I am posting a few pictures to Start with. Make note of the rub rail corner on the Starboard back. Also, the Exhaust that is all fiberglass. I am sure that John will go into all the details later.
Look at the corner rub rail.
Inside Engine Box
Bulkhead
Cabin
Inside Cabin
Inside Cabin
Cabin
Fish Box
Fish box
Front Deck over water tank
Water Tank - 50 gallons & Vacu Flush System
Engine Vent
Engine Box
Bertram 31
Engine Box
Exhaust All Fiberglass
Starboard
Starboard
john
looks great, i see you went with the fighting yellow lady, i like the inside configureation, question i notced you took the head out, was this boat originaly a bahia mar , what year is she, the out side chimes look bigger or is it just me. best of luck with her she looks fantastic
beautiful boat John...
The exhausts are very cool, I really like how the spray rails were cleverly made to look more "oem like" by adding them into the bootstripe. The bow pulpit even looks good, and not out of place like they often do on a 31.
John that's one extremely beautiful 31. Great job. I have so many questions and comments I think I may need to take a ride down the coast and get a first hand look sometime this summer!
Again, really nice.
Scot
1969 Bertram 25 "Roly Poly"
she'll float one of these days.. no really it will :-0
John,
She looks great. Very innovative. A closer in person inspection would be even better. Hope to see you and Reel Cowboy soon. Be sure and thank Pam.
Andre
I'm not sure but indecision may or may not be my problem.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." - George Orwell
Yo, Dog, check it out! A little pitchy on the painted zincs.
Attention to detail is unbelievable. Love Pat's intakes and Cabrera's decks etc. Giving me courage and high anxiety. Got to get to the yard, daylight is wasting. This is the reason we all slave over these critters. Not a contemporary boat extant that can out-shine your beauty.
When do you launch? Got to see pix of Reel Cowboy doing it's thing in big water.
Mikey
3/18/1963 - -31-327 factory hardtop express, the only one left.
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.
-Albert Einstein
Guys,
Those spray rails were glassed and lag bolted to the hull years ago. I'm probably not going to include a enclosure this time around, because the rails knock down 95percent of the spray. I'll be putting a new zinc on the back of her as I didn't know that it was painted. I don't know if Pam took pics of the bottom, but it came out real flawless, as we used the new VC performance epoxy That came out as smooth as the hull sides. It doesn't have any anti fouling properties, but she'll be sitting on a cradle lift or on the new trailer. I don't know if she took pics of the engine room, but the motor mounts are complete and very beefed up, and then finished in Alwgrip. I don't know if you saw that front hatch was glassed over, along with the side windows. Salvador spent alot of time glassing and faring out the cabin...nothing but smooth fiberglass...no vinyl or cloth coverings were used at all. rub rail came out fantastic with no gaps what so ever. Thanks for all of the kind responses, and if there's something that one of you might want to see, we can take some more pics or measurements next time we see her.
One more thing. the holes on both sides look like where thru hole fittings would go, but, what we did, was to glass fiberglass tubes to the hull from the inside where the bilge hoses will be slid on and clamped. Was going for that clean look without a bunch of mis colored thru hole fittings taking away from the look that I was striving for.
Good one!, Bruce. She's at the shop waiting for the Yanmar 315's with ZF 220a's to be dropped in. The mechanic worked directly with the glass man to build the beds. Looks like I'll have 2"'s of space between the bottom of the gears and the bottom of the boat. I'll have about 7"'s from front of engines and the front bulkhead wall. About 3"'s from top of engines to the bottom side of engine boxes.
gonna fit like a glove. I wanted you guys to see engine rooms before the install. More pics will come in a couple of weeks, and then some more as progress proceeds.
Thanks for the responses.
John, I'm even going to go as far as to by pass the " for a Bertram" comment. Looks nice. Good enough job that it could have been done on a Hatt. congrats.
