" plug on the side of the sea cock body. That plug should take a Zerk grease fitting allowing you to use a grease gun to lube the inner workings of the sea cock. It looks like your bonding wire needs to be connected to the base of the bronze sea cock not under the ...

pschauss

I never under stood why Bertram did that. If two boats came out of the factory days apart, they could have different rudders. I have to go to the boat this week. I will look at the rudders on the 31 next to mine. His are still factory. Not really surprising for a model with low production numbers. ...

pschauss

"$12,500
1969 Bertram Barron for sale in Napa on Facebook Marketplace

28’ Bertram Baron offshore boat. Has twin 454 Chevy, both engines need rebuild and boat needs to be cleaned up. Runs about 70mph. Trailer is in good shape however rims and tires are needed. "

pschauss

Mine look like the one on the right but I still find it easier to steer with my engines at idle speed. I have no reason to think that they are not original.

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/307687

pschauss

Great news. Hope you continue to improve.

pschauss

I got a hose removal tool from my local auto parts store (actually a two piece set with blades at different angles). After I used the tools to loosen the hoses at both ends they came off with considerably less of a struggle. The first one came off in one piece but I had to cut the second one because...

pschauss

The method that I usually use on my cars is to make a lengthwise cut at each end but the reinforcing wires make this difficult. Any other ideas on how to remove the hose from the nipple on the strainer and the seacock?

Thanks,

pschauss

As I start to go through my boat I have run into a few bits of rotten wood (so far nothing structural) that I need to replace. One example is short a 1x2" strip which supports the deck panels and step between the two engines forward of the strainers. Is stuff like this normally common pine or someth...

pschauss

Is this the right kind of hose? (I still need to measure to get the right diameter.) https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=578 As I replace things like this I plan to use new marine grade hose clamps. Is there any advantage to using the t-bolt type which Jamestown is f...

pschauss

Looking at another picture I took in that same area, I see that I need to replace the hose which runs from the seacock to the strainer. Where is the best place to get hoses and proper clamps.

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/307687/47655144

Thanks,

pschauss

What is the procedure for greasing this type of seacock? It looks like it has a ball valve instead the traditional tapered plug. It's not frozen and does not leak (and I want to keep it that way).

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/307687/47654436

Thanks,

pschauss

How often do I need to replace the impellers on my raw water pumps? I had them replaced last winter and I have put just under 20 hours on the engines since then.

Thanks,

pschauss

Odds are they will be fine for you! Take care of them but start a fund for mew engines so it won't hurt too bad if one goes south. We started the fund for new engines when we bought the boat because we assumed that they were original. As this season progressed, I did wonder how it was possible that...

pschauss

Thanks for all of your comments. They echo what I saw on the internet. The good news in my case is that most of the complaints which turned up in my Google search talked about engines which failed immediately and mine have at least five years of use to shake out any of the rebuilder's short cuts. Th...

pschauss

Pete, It's good to hear from someone who did not have a negative experience with Jasper. I am going to follow Tony's advice to maintain and repair these engines as necessary. As I noted in my original post, I am guessing that the rebuilds were installed about five years ago along with other repairs ...

pschauss

I tracked down the mechanic who did most of the work on my boat for the previous owner and he mentioned that the engines (454s) were Jasper rebuilds. A Google search on Jasper turns up a good bit of negative information about the company. Has anyone here had any experience with their products? The m...

pschauss

Pete, Thanks for pointing out the issue with the automotive type connectors. I noticed that when I swapped the coils to see if that was the causing the starboard engine to stall out. At that time, I checked to see that the crimp connections were not loose and left them alone. The yellow connectors o...

pschauss

Last year at about this time my wife persuaded me to buy the B31 which was parked at the Timber Point West gas dock with a for sale sign. I had owned a sail boat for forty years but had no experience with power boats or inboard motors. Thanks to all of you who have patiently answered my questions I ...

pschauss

Tony, Thanks for the links. Right now this engine is working ok although I have had it stall unexpectedly a few times while underway. Two things led me to think that this distributor was originally electronic and not a conversion: - The cam as shown in my picture has teeth instead of the usual lobes...

pschauss

The distributor on my port engine has a label which says: Marine SAE - J1171 prestolite IDU 7801BS 26MAR04 From the way it looks inside (see picture below) it appears to be a self contained electronic distributor rather than an electronic retrofit like I have on the Mallory distributor on my starboa...

pschauss

Turns out it was the aftermarket electronic ignition kit. I replaced it and went for a test run. No problems so far. Interestingly my starboard engine, the one which was giving me problems, has a Mallory distributor with a pointless conversion kit while my port engine has a Perstolite (IDU 7801BS) w...

pschauss

MikeD@Lightningshack wrote: I'd run her around 2350 at 21 or 22 kts.

