New Bertram Deck

[ed c.]

What is the difficulty installing the Bertram fiberglass deck? I know about removing the old deck and supports. I also heard something about fiberglass supports. Thanks in advance.

[John F.]

When I first put it on, I just used the old deck supports after some minor repairs. Its pretty easy. When I took the deck out again for the tank, I redid the deck supports. I took the starboard deck piece of this winter to do the steering line and outside starboard support. I'm going to take the deck off again next winter to do the far outside port support and a new rudder shelf. That's how easy it is. If its just unscrewing stuff (mine was/is), you can have the whole deck off in a most a couple of hours, and the new one back on in the same amount of time.

[coolair]

John, how did you screw it down? from underneath?

[John F.]

I bought my f'glass deck used off this site. The previous install had been done with the center deck screwed down through the flanges into the deck support, and then finish screws screwed down from the outside deck pieces into the center deck running down the seam where they meet the center deck, and a couple of screws on the far outer edge of the deck screwed down into the outside deck supports--those can't be seen. The finish screws are visible, and while not the way I'd have done it (I'd go from underneath), it sure makes it easy to take out.

[ed c.]

Thanks John, I may get back to you later in the fall.

[Carl]

I had the old 3 panel wood deck in mine and some of the deck supports where shot.

I bought a Glass deck and decided to switch all the underlying supports at that time. Figured the old ones lasted 30 years...but if I went glass I would just eliminate me having to deal with deck supports ever again. So I purchased 1 x 3" fiberglass U channel to mimic the wooden supports and mounted those in place then ran new Mahogany rails to the top and screwed the deck down.

It was really pretty easy...although I had the most issue with trying to remove the old Supports as the screw heads were on the tank side of the stringer...and I wasn't going to remove that tank....Fiberglass tank...it will last a life time. So I struggled getting many pieces of hardware off then drilling the holes in the new supports in the same location. But whe i was done I was quite happy...even with all the extra work....two years later I had to pull the tank because of ethanol...funny how things work.

[ed c.]

Sim, I had a 31 in 1975 and my kids were cutting bait, etc. on the naughyde deck. I had to remove the deck to replace the naughyde, it was not bad at all. I was concerned with the installation of the Bertram glass deck. Thanks for your input.

[Carl]

I understood about the glass deck.

I had the Plywood deck and switched to a Glass-tech deck... in the process I changed the supports to glass as well.

In hindsight I should have spent the extra bucks and went with a Non-wood cored Fiberglass deck...but hindsight is 20/20 and it seemed like the way to go at the time.

I had to make a height modification and move the Horizontal support a bit, otherwise the install was the same...just the fiberglass deck panels overlap where the wood panel had a butt joint.