Almost B31 - cresta 32
Posted: Nov 15th, '11, 03:40
Hi Guys,
I thought I would share my project with you.
I live in Sydney Australia and am heavily into gamefishing (or I used to be before I started on my project boat!)
I have always thought B31s looked great but there are only 4 or so in the country, and when I started my project (6 years ago) there just wasn't really an import option. I was poor, just out of university, and didn't have the money to spend on an already built boat.
Of course if I knew what I did now, I would have saved my money and bought something complete and saved a packet of money and a whole lot of heart ache.
I ended up buying a 32' cresta (a deep v boat that is proportionally fairly similar to a B31. She is a fairly large 32 footer. I have been rebuilding her from a totally stripped out stage to specifically be able to fish heavy tackle (130lb) for marlin off Australia's east coast where we encounter blue/black/striped marlin. I purchased her without engines or tanks, put her on a truck and sent her 2500 miles from Darwin to Sydney.
In the photos she is being unloaded to what I hope is her final pre water home after a fairly stressful time with the old boat builder. I am having the engines 2 x 240hp perkins installed shortly as well as finalising the internals and plumbing/engineering. Most of everything was removed from the boat for transit, so she is a bit of a shell in the photos. Fuel capacity is 264 gallons which should give her a good range if driven sensibly. She should be able to cruise at 18/19 knots with a top speed of around 24. This is plenty for the work she will be doing as efficiency is the key in my mind.
I have taken many ideas from the B31 boards as well as from the building tips pages. I owe you guys and Capt. Patrick a lot.
Sometimes I sit at work and listen to Brewsters "I must rebuild a 31 Bertram" clip when nobody is around (of course wearing the headset with the image hidden behind various spreadsheets).
This place is like an AA group for boatbuilders and without it, I am sure I would have lost what remains of my sanity long ago.
I hope you guys enjoy the photos.
Additional photos can be found at www.fishcrazy.net (under cresta project - left side of screen half way down) nb these are very old!
I thought I would share my project with you.
I live in Sydney Australia and am heavily into gamefishing (or I used to be before I started on my project boat!)
I have always thought B31s looked great but there are only 4 or so in the country, and when I started my project (6 years ago) there just wasn't really an import option. I was poor, just out of university, and didn't have the money to spend on an already built boat.
Of course if I knew what I did now, I would have saved my money and bought something complete and saved a packet of money and a whole lot of heart ache.
I ended up buying a 32' cresta (a deep v boat that is proportionally fairly similar to a B31. She is a fairly large 32 footer. I have been rebuilding her from a totally stripped out stage to specifically be able to fish heavy tackle (130lb) for marlin off Australia's east coast where we encounter blue/black/striped marlin. I purchased her without engines or tanks, put her on a truck and sent her 2500 miles from Darwin to Sydney.
In the photos she is being unloaded to what I hope is her final pre water home after a fairly stressful time with the old boat builder. I am having the engines 2 x 240hp perkins installed shortly as well as finalising the internals and plumbing/engineering. Most of everything was removed from the boat for transit, so she is a bit of a shell in the photos. Fuel capacity is 264 gallons which should give her a good range if driven sensibly. She should be able to cruise at 18/19 knots with a top speed of around 24. This is plenty for the work she will be doing as efficiency is the key in my mind.
I have taken many ideas from the B31 boards as well as from the building tips pages. I owe you guys and Capt. Patrick a lot.
Sometimes I sit at work and listen to Brewsters "I must rebuild a 31 Bertram" clip when nobody is around (of course wearing the headset with the image hidden behind various spreadsheets).
This place is like an AA group for boatbuilders and without it, I am sure I would have lost what remains of my sanity long ago.
I hope you guys enjoy the photos.
Additional photos can be found at www.fishcrazy.net (under cresta project - left side of screen half way down) nb these are very old!