bertram31.com

wayne so thats what smart people do;have others do the work while you bark orders smart unlike me who has glassed,bolted,and grinded fiberglass until every single item in the boat was completed the way i wanted it. the only person i have ever trusted to touch the boat (i even block the boat for the winter) is robbie at raybo marine after seeing the job he did on craig`s boat (falcon).the best painter i ever met!!!
your boat is looking good and coming along very fast it took me all summer just to remove and contour the fiberglass where all that disgusting alluminum trim used to be.you will pull your hair out trying to blend the fiberglass edge that surrounds the flybridge.no bondo,fillers all resin and epoxy and sand and sand ----ugh.only because it`s a 31 bertram

Bob,
First job out of college I worked for an old Jewish merchant. He was in many ways a mentor. One day after watching me shlepp heavy cartons of merchandise he said, "Michael, I can move anything on earth with one finger."
"Oh yea," says I, as I was about to pick up the last and heaviest box, "let's see your finger move that!"
He pointed that bony digit at me and hollered, "Kennedy, move that box!"
Box moved.

Bob:I hear you .Its almost unbearable to show up & not have a hand in this...The satisfaction of Doin it yourself .
I did the repower (the stringers & mounts With help from you , )& alot of the below deck stuff but-
.Im a mason, Been one for 40yrs... This deck nonskid is exposed,Now Its kinda like concrete work,It really shows when you do it eveyday... & shows up too, if you dont. Ever see a homeowner do his own brickwork???

Wayne

Looks great!
How do you get to mufflers or tank if the need should arise? Every few years I seem to have to give my muffler clamps a crank.

Well,I'll be.In the two or three years that I have lurked( and even asked a couple of questions about my B 20's) ,this is the first time I have seen or even heard about the Gibco flex-mold being used.I was discouraged from using it and now I see why .It ain't for rookies.It looks as though you really need to know what you are doing with that stuff and those guys manuever like they do.Nice job Wayne

mikey i am sure quite a few of us can look back in time and relive your experiance with your mentor,very good words of wisdom.
wayne one aspect of building a bertram 31 from scratch is you have to have the time and the facility to complete the job.years ago a very talented bertram 31 builder would post his on going project here. the bertram brother was from nj and i can`t remember the spelling of his name but was close to joe zacarella.that was the first guy i seen who built a tent around his project with a engine lift and all.he placed the exhaust on the outside and built the cockpit around the idea of two fish boxes on port and starboard.i saw that and said to myself "got to have that" so i plan and research to the point i knew i had to build my own cockpit deck . i did and am happy with the results.i measure 100 times before i installed those 6" mufflers exactly between the deck supports.doing your own thing regardless of time and effort is one thing but running into disaster is inevitable like building the shaftlog.first cut of the kevlar/ glass tubing destroyed a carbite 80tooth 14" chop saw blade!!!then i finish the boat and remove the tent to installed the engines piece of cake 4 hours done with a the help of the yard crane.so now i come to paint the hull (my waterloo) i prime at least 5 times and sanded down again.night dew destroyed ,next time bugs and dust,now a few runs here and there ---------leave it to a pro!!!! yes wayne wilth all the will and energy there are things you just can`t do no matter how many hours you spent on it.case in point when in doubt make a templet.the covering boards were hand picked burmise teak 11/4" thick and i refuse to screw that up.made a spline the entire lenth rather then use biscuits and spent weaks making the compound miter were the hauses pipe is cuts in.i could go on but i am sure you understand especially when you see light at the end of the tunnel as in your case.-----------good luck brother keep the faith.

Very interesting, never heard of the Gibco Flex-Mold.

Congrats Wayne, that will look t*t's when finished!

Jim,It's a flexible mold that allows you to replicate, by imprinting ,the diamond or other pattern nonskid on your deck.These pics are a great tutorial on how to use the product. I think it's gonna be a lot nicer than just sand textured(although they have a sand textured mold) finish.Notice how they drag the gel gently into areas set up to catch the residual with masking paper .Very cool.Wayne could we get some closeups of the final results?I think I'm going to try it on my 20.

tell me more about this "flex mold"......i have an area the size of a dinner plate on the engine covers that has been ruined by the previous owner...would like to restore the diamond design to that spot and blend it back with the rest....is that possible?

