bertram31.com

John F.

UV may be right, I have no idea. There is a Bertram 20 section on 25bertram.com that you may want to check out. I tried registering so I could post there (I have a B20 Moppie), but I'm still waiting for the Administrator confirmation or whatever--been waiting more than a year. Lots of good B20 info....

John F.

I've kept my 454s at the factory 8 degrees BTDC, and they've last a long time. I've also been told that as long as everything is working right, its more important to set for proper timing at full advance--I forget the rpms/degrees, but I can look it up for you. Last couple of times I checked, when I...

John F.

Nice job. She sure looks great running.

John F.

I get it from my local hardware store.

John F.

Muriatic acid. Works well and lots less effort than wirebrushing. Final clean-up with a wire brush.

John F.

Thanks Captain.

John F.

I bought a B20 last year, and I don't know whether it has a hard paint of an ablative on it. Its got a pretty good (bad) build-up on it, and when I scraped some loose stuff today, it seemed softer than a hard paint. What should I use--a hard or ablative? And no bottom job--I want to slap some paint ...

John F.

Nice looking instrument panel Giff. Now I got another thing on my to-do list....

John F.

Paul-

I'd like to hear some details on what you're able to reuse and how the GM base engines work out. My 454s just turned 31 years old.

John

John F.

I'm not sure what day, but I'll see you in DC. If anybody anywhere near DC is thinking about attending, Randall's work is amazing, and the last time I was there the rest of the show was pretty amazing also. The National Building Museum is a great building.

John F.

John F.

Dug- I agree with Charlie. Paint it, and get it blasted in the fall. If you've done half of one side in 3 1/2 hours, you still have based on that amount of time about 10 hours to go--and then all the other prep. I'd get it blasted (soda or water?), let it dry out over the winter, and then do whateve...

John F.

Mikey-

I apologize--I pretty much forgot about this. Mid-June doesn't work for me. I have 2 kids and my wife teaches. I appreciate the effort.

John F.

John F.

Bob, you do have an exceptionally nice looking B31. Great shot.

John F.

Congrats. She looks great to me--nice power. Enjoy. My B31 is presentable, but could also use paint. I like it that way--makes it alot easier when my kid or when of their friends drops a sinker/bucktail,soda can, or smacks the sinker, etc. into the side of the hull.

John F.

John- I have the old log style. I remember that someone posted at sometime (narrows it down, huh), that they had gotten an aftermarket center-riser manifold and when bolted up it didn't clear the engine box. So, make sure whatever you get, you have adequate clearance. Apparently they're not all the ...

John F.

Congratulations. Great news. Fishing with kids is about the most fun you can have.

John F.

John F.

Congrats...sounds like a dream day.

John F.

I use the Meguirs Premium that comes in a black plastic bottle. It works well, and is easy to use.

John F.

I have 454s and mine are 3" into 4". I have fiberglass Ys--got 'em off of EBay.

John F.

First class. Nice door too.

John F.

There's a place near me where you can buy mahogany, teak, whatever in almost whatever size you need and they charge by the BF. I'm guessing that there's a place by you where you can do the same thing. I'd bring the strip to them, and get a piece of mahogany or teak that matched. Board that size won'...

John F.

My weed-whacker and chainsaw both crapped out right after I used e-10 in them. The local repair guy has had alot of 'em in for repairs, and since mine were a little old and cheap to begin with, I'll get a new chainsaw next time I need one (and cheap again). I have a 2000 Johnson 90 hp on my Whaler, ...

John F.

Bob-

Nice job. Good to hear you're on the mend.

John

John F.

I haven't tried the Ablative. For alot of years, I used Petit Trinidad--great paint. Once it got close to $200 gallon, I tried the Boaters World BottomKote on my Whaler--figured I could haul easy if it didn't work out. It worked fine, and so for the last 2 seasons I've used BW BottomKote (last year ...

John F.

I had my '69 31 FBC trucked from LI, NY to MD. The plastic windscreen thing (and anything higher, like the radar arch and top) had to come off.

John F.

Buju-

I talked the owner of that B20 when I was looking. Nice guy, nice boat. When I get to it, I want to convert my Moppie to a center console also. If you've started to convert yours, or when you do, I'd like to see some pics.

John F.

John F.

Epoxy coated aluminum mounted on closed cell neoprene. We'd like to do f'glass, but the f'glass tanks are more than 2x the price...can't swing it.

John F.

Thanks for all the replies and advice, and special thanks to Carl (sim), Mike (Lightning Shack) and Cap. Pat who I called and gave valuable advice on what to do. I think we got it figured out.

John F.

Thanks for the replies. Matt-- Patriot is one of the tank fabricators we're thinking about. I talked to Paul yesterday. Both fabricators (other its Atlantic) said to use neoprene. How did that work out? Glenn- Jim and I are getting a little discount because we're getting two tanks--if you want to ge...

