BERTRAM 28 CENTER CONSOLE CONVERSION

I am going to start a thread here of a project that I am mid way through. I will populate it with some history but for now here is where I am at. I took a 1979 Bertram Flybridge cruiser and cut it down to the gunnels. I built a bracket on the back and have made new gunnels so far. The pics below show the intended layout with the walkaround console that I have built. More to come....

The gunnels came out great!

Thanks Joel! The forum is awesome. Jim

Coming together nice Jim. I like the lines with the giant console in the boat.
Keep going
Bob

Jim, did you use the line of the sole/side joint to determine the inside curve of the gunnel, if so how much did you offset it?

I did use that as my guide Joel. It is only inset about an inch and a half.

Good eye. It looks 'right'.

Got some work done today. GRINDING! The worst part of the process. Removed the wood the served as stiffening and backing for struts. Also ground the shaft log port down flush. The area is going to be a fish box, one on each side. The are between the outer stringers and the hull side use to be where the exhaust ran. Cut out the old supports on the port side. I will put bulkheads every 2' in that area. Looking to add some torsional rigidity the length of the boat on each side. I will also add a layer of glass in all these areas

I will put bulkheads every 2' in that area. Looking to add some torsional rigidity the length of the boat on each side.

Thats a lot, but they certainly wont hurt. Since you are (I think you are anyway) planning to bond the deck/sole down to the tops to the stringers and the sides, you will have a lot of stiffness added vs the old setup that only had deck beam and a liner.

I will also add a layer of glass in all these areas.

With all the over laps from tabbing in the frames, you might be adding a layer already. Maybe if you use 1708 for tabbing (one layer) you could just make the tabbing extend a little further onto the hull, that way you get you extra thickness you want with a little less work. Just an idea

Thanks for posting!

I thought about that as well Joel maybe I will just do that. I am planning on adding a layer to the bottom when I flip it over and going the paint off

Been making some progress all be it sloooooooow. The heat makes it hard to get motivated. You can see the bulkheads on the outside and the bulkheads between the inner and outer stringers are foam. Had some flat panels left from the hard top project so cut them up and used them. I am going to foam fill that area and they will be fish boxes. There is one bulkhead left to do on the front of each box. I raised the outer stringer to a point 13' forward of the transom and will do the same for the inners. Primary purpose is floor support. The area in the center will get bullheaded to make live well and lazeret. I can not wait to get the floor in this thing.

The other thing I have done is glass the bottom of the transom core. Change my plan a little on this. Originally I was going to use foam core for that last 3 inches to avoid water issue as most attachments would be in that area. As I thought about it more I figured the load the core is carrying is going into the stringers almost exclusively and the core need not go to the floor. So that is what I got!

For some reason the photo is cropping off.

The heat makes it hard to get motivated.

I hear you. Hopping to have time and motivation to get back on the formula this week

Will you be extending the sole back to the transom?

Yea, taking it all. The center portion will be all hatches so not a lot of pure decking

DAYTRIP wrote:Yea, taking it all. The center portion will be all hatches so not a lot of pure decking

having it all "boxed" up outside will help transfer loads from transom to the sides and stringers

Making some progress. Got my outer stringers extended and more bulkheads installed. This weekend I put the first section of flooring down on the port side. You can see the doublers on the bulkheads to provide more glueing surface. Due to the width of the deck (9') I am doing the outer section (18") up to the point that the console sits and then will in fill the center area (6') running plywood opposite direction. This creates two box beams on the outer portion of the boat which will be very stiff in both bending and torsion.

Some additional photos with one section of deck in place. Ready to get the balance of the side sections in and flip it over to do the bottom. Plan there is grind off the anti-fouling and use the interlux VC epoxy. It will be on a lift so no bottom paint. I do plan on taking the gelcoat off in the rear 12' and adding a layer of 1708.

looking good Jim. What will you use for cleats to epoxy down the middle sole section?

I am going to either use Mahogany strips or lay up some angles that will epoxy to the sole and stringer. I will have access to glass the center.

Got the sole on the stbd side down today. The photo give a perspective of how big this barge is.

its a beast for sure!

Did get some additional floor down last weekend but forgot pics. Joel stopped by and didn't realize I had done the platform on the bracket that I built so thought I would post some pics of that. I built this the bracket right on the boat so I have a bunch of photos documenting that as well. Maybe I should do a thread on building a bracket Joel??

Jim,

The bracket looks great

Maybe I should do a thread on building a bracket Joel?

That would be helpful to others who want to go that route. Thanks!

Took the v-berth out this week end so that I could slightly modify it and get it back in place with epoxy and glass. The original polyester and cabosil had completely unbounded. I added some glass to the vertical faces so that they could serve as bulkheads and I replaced a part of the floor that originally had a hatch in it. I also replaced the center bulkhead just for good measure. It was fine but figured might as well. It is amazing how the wood holds up if water drains correctly. Got it back in. What a pain. You can see my hoist AKA oak tree. I had put a bead of epoxy and wood flour on the edge which is like a flange then I reached under with small pieces of glass and attached the part to the hull. Will do the same on top.

Got the floor next to the console close to installed. Put in the bulkheads in that area and got the floor panels cut out. Need to get more glass and resin to install them.

very cool console. It sure looks good with the sole in, even if its just temporary

The original polyester and cabosil had completely unbounded.

polyester putty does not stand much of a chance over time. Good thing you are re-bonding it back in.