bertram31.com

I hope I can load these photos,this project has been stage by stage over the last four years with great advice from everyone here onB31, not to mention the motivation from watching everyone’s projects come to fruition , so many very dedicated folk here on this forum ,
So this all started 4 years ago been I brought a B42 in from the USA as there aren’t many here in NZ and mistakenly I thought it would be cheaper,hmmmm How wrong was I ,lol
The story starts in earnest when the boat arrived via Dockwise float on float off service, unfortunately they encountered a heaven head quarter sea for most of the journey and after the weeks of spray landing on my boat the bilge pumps ran the batteries dead and so when the boat arrived it had about 12/14 inches of water in the bilge which had risen above the start batteries and everything was fried, and so the nightmear began, the insurance company would cover it but I had to pay for it first and then claim it back, which worked out ok in the end but I had to cash flow it out and the bill got out to 80k as everything including the gen set was fried or rusty or just plan damaged, in hindsight I wish they had just paid me out and written the boat off

so once we towed her to our local marina and we started the clean up, that`s when the reality and enormity of the job really hit home, it was overwhelming, i actually felt ill for about 3 days, couldn't believe how bad a shape the boat was in compared to the survey report, i really wanted the insurance company just to wright the boat off but they wouldn't, even now 4 years on , writing this and looking at the old pictures makes me feel anxious, so after weeks of talks and consultation from various people it became clear that the only way forward was THROUGH!!
the electrical all had to come out,so i enlisted a trusted electrical guy who has gone on to become someone i trust and can call a mate,and has looked after the boat wright through the project and has been a great source of help, and delivered a great result that is completely reliable,a new kohlar genset and new heavy DC everywhere,and we were able to get the engines running

Once we had her running we made a plan to make the boat usable until we could decided what to do next, and how far to take it, so it was a case of having a major clean up and and i gave the boats gelcoat a wet sand and a cut n polish which gave up a supprising good result,then we need some furniture and a new floor support in the salon

Made a couch that was an "L" shape but broke down into pieces for easy install ,then a table so we had some where to eat, taught myself how to do liquid glass for the table top( youtube tutorials are great)

I wish, i took more photos of just how bad the interior was ,all the teak veneer had been stained a dark brown and it was just awful, the roof lining had battens fixed trough it for rod holders , fortunately the stain had been aplied over the original varnish and after much trial and era ,i found a product called Coopers wood restoration, which proved to be a god send, and we stripped the entire inside of the boat back to bear and refinished with 3 coats of high build sanding sealer and 3 coats of Gold Spar interior satin,which we rolled on and it flattened out to a spray quality finish, i think the biggest complement came from a mate who saw it before and after ,who was convinced i was lying to him and that we had actually re-veneered the whole boat, it really was a turning point in the way the boat looked, next was new roof panels for the saloon , striping the TV unit was the worst,so many little detail pieces ,took 2 days just to do that bit alone





needed a wine after that job

Excellent! Todd, they don't make boats like this any more. Years after the new boats of today have gone through the grinder, your boat will still be cruising around.

Cheers Mike , after all this work ,I am hoping to get plenty of boating out of her

So at this point we decdided to just go boating for a bit and get some enjoyment and recoup, save some dollars for the next round




summer raft up ,everyones lights on and the kids swam till well into the night

and some fun for me and my my mates too

Nice job. Boat looks fantastic.

Todd

You will not be sorry. The 42 is a tank and will always bring you home. Nice work. Now enjoy her.

Todd,

I almost experienced the same...

When I was contemplating to buy a boat I looked all over, USA, France, Spain, Italy...they were all cheaper (to even much cheaper), than what I could find locally.
Little by little, however, additional pieces of the puzzle started appearing, such as the freight cost, the various certificates, but also the "how" to transport.
Float in and out was one option, container ship was another, but still I would need a crate ! that nobody could provide, not even the shipping company.
I was to construct a crate from scratch and ...from a very long distance. I had to find old Bertram employees who would give me the exact measurements for the construction, and then also obtain various permits for hauling over land, as the various ports where the boats were situated, were not international ports, so the boat would first have to reach an international port. Havoc to the nth power !
I even thought to grab a flight at some point and go get it myself by sea, that was in Spain, Italy and France, but how do you trust a boat never seen before for such a long trip...
I ended up buying locally, for a very good price, and I don't regret a minute for my decision.
Boats abroad may bear a cheaper sticker, however in the end I tend to believe that a local purchase is a wiser, and perhaps even a cheaper decision.

Nicely done Todd. I love the 42. Great boat. Enjoy.

John

Todd,
You've done a nice job restoring the 42, looking at the electrical cables and the bottom of the hatch covers are you sure that the boat was ever partially sunk or the engine room had a lot of water in it. Did the surveyor even address water intrusion in these areas. Keep up the good work and enjoy the boat.
Pete Fallon