Soft point on the deck

[Olivier]

Hello,
I have a soft point (80 cm x 60 cm) on my front deck, can some one help with a repair procedure.
Thank you for your help.
Olivier

[Harry Babb]

Oliver

My front deck is soft and springy too.

In my case the supports/ribs underneath the deck are broken and loose

My suggestion based on DeNada's Deck condition is to remove the Head Liner and look for structural damage in the rib supports.

hb

[Tommy]

Ditto Harry's advice. All of the 31s I've been involved with had springy foredecks.

[PeterPalmieri]

My fore deck was "springy" on either side of the v berth hatch. Raybo Marine (an active member of this site) added coring, glassed plywood to add strength.

Some later models, Bob Lico's boat came from the factory with this done already..

[Pete Fallon]

Oliver,
Almost all the 31's have had some degree of springy forward decks, some have no coring just 3/8" of solid fiberglass, others have a grid like rib system. You can drop the forward V berth headliner, sand down the old green glass and add 1/2" marine plywood or Coosa board with a layer or two of glass that should make the deck a lot less springy. While you have the head liner down, check around all the bow rail stanchions, hawse pipe fittings and any other fittings mounted on the forward deck, you will find that most of the thru bolted parts have loosened up over the years and are leaking, don't forget to add some bedding compound around all the thru bolts. Be carefull when you take down the headliner the plywood backing boards have a tendency to collect black mold, wear a good respirator or at least a dust mask the mold will make you very very very sick.
Pete Fallon

[bob lico]

Built as a complete structure it starts with V shape 5" oak piece that is laminated to bow from bottom of deck to bottom of bilge ,then 2" deck is layed up from that support to underside of laminated windshield held with 44. Lag bolts installed in semi circle with is expoxy and bolted to bridge so in essence the deck is one piece with entire boat. 6 men could jump up and down on the deck, does not move a fraction of a inch.last week we had a freeze up in river .one sheet of ice 1/2" to 3/4" thick .people panic with no bubble system installed yet so I fire up the Phoenix and went from restarant to bay about3/4 mile and broke ice a true battle wagon.afterwoods they put in 40 surmerge ice breakers .the 31 Bertram is a legend on the river.also greeted to a big dinner at restarant.

[Tony Meola]

Bob

You got that cold up on Long Island. We had skim ice at night over the Thanksgiving weekend but that was it.

Looking at the forcast, the bubble system might have to go in shortly to protect the pilings.

[bob lico]

Tony we had a cold spell and the brackish water ice up but the bay had not a trace of ice .apparently the fresh water from the rain run off up river lays on top of the salt water below and froze solid. Needless to say after hurricane sandy all the facilities like marina's and restaurants have all new decks and are were not prepare for this solid overnight ice condition .The ice melted two days later

[Tony Meola]

Must have been pretty cold, we are brackish also, but did not get anything like that. I am some what lucky, I am the first house on the lagoon, so I am on a point over looking the wetlands with a natural creek. We are the last spot to freeze on the lagoon due to the flow from the creek.

[bob lico]

We have a large nature preserve to the north that forms the headwaters that flow into river with no boat traffic that fresh water lays on top of salt and a week of mid twenties did the trick.nobody anticipated the sudden freeze.i have great photo's of the Bertram breaking the ice on a Droid cell phone cannot download to this site.

[bob lico]

Tony here is the Bertram on the return trip breaking the ice in river.

[bob lico]

[bob lico]

[Rawleigh]

My Godfather used to tow his duck blind out through the ice with my Bertram. No problem as long as you don't do something stupid!

[bob lico]

We ran as slow as we could not to get up on top of ice.the boat is full of fuel and the boot stripe is one inch under water at transom. Chine is 3" under water the 31bertram love's weight in the ass and most staple with chine 3" under at 30knots .

[Tony Meola]

Bob

I am suprised the ice does not cut into the hull and leave marks.