bertram31.com

A little intro...I have been a troll on the B31 site for a few years, but finally signed up today. I am on the B33 site under the same username, but I needed some other opinions and suggestions so here I am. I'm nearly 50, married, kids, and I am an offshore fishing addict!!! I bought a 1979 B33 SF "Chum Bucket" in 2011, shipped it from NC to OR, and have been refurbishing ever since. Other than hauling out, the boat is always fishable EXCEPT right now. She's powered with 320hp 3208's, cruises at 22-24 knots, and gets about 1 MPG. Ah, the economics of boating! I would rather tinker, improve, redo something on a boat than work on some other home project although I have lots to do as well.

On the B33 site, you can look at the pics under "Cockpit Floor Again for 2015".

I pulled my cockpit floor (about 8' by 9') a couple months ago and demo'd the original balsa core. I bought 3/4" Coosa 26 for the replacement since several guys have redone theirs with great success. I have cut the Coosa in as big as pieces as possible. One of the other 33 guys suggested to do it in smaller blocks. I am confident I can get the bigger pieces thoroughly bedded in thickened epoxy but is there a good reason to go with smaller pieces? I am sure I am over engineering this but I never want to see the underside of my deck ever again. Even the wet balsa that was not rotted was a bear to remove.

What do you think?

Thanks in advance, Kevin

Test photo, shows the pieces fitted. Yes, the traditional PNW rains have returned.

Kevin,

Again, welcome aboard!

It may seem as, by choice of non-rotting materials, you can create a deck that will never have to be removed once installed. Good theory, but not always the case...

Remember that are several serviceable items below the deck; exhaust tubing, clamps, mufflers, fuel tank, & etc. Depending on how long you intend to keep the boat and how compassioned you may be about a future owner, you should think seriously about the design of your deck. A non removable deck can be very costly if you, or someone else, has to replace a fuel tank or exhaust system down the road.

OK, now with the added picture, it looks as though your deck is already removable as a one piece construction.

The size of the Coosa pieces are fine. Bedding them in with thickened resin & without capturing air pockets will be trickier with the larger pieces...

I am to putting down 2 layers of biax before the Coosa. I want it bulletproof in case I drop a 15# cannonball on it. While it's still wet, I was going to use wax paper (I have a huge roll from another project) and then use my Coosa pieces on top and weight it down with anything I can find. Resin will prob ooze out the edges if all goes as planned. That should flatten out the topside where it's paper thin and did some rebuild. I may cut out some plywood pieces instead since Coosa runs $250 a sheet. My thought is that it will create a somewhat flat surface to bed the Coosa. I think if I do not over thicken the resin, it should go as planned.

How many layers on the bottom is needed? I was thinking 2 as that was used at the factory in 79.

Yes, the 33 cockpit is removable. Awesome design. Haven't seen it on any other brand. All the original hoses have been changed. the OEM fill tube was stamped 1978.

On cored items such as decks, the best strength comes from more glass applied to the under (or tension) side. See: Tips Section.

Remember that plywood will eventually go bad once water gets to it, Coosa is pretty much forever... And lighter.

The ply was just for lay-up not the core. lol. Where the fighting chair used to be, Bertram used a piece plywood. It was drenched but not still tough as nails. Just goes to show the quality of materials they used.

Kevin, Welcome aboard..coosa is a great material to work with just watch out for the sharp dust when you cut this stuff..ask me how I know? My top building tip is find peel n ply fabric and lay it in the wet resin as it sets up then peel it off next day. Really flattens out the finish and gives you a great surface to prime n paint. Even made my work look semi pro.BH

Kevin Welcome.

Listen to Capt. Pat. Keep it light and removable. My deck has a balsa core. i had a section go bad. When I repowered, I had a glass guy fix that section. A great glass guy but a little strong headed. I told him to use the Coosa I had left over from the bulkhead we replaced. No he used plywood. Just because he thought it was better. It is now the only section I need help pulling up. ARGH!

On the 33's, the deck is screwed around the perimeter and the gap is filled with sealant. I'll be using Life-Seal, not 5200. It will be removable, but my hope is I will never see the underside again. This pic (the best I had) shows some of the screw holes. Also shows the sagging in the middle. Deck looks awful since it has been sitting since October and this was taken in Jan.