What should I know? (Just Purchased)

Shamrock18 · Post by **Shamrock18** » May 21st, '07, 08:38

Ok Guys I just bought a 1967, 31 and I have a ton of questions. I have admired this boat for years from across the canal and the guy final had enough and sold it to me.

I had it surveyed, mostly good but some bad. No rot, no structural damage but it did have a few blisters and minor things (broke hinges, needs new macerator pump).

The gas tank is good and the engines (454's) run well, but at some point they will be pulled for diesel power.

I am concerned about the Blister issue. I have dealt with this on my current boat and I solved the problem by stripping away the gel coat and drying out the boat and rebuilding each blister back up. However, I do recall a local TV show (Ship Shape TV) doing the same process on a 31 and there were thousand and thousand of blisters. Should I expect that to be the same with mine? Are these boats prone to blisters?

The boat has just been awl gripped and looks good. The present owner covered the port and starboard windows with fiberglass. He had it professionally done and it does look good but he left the front to windows in place. They leak like a sieve!!! I would like to either replace the windows or continue the cover from the windows all the way around. Any suggestions would be helpful.

The interior is ok but there is some mild due because there is no A/C on board. I would like to put one in. What size would keep the cabin cool and where would be the best place to install it? I thought maybe under the front bunks.

The boat does not have a generator and I would like to put one in. I see a spot by the starboard engine. Is that the best location, also how big of a generator is suggested? Should I put in a new tank for it or draw from the main tank?

Lastly, the electronics on the fly bridge are old as dirt. I want to pull all the gauges and build up the console a little to flush mount all the gauges and electronics. Any ideas?

I realize that this is going to be a long process but I am looking forward to it.

Thanks for any help in advance

Mike

scot · Post by **scot** » May 21st, '07, 09:17

Congradulations on your recent aquisition. Sounds like you will be a good stewart of the old girl. I'm glad you mentioned the blisters because this is an issue I face as well and I'm curious about the groups inputs.

The last owner of my boat "appears" to have barrier coated my bottom with a 2000E type product (right over the blisters)and then applied the bottom paint. It looks as if the barrier coat did a good job of sealing the bottom. The blisters are still slightly visible, but look well sealed.

Is this an acceptable way to deal with the blisters?

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » May 21st, '07, 10:08

Mike and Scot...

When I had my '85 B33 hauled for the pre-purchase survey the bottom had lots of dime to quarter sized blisters (mostly the dime size). The boat had been in the water probably 2-3 years at that time.

My surveyor, had seen this in several Bertrams over the years, and who I trust explicitly, said to not bother trying to fix them myself, or even professionally. He said that could do more harm than good. He said it is best to leave things alone for now. BTW.. I had the boat on the hard for about 4 months.. after a few weeks the blisters had pretty much gone away. Have not hauled since then, but I am sure they are there again now.

scot · Post by **scot** » May 21st, '07, 11:08

The blisters on my boat look more like pin head (typical 1/8" dia) sized dimples. They are more like little craters than protruding blisters?

scooter28 · Post by **scooter28** » May 21st, '07, 11:40

I have the same problem as you scot and i'm hoping the interprotect barrier coat stuff is the way to go. I just bought 5 gallons of the stuff. I am in the process now of sanding everything down and going over all blisters with west system before i paint over it though. Let me know how it works out for you.

Shamrock18 · Post by **Shamrock18** » May 21st, '07, 12:35

Well I had on my Tiara a whole bottom of blisters. Some were dime size and others were 8" wide. I first tried just using a barrier coat and next time I found more. So I did some research and spoke to some boat builder here local (Albury Brothers, Dusky, and Ocean Master) and they told me to strip the bottom. I rented a machine that took off less than a 1/8" off the bottom, just enough to remove the gel coat. I let the boat sit with a canvas around the bottom trying to pull all the moister out. I took a moister meter to the bottom and once it was dry enough I patched the bottom using the Interlux System. I put several barrier coats on and prayed! It has been about 6 years or so and not one blister has returned. It was a long process but in my mind it was the right one. I know everyone has there own opinion but living in South Florida my boat only comes out of the water for 2 weeks and that is to sand and paint the bottom. It was the best option for me.

thuddddddd · Post by **thuddddddd** » May 21st, '07, 13:22

Your biggest problem(aside for the RLDT issue) is ethonal. If you don't have it in your marina, you will soon enough. Fuel tanks, and maybe a deck is what you need. the blister issue isn't one(a issue), with the threat of loosing your power due to tank degragation(don't know if it's spelled correct or if it's even a word).

I like the raytheon(E120) stuff, but looking at JP's Northstar stuff, when(if) the tubb makes it back in the water I may have to upgrade to those.

scot · Post by **scot** » May 21st, '07, 14:00

Ah the Thudddster....so young and full of wonderment. Hate to agree, but the big fat fiberglass tanks full of gas (and corn juice) is a much bigger deal.

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » May 21st, '07, 17:30

Start thinking diesel. I have no regrets on dropping the money. If I had repowerred with gas I would have already spent an extra two grand on fuel to go as far as I have cruised already. Just rolled 115 hours and gas would have put me in the poor house by now. Sounds like you got a pretty nice boat and would not even worry about the blisters. I wish hinges were the only problems I had when starting my venture. Keep reading this site and you will be able to fix anything(almost).