Well I'll just kiss my own ass.............I had no idea what I was looking at until you guys explained it. That's just the coolest thing I have seen in a while.......

I always thought that the "Hatch Pattern" was built into the boat mold and if it got damaged.........well that's just to badddddd.

Since I am in the middle of replacing DeNada's deck I will certainly checkout doing mine like you did Wayne.

Is the liquid material just Gel-Coat........or what is it????

My old deck was glass over plywood then painted with some sort of non skid paint.........it was Okay but your stuff is just great.

Harry

Randall, From what I understand it is perfect for repairs of that nature.Gibco will send you a sample kit which includes 50-60 business card size samples of all their non skid patterns.Gibco 6657 E.Peden Rd. Fort Worth,Texas gibco@swbell.net but you will have to order from one of their two distributers Mini craft in Fla. or Spectrum colors in Auburn ,Wash. You will find your match,I found the match for my 20.Now just to get the nads to go for it.

Oh yea , they send a complete instructional sheet with the sample kit

thanks....i was actually considering trying to "carve" the pattern back in the cover.....i got other fish to fry....thanks again, this could work

I would like to hear the results of the flex mold project on a large scale job like that.
Personally I would have pre-fabricated panels on a glass table and laminated those into the boat, making slick areas where the hatches were or in between sheets of laminates.

Having used that stuff for repairs I can tell you its hit and miss that you wont end up with a void smack dab in the middle of the sucker.
SEEEEEMS simple when you read the instructions- then you try it and man are you put back in your place real quick!

The team of guys working on the deck look like they are plugging away- maybe they know some tricks I dont- when I stop learning tricks or want to learn tricks is when I will retire.

not sure if someone answered or not- but flex mold is pretty much a rubber sheet with the non-skid pettern in it. Like I said though- it sounds easy, but it aint when your trying it ON THE BOAT, do it reverse in a mold or on a table and its MUCH easier

its such a small area im willing to give it a shot....if it dosent work ill just sand it flat....maybe ill wait till patricks here..

Randall

I don't think its that easy. If you PM me your email, I will send over a scanned 4 page article I have that gives the step by steps on how to do the match.

I will not be around until sunday night so I might not be able to send it until late sunday or monday night when I get back online.

Randall, you can carve money and carboard out of wood, my guess is that if anyone can do it, you can! I gave up on rplicating the non-skid - I am thinking of covering the floor over with teak. Too much to do and deal with in the meantime.

how did it come out?

I have been waiting for a update!

Raybo:Pretty happy with the deck..Haven't seen any imperfections or peeling..
Heres a couple shots to bring you up to speed.
Went in last week.

Still putting the side boards on

& hooking up the filters





& baittanks.
But hey I can put you in touch for some tips?
Wayne

With the SEABASS bite going offff,heres my son


. Its hard to pay attention,tro my own boat(Been goin on my friends Cabo)

Wayne,

That is seriously beautiful work on that deck.

Nic

I said those guys look like they were plugging away.
I have yet to do one without having to do a repair or two to them.

Are those hatches acrylic or just that smooth on the backside?

If that diamond pattern non skid ,on the panel in the second pic, is an indication of how the rest of the deck turned out,then that is awesome work.Those guys are good.

Its really smooth on the backside... Not acrylic
Finally finished the nonskid on the gunnels,used the sand finish...
Got the fuel lines bled .Them Cummins started on the first turn, after sitting since feb.
Gonna lotta clean up tomorrow.1/2inch of dust on the whole boat
. But heres the first pic after stripping the paper covers.

Congrats Wayne, that came out bitchin!

Wayne- keep the pics coming. She looks great.

Wayne

Looks great. I like the grey on the gunnels.

Pretty much done... Washed the dust off this morning.....Going back to shop vac the cabin & wash the rest of the boat this afternoon & Sat.





Thanks for all your feed back GUYS.


IT REALLY HELPED MY PLANNING.
I hope it helps someone else.
Wayne

Yea , that looks so awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wayne

Hard to believe a couple of weeks ago we were looking at a stripped out boat. Good luck. Now its time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Another great looking 31.

Wayne I like the gray Non-skid, looks cool