Tim
Just want to thank Captian Pat and Harv for their assistance in getting the pictures posted and now that I know what to do I will be sure to help John out and keep the pics coming.
Thanks to all of you for your commments. The project is "A labor of Love" for John; though he is blind he had sight at one time and is very knowledgeable and wants perfection. I am very proud of what he has accomplished with the "Reel Cowboy" and was totally taken back by the work that Salvador did on the boat.
I know that all of you on the board are instrumental in helping him in one way or another to give this particular Bertram life again.
But to Mike O - I am sorry that I did not realize that painting the zinc would be an issue and failed to communicate it when taking the pic...no worries...already replaced and will make sure I send you a new picture. Unfortunately I am a "bean counter" not a zinc inspecter. I will try harder next time - I guess you did not see anything positive worth mentioning? So sorry!!
Again to all the Faithful thanks for your praise and keep fishing on those spectacular boats the "Bertram 31"!! As always, a pleasure talking with you.
But to Mike O - I am sorry that I did not realize that painting the zinc would be an issue and failed to communicate it when taking the pic...no worries...already replaced and will make sure I send you a new picture. Unfortunately I am a "bean counter" not a zinc inspecter. I will try harder next time - I guess you did not see anything positive worth mentioning? So sorry!!
Pam
Pam,
While I have been known to occasionally do a good deed or two, I try to keep that stuff on the down-low. I find that it interferes with my e-persona as a vile, meddling, curmudgeon. Besides......if I was to start saying nice things about Johns boat, it would surely come back to haunt me. You see......it's all about expectation theory, and I'm just trying to live up to the image that people have come to take comfort in when they hear from me. I don't want to upset the apple cart.....
And John....... even though no one has mentioned it above, I think that it's a totally bold move on your part to have gone with that lavender colored hull. I'm not crazy about the puce boot stripe, but hell.....you have to live with it, not me.
OK, OK.......I will say this.......
Must be nice, having a trailer that sweet.......and not needing any cleats....
Pam wrote:I am a "bean counter" not a zinc inspecter
Well done Pam, still laughing at that one. Don't worry about him, on another site someone once said..."I'd ask the guys on Bertram31.com but they are real mean" or something like that..ever since he's carried the mean-flag for all of us....which we all seem to appreciate, I know I do.
nice work i like the innovation recess in all the hatches,doing away with all those ss. lathes also saves a bit of money.i had to look all over to get 316 ss with a square recess design i wish i would have seen these pictures prior i would have went this route.
Mike O.,
I figured that the lavender would go best with your wardrobe in case you might want to go fishing with us. I could have gone with something else, like fighting lady yellow, but, I didn't want to be like everyone else.
Dr. Santiago,
Yes, those are Cabrera fish boxes, along with the sportfish engine boxes, v-berth kit, pulpit, and swim platform that will be installed once we see how she's going to sit in the water. My trailer is exactly like yours.
Trey,
She's sitting over at Progressive Diesel in Pearland. They're on Industrial blvd which is just off of 35. Go by anytime, except for weekends. Their # is 281-993-0099.
Thanks again for the positive comments, everyone.
When I 1st saw pictures of Reel Cowboy earlier this week I choose not to say anything cause other then top notch workmanship I really didn't care for the overall look. I did think to comment on the Zinc too...
Several days have past and I have to say each day I find myself drawn to take another peek at the Reel Cowboy pictures and you know I really really like it more and more each time I see it. I guess it is like Good Art, you experience a piece for the first time and say nice, but for some reason you always feel compelled to take another look.
Now I look at the pictures and see what reminds me of a Retro Car. It has the classic lines and features of the old 31 but has todays sleek styling and modern flare.
She is looking GREAT!! If you need a hand or two when you are ready to go fishing for a day or two let me know. Have Capt, Beer, and money will travel. With her speed and range we need to head to Ceversa and beat the shit out of it, then over to East Breaks for the Sword fish Happy Hour. Then cruse back the next afternoon. Congrats!!
