bertram31.com

Bob Fioresi of Bertram 31, Frayed Knot, passed away Friday July 22 while working on his beloved Express. Looking to sell 1962 vessel located in Montauk, NY. Anyone interested please contact Mary Jo Fioresi. mjbeach@optonline.net

Man, I am sorry to hear about Bob!!! But I have to say that is the way i want to go when my time comes up! Doing something I love. He will be sorely missed. My condolences to his family. Rawleigh

We had the pleasure to meet bob on many occasions,great guy and he will be missed,prays to his family

We had the pleasure to meet bob on many occasions,great guy and he will be missed,prays to his family

So sorry to hear about Bobs passing one of the first guys we met at our first rendezvous.

Condolences and prayers to Bob’s family. I know he’s has been around this site forever. Maybe from the beginning. Sad to hear.

That's so sad to hear but the right way to go. RIP.

oh no so sorry to here this
bob was a great guy
RIP Bob

RIP Bob. Super nice guy. My condolences to his family and loved ones.

Sad to hear about Bob's passing, prayers and condolences to his family..

Awful news, such a great guy. I was lucky to have the pleasure of meeting him at a Greenpoint rendezvous. Bob was so proud of his boat…as we all are of ours, but we are the few of the few with the Expresses.

He will be missed and I’ll keep an ear out for anyone looking for a classic express 31

Changed to a sticky to keep at the top.
Lets see if we can help Bob's wife sell the boat.

What a great guy that I only had the pleasure of getting to know on this Board; condolences to his family and loved ones.

What a shame. Nice guy. He was one of the originals here.

Sorry to hear of Bob's passing, he was a good egg.

Condolences to the family.

Sorry for his family's loss.
Never met the man, but his interactions on the board always seemed quite jovial to me.
John

sorry to hear that!

I was in Montauk yesterday and saw it! I think it was that vessel. Is it yellow? (the hull) and slipped right next to a huge commercial trawler?

If I knew I would have walked over and took some more pics to share if anyone was interested. I may be back there next week tho


Sad to hear

Any details that we can get into the thread will help. Pics, details on the engines, etc. I get asked all the time about available B31's.

Rick, I am new to this site and don’t know how to post pics and info on Frayed Knot, Bertram 31 Express. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Please email me at mjbeach@optonline.net. Thanks a million, Mary Jo Fioresi

I will probably be in Montauk next week at some point and if not def the week after. I will certainly go over the Frayed knot and get some pictures if Mary Jo has not by then.

Frank

Here is a link to a listing for Bob's boat "Frayed Know" had. I am not sure of Mary-Jo know sit is an active listing. I will reach out to let her know in case. It is listed in Freeport but I know it is in Montauk so I think it is an old but still active listing. Any guys on here that are active on other forums please share the link


https://www.boattrader.com/boat/1962-be ... r-7977325/

Mary-Jo was asking what an asking price should be?

It is listed @22K

I honestly am not sure, it runs but needs some carb work and it is a gasser. It is prob listed properly pricewise but Idk


FV

scenarioL113 wrote: ↑Aug 8th, '21, 12:24 Mary-Jo was asking what an asking price should be?
It is listed @22KI honestly am not sure, it runs but needs some carb work and it is a gasser. It is prob listed properly pricewise but Idk FV

Frank

In this crazy boat market it is any one's guess. Two years ago that was the right number. Today it could be higher, but it also could be the right number.

A broker could probably give her a better idea of the price to ask. Personally I would push it up a little since she will get beat up on the price anyway. I would not ask for anything less than $30,000 then come down from there.

But it is her call, and once someone finds out it is an estate sale all bets are off.

does it need carburetor work due to the fuel tank or was that already addressed?
I would think by now any gas powered boats have already had the tank replaced, if its been replaced that should def be listed in the ad.
( i just looked at the other listing and it looks like an aluminum tank )

the replacement deck is also a selling point

FYI- this is listed on FB for $19999

I spoke to Mary-Jo this AM and she nds to move it (sell it). The dockage at Montauk is very expensive and does not want to store it this winter. Bob wanted it sold as well and was OK in that $-range

So sad to hear of Bob's passing. I always enjoyed his upbeat personality.
He was great company and a pleasure to be around. He will be missed.
My condolences to Mary Jo and family.

Very sorry to hear of Bob's passing. Saw him in Montauk, NY many times and ran into him in Pompano, FL once or twice. Great guy !!
This boat looks VERY good for the price asked.
My condolences to his family.

I’m Interested in the Frayed Knot
A little concerned with small blocks
Anyone running 5.7s have some input
Seems you would need to push em hard

Fred-

I had a couple of conversations with Bob about his choice of power as I have a very similar Express with a small tower. At that time mine was powered by Big Block 440's with thousands of hours on them. I was considering all power options from rebuilding my old 440's again, to gas RTO's, new gas, converting to diesel conversion and yes even going with small block 5.7's.
Over the years there were a few members here who had or knew of owners that had installed 350's in their 31's claiming excellent results. The problem was it was always reading an old post from someone I did not know or 2nd hand claims...Bob was the first person I got to speak with that had them and he was very happy with the performance. From what I recall his speed was about the same, his burn was great and keeping the boat light climbing the backs of big swell they did ok...kinda like most gas boats. He believed the lightness of the small block offset the lack of torque enough to level the playing field. Another huge benefit is the size of the motors allowed maintenance to be a snap plus parts were readily available everywhere and cheap. I believe much of our back and forth was done on the site so it should still be searchable.

I met Bob at a Greenpoint Rendevous sometime after our talk where he enthusiastically showed me his small block setup. I have to say he was right in that there was a nice amount of room to reach everything and his boat sat a bit higher than mine with the lighter motors. I'm sorry I never got to go out for a ride with him to really see how they performed...something I might have done if I stayed with gas as I never ruled out installing the small blocks.

I haven't spoken to him in years, but an acquaintance here in Annapolis had a 31 FBC with 350s and he had really respectable numbers. I seem to remember a 20 knt or better cruise with better burn than my 454s. I'd guess a Bahia would do better.

I am so sorry to read this. Bob was a wonderful guy. I always enjoyed our interactions. When I renovated Alchemy, he took my windshield set up, chucked it in the back of his truck and drove it all the way back down to Long Island. Always interested in being helpful, always ready with a story and a deep belly laugh to go with it. Godspeed Bob. It was my honor and privilege to call you a friend!

Dug

Hi All,
I want to thank all for your input and help to Bob and me. I sold the Frayed Knot in August to a man who loves that boat as much as Bob did. The boat is documented so it has become a pain in the neck to sell. Bob had a will leaving me all his possessions, which should have been sufficient for me to sell the boat legally. Because of the federal documentation I had to retain a lawyer, who had to form a small estate just for the boat, and go to probate. The probate is still not finished and it is now the end of October. This is a warning to all with documentation as to how complicated everything gets, and expensive. John, who purchased the boat, was gracious enough to pay me in full. He took care of the carburetor issue and now has the Bertram in Massapequa. I just have to carry insurance until all is done. Maybe someday he will join this group. Please delete the boat availability from site as I don’t know how to do it. Thanks again and I will miss fishing from the best boat ever built.
Mary Jo Fioresi, mjbeach@optonline.net

Mary-Jo, thanks for the follow up and the advice on the "documented" boat issue.

I am glad you sold "Frayed knot" and I hope I see it out there as I live in the Massapequa area myself. These boats are def for a select group and glad you found that type of person to continue the tradition of such a classic

Frank Valerio

Mary-Jo,
Sales deleted.