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Hi guys, I cannot decide what material to use for rudder shelves, either it be the starboard for laminates, or plywood. Capt. Pat did not specify which is better, just diff. techniques for each. I do like the idea of "no rot"
materials, but plywood seems maybe a bit easier to get final result. Any thoughts? Thanks for input. Rocky.

Not Starboard!

Plywood will be fine as long as it's fully enclapsulated in epoxy fiberglass and all holes, (shaft hole & bearing bolt holes), are sleeved with pcv pipe epoxied in place. Again see: Hardware Mounting in Composites

For the maximum strength of your rudder shelf, laminate two 1/2" pieces of plywood face to face. Notice that the plywood usually has some warp to it, so laminate the pieces so the warps are opposing. This will effectively counteract the warp, resulting in a flat, straight 1" stock to work from.

Thank you guys. Nice off season project I guess. My wife is asking when this boat will hit the water, I told her" don't you want warmer weather?"
Rocky.

Rocky-

If I did this right, there is a picture of the set up on my boat. The guy 2 owners back did this work, It is some sort of structual polymer and is pretty strong. Cleans up nice and seems to be very stable. Also you can drill and tap into it. If you want, I can try to find out exactly what the material is.

My wife is asking when this boat will hit the water...

In the immortal words of Orson Wells, "Drink No Wine Before It's Time"

Or said differently, "Ride No Boat 'Til It's Worthy Of Float"

Remember, your boat is in direct competition with her wardrobe maintenance. Every once in a while, (6 months max), buy her a nice present.

A pair of $200 diamond ear rings and a night out at a good restaurant can work miracles while you're squandering your life savings on a 40 year old boat.

I followed Capt. Pat's advice and was very happy with the results.

To economize the work I made a complete 4'x8' marine grade laminate board. I used 2 1/2" sheets of marine plywood with expoxy and roven fiberglass core. The picture below is the board in production. If you look close you can see hundreds of screws used to hold the boards together while the internal epoxy cured. Next was epoxy and fiber glass each side. After that it is just a matter of having a big enough table saw to rip the pieces you need.

I was able to use this 1 board for the rudder table and for backing plates for the struts. Still have a chunk of it in my shed. After cutting and assembling the structures the edges need to be sealed with expoxy and or glass.

Heavy, but should last forever. Looks a lot better than starboard, and with a coat of Awlgrip you'll be able to keep it looking new for a long time.

i used aluminum when they did mine over at down jersey marine,very light and wont rot

One the wife detail.......Mine spent 2 years in the driveway, so I know that routine.

Cure - The Montauk Bertram rally and all the lobster she can eat from Brewsters.

I married the boat 3 years before I met the wife, 5 years later (this past September) she married both of us... I can't imagine long term boat ownership working out any other way... well maybe the independently wealthy route, unfortunately neither of us have figured that out yet!

If you want structural fiberglass for the shelf check out Mcmaster Carr. Thats were I ordered mine. It is the same style as Giff's but his does not look like its made out of glass. We also used Fiberglass angles to attach it to the verticle supports. Two people can stand on it and no flex

Capt. Pat. $200 diamond earings in this day and age. You have been single too long and living in Texas away from it all. With $200 earings, you better have a magnifying glass so she can see the diamone. Get cubic Zircs and lie a lot and just hope she never gets it appraised until after you are long gone.

Get cubic Zircs and lie a lot and just hope she never gets it appraised until after you are long gone.

Boy, Tony, now you're lookin' for real trouble. CZ? They can be spotted 1/2 a block away... Especially by a woman. Them gals know their rocks.

Now I didn't say that you could buy a couple of Hope Diamonds for 2 bucks, but .25 ctw studs can be had for that including shipping. It's the thought that counts! Oh, and the good resturant? Appleby's should go nicely with those teeny-weeny little sparklers...

Hey, ya' can't be too lose with that boat squandering money... Remember, it's a Bertram.

You have been single too long

Nope, nowhere near long enough!

Capt. Pat

My wife loves the boat and is great fishing partner, as long as we are not out of sight of land. The offshore stuff is guys only. She said if I could have her dropped in by Helicopter then she would go.

She is pretty good about the repower has not asked how much yet but knows its not cheap.

One other good point, she is frugal and I never worry about what she buys or spends, since its only when she feels she really needs it.

So once the repower is done, my gift to her will be custom rod to replace the one the rod she had that broke.

As usual, Capt Pat you really know your stuff. I will try Applebees and the $200 earings, because after all, yes it is a Bertram! Thank you all for the good advice. Rocky.

Rocky,

for whatever it's worth, my shelves are made of aluminum.

Harv, did you have the angles 90degrees to the shelf tig welded were they actually bolt to stringers? Rocky.

If I get a chance to go to the boat yard, I'll take some pics. (when it warms up a little).
I'm not sure if the angle was welded or bent in a press. The whole shebangy is through bolted to the stringers.
Keep in mind, this is not one long shelf but actually 2 smaller shelves for each rudder.

Hi Harv, I like that idea of aluminum as I am very "green" at fiberglassing!
Have not got the materials for shelves yet, I do have to build two piece like yours. Seems very strong and trouble free. Thanks.
Rocky.

Diamond Earings?????

I bought her a box of small Tyvex overalls and a sleeve of 400 grit discs!

in all the years of watching this board that is the most impressive picture i have ever seen.wow they don`t make them like that on long island.you have a gem,what a lucky guy!!!incidently would be 1/2 caret each about 2000.00 and that might get you your lunch and a kiss before you go to the boat.

I rebuilt my shelves last winter. I used wood - solid 3/4 in cherry. I took pictures of Capt Harv's set up. It is first rate. But my way was quick and cheap.
Speaking of other matters, I took 1 inch of pitch out of my props last summer after I was told that I was over proped. We had 4 blade 18x18 wheels. The RPM's jumped 400. The boat seems to run better with less strain at any given speed. I feel that I'm burning less fuel at 2900 RPM rather than 2700 RPM Maybe this is like the drinking. I do know that my car runs better after it gets washed.

Dick,

email me the pictures you took of my rudder shelves so I can post them up.

dick
i thought you took that pich out on the way to montauk this year lol. hows it going

Mike: You better hold on to that one!!!