Rob C
PS If you need crew for the UVIIIII we are definitely willing and might be able.
I want to apologize to Mike O before posting this, it is definitely not "Mean Team" material.
John C- My 13 yo daughter and 12 yo son make fun of the time I spend on B31. They saw me drooling over your pics and started asking me about the boat. As we talked about the boat and how she is a labor of love for you and the fact that you are blind, they thought it was possibly the best and coolest thing that they had seen on the internet.
They were incredibly impressed by and happy for you. Now they always ask me if there are more pics of reel cowboy up whenever I am on the computer. Thanks for showing them (my kids) that a person sets his (or her, sorry Pam) own limits. They really got something from your efforts. I doubt that was your intention, but I would like to thank you anyway.
jspiezio wrote:I want to apologize to Mike O before posting this, it is definitely not "Mean Team" material.
John C- My 13 yo daughter and 12 yo son make fun of the time I spend on B31. They saw me drooling over your pics and started asking me about the boat. As we talked about the boat and how she is a labor of love for you and the fact that you are blind, they thought it was possibly the best and coolest thing that they had seen on the internet.
They were incredibly impressed by and happy for you. Now they always ask me if there are more pics of reel cowboy up whenever I am on the computer. Thanks for showing them (my kids) that a person sets his (or her, sorry Pam) own limits. They really got something from your efforts. I doubt that was your intention, but I would like to thank you anyway.
Hell yeah! That's not all bad for a blind guy from Texas.
I particularly like the engine boxes and fish box with recesses under for your wireman's toes! Hope to see you at the UV#?1/2 later this year. You're still welcome to my tower for cell access anytime.
No such thing as a dumb question here. In the late 70s me & the Bride got stuck at the Miami airport for 7 hours so we took a taxi the half mile to the Bertram plant.....I owned a B25 at the time, and they had B31s lined up in the parking lot, brand new. I left a trail of drool behind me.
Many of the restores seen here are much better than the original boats....the two part paints in my view look better than the original gelcoat, and like anything custom, as long as you start with a solid foundation, the sky's the limit. Plus the modern diesel powerplants make the B31 perform like no original ever came close to, except maybe the 3208 Cats and the very few 6v53s.
Anyway, most of us think about 1860 B31s were made over the years and there still are a ton of them out there, not just looking pretty (which they are) but pounding the seas of the world every day, day in and day out. In 2061 there will still be 100 year old Bertram 31s fishing the oceans, anybody want to argue with that?
yea, isnt that amazing? 100 years, thanks for the story, i enjoyed it. i wish i would have seen one in the 70,s. or even the eighty's i think. early....... everytime i walk down the dock, you stop and pay respect at the 31. and if the guy's not taking care of it, yikes! but if he is, its like meeting a girl you used to know. and you remember her name........no wink, ive been warned.
uv
cant argue with the 31s running a hundred years from now, but the way things are going with the tree huggers, in 2061 we will not be able to fish for crap. every year tighter regulations and shorter bag limits, hope iam wrong
Hi John,
New to the 31 world. I was wondering about your trailer and the possibility of trailering these boats. I don't think it's legal without an oversize permit but, if no one stops you then you don't need to worry about it. Unless the trailer is just to move it around to different shops while work is being done. Just wondering if you or anyone else has tried to pull one of renovated/lightened up 31's. Looks like there might be prop/rudder clearance issues on some roads. Can't wait to read the 100 replies. Thanks for the 31 education you guys.
I've been out of town all week, just want to thank everyone for the comments. I'll keep the pics coming...Motors should be installed by now, and I'll have some detailed pics in a couple of weeks.
Kurt, the trailer was built by High Tech Trailers in Tampa Bay...18,000 lbs, triple axle with disc brakes and torsion bar suspention. Texas requires a permit for anything over 9', I think. I'm winging it...no permit for the time being...I want to be able to move her in case of a hurricane, and within the local area.
Thanks again, John.