John F.

We're getting ready to order tanks (Jimmy B. and myself--another Chesapeake Bay B31). FB tanks are coming in at just about 2X the cost of aluminum, and are pretty much out of consideration (and what I can spend now). I got basic quotes from 2 NJ builders that were recommended here. Based on the tank...

John F.

Buju- Wife and I did a little swing up through the NE last summer. Spent a night in Newport, RI, night in Boston, night in Kennebunkport, and we've been to Block Island for a night. Block is nice--nice public beach for the kids as I remember, and you can rent bikes and ride around the island. Steve ...

John F.

I'm pretty sure my '69 is #881, so I'm guessing either an earlier '69 or a '68.

John

John F.

Aw c'mon, they were just having fun. I thought it was pretty cool, although stuff like that should always start with "Here, hold my beer, and watch this...."

John F.

OK--if I go with the fb glass stuff from McMaster, what should I get? I've never worked with this stuff. Thanks. The appeal of the PVC board is no rot, and I have it sitting im my garage (free).

John F.

More importantly, are there any charter outfits in the area? Do they hit on the troll or do you chunk? I'm sure somebody will insist that the only "sporting" thing to do is catch it with a fly rod. If you look real close, you can see the alligator from "Lake Placid" swimming behind it.

John F.

I need to make new aft deck supports. I'm planning on using mahogany for the verticals--that's what I think the old vertical supports were made of. For the horizontal supports that run fore/aft from the rear engine bulkhead to the transom, I was planning on using two layers 3/4" marine ply ripped to...

John F.

I put soundown on my boxes a couple of years ago, and it makes a difference. I have a gasser, and while its always been quiet, at troll you almost can't hear the engines at all. I bought the materials through the Sounddown guys I think in Mass., and the guy I dealt with was really helpful in getting...

John F.

Beautiful.

John F.

JK- I'd estimate as follows from the C&D- Baltimore about 40 nm; Annapolis about 60 nm; Cambridge (Hyatt) 90 nm; Rappahanock (Tides) about 140 nm. The Rappahanock is relatively close to the mouth of the Bay. If Mikey can't get a Tides Rend. for this summer, I'd rather do something closer to mid-Bay ...

John F.

Nice job Mikey. Neat wiring.

John

John F.

Mikey- That sounds great, but if you can't pull something big off this year, I'm OK with something smaller for this summer. Tides, Hyatt, Solomon's, whatever. I definitely don't have the time to do much more than call up with a reservation, so if you've got to much going on, we could just phone it i...

John F.

John-

Mikey was going to work on something at the Tides in Irvington. It'd be nice to get some of the lower Bay boats involved. Mikey?

The Hyatt in Cambridge is pretty nice for a night or two, or inner-Harbor/Canton can be pretty good. Time it so we can all see the Orioles (lose).

John F.

John F.

I don't see any reason to apologize for 427s...that's why Irish Wake is so fast.

John F.

Scott- My friend's '04 31 Tiara had 496s with 2/1 gears and turned pretty big wheels--but on 1 1/2" shafts. That boat also had the 385 hp 496s, was a little bigger and heavier than our 31s (although with slightly less v), and turned up to about 38 knots. You'll have a 40 knot plus B31 easy--careful....

John F.

Scott-

Almost positive that's what mine are. I'll check this week when I can.

John

John F.

I know what you mean about waiting. Last weekend i waited to go down to the boat unti it got out of the teens and into the 20s , and yesterday it got all the way into the 30s.

Thanks again. I'll print this out so I don't forget.

John F.

Capt. Pat- Thanks. Once I have the bulkhead ready, my plan is to lay it in a thickened epoxy mix, do fillets, and then go back and tab the whole length to the bottom of the hull. The bulkhead will sit off the side about 1/2", and will tab there also. I remember somewhere reading that you advise agai...

John F.

The decks are up and some repairs are in order. I've made the bulkhead out of 3/4" marine ply, and need to glass it and set it in. In the past, on small stuff, I've used West epoxy and layers of cloth. So far, everything has worked out fine. What should I use on this? I'm going to use West Epoxy, bu...

John F.

Scott-

Congrats. The 496s HOs make the extra 40 hp or so up top--the next time the diesel boys want to race, you'll smoke 'em, at least for a short burst. Sounds great to me.

John F.

John F.

Beautiful...and I'm sitting here in MD hoping its gets into the 30s tomorrow so that I won't be quite as cold as last weekend when I worked on my boat.....but I am off to Ft. Myers and Key West next weekend.

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Search found 2006 matches

Bottom Paint

New Fuel (gas) tank

New Deck Support Question

Encapsulating Marine Ply-- Cloth, Mat, what?