Does running the 454s at less than 3000 rpm put additional stress on them (assuming that the props are correct)?

Thanks,

pschauss

Thanks for all of the suggestions. The owner of the marina where I dock offered to look at my stalling problem. He he pulled the filter and the screen at the carburetor. He said that the filter looked good. There was some debris in the screen but he said that it did not look like enough to be causin...

pschauss

As I tried to return to Oakdale from Sailors Haven this afternoon my starboard engine started to cut out at anything above idle speed. I managed to get about 7-8 knots with port engine running at 1200-1500 rpm and the helm hard over to port. Luckily the wind was mostly out of the south and there was...

pschauss

How are the cabinets fastened to the cabin sole and the bulkheads? The formica on mine is in pretty decent shape but I need to replace a section of the cabin sole underneath the forward corner and the seat for the lower helm. I don't see any way to do this without removing the cabinets.

Thanks,

pschauss

If I use one of my existing #6 wires to feed my new panel I will have to add a ring terminal. The heat shrink/crimp types don’t go beyond #8. What type of terminal should I use?

Thanks

pschauss

I see that they list these by the number of cubic feet that they cover. What size units do I need for a B31? Can someone post a picture showing how you mounted them?

thanks,

pschauss

What model of the Fire Boy system are you guys using? I have the original 454s if that makes a difference. What is involved in the installation? I gather that these systems are triggered by temperature. (Please correct me if I am wrong here.) What is the danger of false alarms with these systems? Th...

pschauss

Pete,

That sounds like the stuff that was on there. It was still soft when I removed the dash board.

I used Boatlife when I reassembled it.

Thanks,

pschauss

Does anyone have a picture showing how all of these pieces fit together?

Thanks

pschauss

I have one of these on each side. Part of the one on the starboard side is broken off.

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/307687/47364682

thanks,

pschauss

Is there any concern about gasoline fumes when you crank the engines over with the spark plugs removed to run a compression test? (I have done lots of these on my old British sports cars and, before that, on VWs, but never on a marine engine.)

thanks,

pschauss

Tony, I have the Sport Fisherman, so no standup head. I stood on the lower helm seat. Once I had the ceiling down I was able to fish the wire through the pillar from the top after a couple of false starts. Getting the ceiling panel back in place without a helper is always a challenge. Having the cab...

pschauss

It turned out that the 15x15" panels were too far forward for me to reach the support pillars so I had to take down the entire starboard side overhead panel. Even with the panel down I could not really see place where the wire bundle passed up through the starboard pillar. It felt like there was som...

pschauss

next time tony remove head ceiling just some # 6 ss screws and you can see the top of pillar raceway and the sidewall of the bridge. My boat has two removable panels about 15" by 15" in the cabin overhead so that I can get access to that area by simply removing two screws in each. I am hoping that ...

pschauss

I have been following this thread with interest because my boat has the original 454s from 1978. The hour meters showed 1400 and 1800 hours but were not working so I don’t know how many hours are actually on the engines. The pile of receipts that the previous owner’s daughter gave me showed a lot of...

pschauss

What does your temperature gauge show for your starboard engine?

pschauss

I have always felt that I had more control over the boat with separate shift and throttle controls.

pschauss

How far forward does it go?

pschauss

I want to add a direct feed from a spare breaker on my main panel to a bus on the flying bridge to power my VHF and fish finder. From what I can see the wiring to the bridge runs along the starboard side of the cabin, entering the starboard engine compartment via grommet and then runs up through the...

pschauss

I have always been skeptical about snake oil products like this, but Nigel Calder recommends regular application of a belt dressing on the alternator and raw water pump belts. I looked a some of this stuff at Pep Boys and the label warns that it is highly flammable. Is it safe to use this stuff on a...

Search found 539 matches