In Memory of Vicroy · Post by **In Memory of Vicroy** » May 21st, '07, 17:52

Bertram 31s do not blister enough to worry about, what you see are all gel coat or paint blisters. The quality of the resins Bertram used to build them assures no blisters. AJ has been in the water for 35 years and has no blisters. Quit worrying about blisters on a B31, not gonna happen in our lifetime.

Sure, clean the bottom, barrier coat, but don't chase the little blisters, our boats are immune, period.

UV

thuddddddd · Post by **thuddddddd** » May 21st, '07, 17:53

Scot, not so young................and I guess if you think cynical is similar to wonderment, then I guess your right.

scot · Post by **scot** » May 21st, '07, 20:34

Timmy,

How are those sweet little howlers coming along?

Tony Meola · Post by **Tony Meola** » May 21st, '07, 20:47

Shamrock

While the 31 is built as solid as a rock, sometimes they do blister. Our 75 did it way back when and we had it sand blasted back in 1986, 5 coats of interprotect and not a problem since. However, for the most part everyone will say sand blasting is not the way to go. From my experience only sand blast if you are ready to try and fill a million little pin holes as well as where it opens up the blisters. Not a project I look forward to after doing it once. If you have another way of opening up the blisters then I would soda blast the hull and grind out the blisters, unless they are real small and its too dificult to open them up.

I would say you have to get rid of them, but the best one to answer that is Capt. Pat.

As far as the fuel tank, the guys are right, you need to know if it has had or will have ethanol in it. If it has its trash. Your choice is aluminum, stainless steel or you can contact Richard Kidd at Allied Richard Bertram or Danny at Hight Tide Marine and get a new fiberglass one that resists ethanol.

If the engines are original, you need to look real hard at them. How many hours on them? I am looking a repower with diesel right now. I am just waiting for the estimate to come in for a pair of 270 cummins recons. Fortunately I did my deck 11 years ago so I am in good shape there, its a spot I don't have to spend money on. But if the deck has not been done, and you doing the engines you might as well do the deck. Or if you do the tank you might as well do the deck. They all rot out after a while.

If you search this board and the old board you will find posts that will answer all your questions, then ask again, and everyone here will help you out. Tony Meola

CaptPatrick · Post by **CaptPatrick** » May 21st, '07, 21:29

Bertram 31s do not blister enough to worry about, what you see are all gel coat or paint blisters. The quality of the resins Bertram used to build them assures no blisters. AJ has been in the water for 35 years and has no blisters. Quit worrying about blisters on a B31, not gonna happen in our lifetime.

Uncle Vic,

I do hate to disagree with ya', but you're wrong here...

Jim Bailey's "Buddy Boy" had big time blisters, some as big as a coffee saucer and as deep as half way through the thickness of the hull. The largest one, aft & inboard of the stbd strut was almost 7" in diameter and almost through to the inside by the time the grinding was done.

There were several like this, a little smaller, but requiring epoxy glass work to fill. Anything smaller than 3" diameter and less than 1/4" deep, after grinding, were just faired with high density filled epoxy. In all, there were probably over 150 significant blisters & a total that exceeded 300 that got repaired on "Buddy Boy".

I had the bottom paint ground off & the bottom sanded to the point where the gelcoat was almost thin enough to read through prior to starting the repairs. Some blisters were small enough that they could be patched within a couple of weeks of drying. All others were ground out and allowed to dry for over six months, most of which was in Florida's summer, before patching or re-glassing. Finally, the bottom was fully barrier coated with Interlux 2000/2001 system & the first tie coat of hard bottom paint added.

Blisters can and do happen on ALL polyester fiberglass hulls that were not previously barrier coated and spend most of their time in the water.

Blistering is a result of free molecules of MEKP, the catalyst used to hardened polyester resin. Gelcoats and polyester fiberglass will absorb small amounts of water if kept submerged long enough. Six months can be long enough for a boat bottom with minimal bottom paint. On an un-painted hull one month would be enough. Most larger boats down south may spend as much as 11 months out of the year in the water...

When the water molecules soak in enough to make contact with free molecules of MEKP, a new chemical compound is formed. It will have a thick, sticky, brown or black consistency, a lot like tree sap. Over time, as this substance expands during warmer months, the contents of the blister swell & actually start delaminating the glass layers.

As cooler months arrive, the blister contracts drawing in more water. More water means more MEKP/H2O goo get formed. Now there's more material to expand, more delamination to occur & so goes the cycle of blister growth...

Left un-addressed, the problem will only get worse to the point that very costly repairs, taking very long drying times between grinding & filling. Big storage bills & loss of usable boat time also factor in.

So the bottom line on blisters is get after them when they're small, epoxy or vinylester fill them, and get the bottom protected with a specifically formulated epoxy barrier coating,

Would a dentist say: "Don't worry about those small little cavities, we'll deal with them in a few years."

Br,

Patrick

bertram31.com

What should I know? (Just Purchased)

What should I know? (Just Purchased)

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