BERTRAM 28 CENTER CONSOLE CONVERSION

Saw a walk around that looked similar to what I was hoping to do. Thought I would share.

sweet boat! Only thing I would change would be outboards

Got the deck next to the console glassed in this weekend. Feels like a huge accomplishment being able ot walk from front to back on the deck. I glass the underside of these pieces with two plys of 1708 due to the width and support of the console. Overkill but what ever..

thats great that you will be able to glass the console from inside/underside. Im guessing you will wait until the boat is flipped to glass console down. Im impressed with your steady progress

Definitely will wait till flipped. Getting closer.

Got bulkheads in and some deck area glassed next to the console. Also built the hardtop yesterday. BIG 7'6 x 9'0

That's a big top. Were you able to pull it down with your HVAC setup.
I'm at a point where Im trying to decide between framing in and glassing a wheel house or building aluminum tubing frame and fabricating the hard top.

Oh yea. The hvac pump pulls is down no problem. Took about 3 minutes to get it to 27 inches. As long as leakage is minimal any pump like this will work. Higher cfm allows for more leakage but you really don't want that anyway

Oh yea. The hvac pump pulls is down no problem. Took about 3 minutes to get it to 27 inches. As long as leakage is minimal any pump like this will work. Higher cfm allows for more leakage but you really don't want that anyway

My aching arms!! Been fairing out the gunnels and intended to prime Monday but rain got me. First thing Saturday they turn white! Took three thin coats of epoxy/phenolic bubble filler to get level.

thats a lot of work! Its a part of the boat that gets a lot of visual attention, so its time well spent getting it fair.

Got the gunnels primed this weekend. Also put the deck in the space behind the console. Making progress.

primer looks good

Thanks Joel. Starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. Going to finish forward section of floor this weekend and address hull sides on the inside. Anxious to fair and prime that as well

Got the front deck in place and glassed in. Also added a layer of 12'oz on the inner hull sides as I have ground a fair amount on them to remove contact cement and paint. Really added stiffness.

Been fairing the console also. Today pain in the butt.

looking good man!

That will be a nice storage space.

Been making progress on fairing the console. What a pain to deal with the curves. I tried using a notched trowel to help get to fair faster. I thing it helped. The second and third images are where I am at now. Once the top is sanded out I am on to the sides which should be a ton easier

I think I have used more resign on the fairing then on the lay up

Ground the hull sides in order to clean up the old paint and contact cement. Then I added a layer of 12oz biax to build back what I removed. Didn't get a shot of the finished product yet. Hard to see anything really.

very complex shape to fair, probably spent as much time on it as the rest of the boat

It wasn't to bad. I am not super concerned with being fair just smooth. The 12 oz helped level it a bit too. Fairing compound next.

Finished hull sides

Been building my hatch gutters...what a pain. Made a quick mold that is 24x54. That is the size of my fish box. I will cut it down now and make the three hatches that go between the stringers. Had resign problems on the one in the mold so my lay up is not real clean. I hate polyester resign!



This is the mold before I got it ready to lay up. I tried this tape made by tacnion. It is Teflon coated so nothing sticks. Has worked great so far. I am on my 4th part and beyond minor repairs it is fine. Definitely a dirty mold in that the finished product is not perfect by any stretch. Since I am glassine and painting that is fine for my use.

very nice, very handy !

Some progress on the console. Fill, fair repeat.....
I think the top is close so ready to prime. Started the side last night



Also made the hatch and deck section for the fish box. In rough format