I finally bit the bullet...

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:54 am

After posting a few times about 2-4 weeks ago, and reading months of past posts here, as well as reading a lot on the Bertram 31 site.. I finally bit the proverbial bullet, and an hour ago I made an offer on an FBC. It is a project boat to be sure.. the cabin sole and cabinetry are a shambles, and need a complete rebuild, and the present owner painted from the rail up himself, so the paintjob is crap. I believe the engines are good, and have already started looking for surveyors.. It will be a lot of work but if the price is right I feel I can bring the boat back to good condition. This being said, you all can start preparing for a deluge of questions from me if the deal goes through. I have a slip about two minutes walk from my house, I am pretty much retired, and I am a fairly good woodworker, so I am willing to take this on. More news later as this deal moves on. Frank B Actively looking newbie

Capt. Ed · Post by **Capt. Ed** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 6:29 am

Congratulations Frank, I am sure you are going to have endless hours of fun as you create your boat just the way you want it. You are also going to really know your boat, and that is priceless (for everything else theres VISA). 1979 Bertram 33' FBC ALEXANDRA Port Richey, Florida

Post by **dougl33** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 6:39 am

Frank, Welcome to the club. You won't be dissapointed. Lots of good onfo on this site. So I'm guessing you went with the 83 with the Cummins from South Carolina? Regards, Doug L. 1986 33 Bertram FBC Queen Elizabeth Marblehead, MA

Post by **Admin** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 7:21 am

Awesome Frank! Congratulations. Let us know when the deal goes through. David Sumich 1986 SF - 33 Megabites Huntington Harbour, CA Forum Administrator

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 8:29 am

I appreciate all your congratulations.. I am still not really sure I did this.. I have a lot of reservations, but I think I can pull this rebuild off if things go reasonably well. I will let you all know what happens. Yes.. this is the '83 FBC in Charleston, SC. I have some reservations about the engines since they have only been run about 20 hours in the past 18 months, hopefully the engine surveyor will let me know whether I am overly concerned or not. Now I have to get to the drug store and stock up on Tums and Maalox! Frank B Actively looking newbie

photo finish · Post by **photo finish** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 9:00 am

Congrats!!!! Are you getting a separate engine surveyor? Tim Stamm Photo Finish 1981 33' Bertram FBC

Post by **dougl33** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 10:03 am

quote:Originally posted by IRGuy Yes.. this is the '83 FBC in Charleston, SC. This is great, now we'll have another entry into the "What'll she do with ????" discussion as I don't think anyone else on this site is running Cummins 5.9's (315hp) in an FBC (David, how's that database coming?[:p]). Let us know how the survey and seatrial go. Do you have any tentative dates yet? Regards, Doug L. 1986 33 Bertram FBC Queen Elizabeth Marblehead, MA

BECCA ROSE · Post by **BECCA ROSE** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 10:08 am

Engine surveyor should be a must, most boat surveyors like to make you think they know something about engines but they are just blowing smoke up your you know what. Good luck and get busy on those projects, we are bored as hell up here in our lovely 8 degree weather.[:D] Bill Dunlop "Rebecca Rose" 1988 FBC Ipswich, Massachusetts

Post by **Admin** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 10:17 am

A really good general surveyor will defer to an engine surveyor usually, which of course is a good sign that they are in fact a good general surveyor. David Sumich 1986 SF - 33 Megabites Huntington Harbour, CA Forum Administrator

Capt. Ed · Post by **Capt. Ed** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 10:28 am

Here are a few from the The Society Of Accredited Marine Surveyors: http://www.marinesurvey.org/index2.html I have always had good luck with SAM Surveyors and they know the good engine sureyors also. Hope it is helpful to you. Michael Andrews - Surveyor Associate Andrews Enterprises P.O. Box 12 Manteo, North Carolina 27954 252-473-3046-O & R, 252-473-9646-Fax, 252-202-3121-Mobile waterman@aginet.com David A. Blalock III - Surveyor Associate Blalock Marine Services 563 Ocean Boulevard West Holden Beach, North Carolina 28462 910-842-6851-O, 910-612-3987-Mobile, 910-842-6848-R davidblalock@ec.rr.com Stephen Brian Bowen - Surveyor Associate Blue Water Marine 144 Church Street Willard, North Carolina 28478 910-289-7583-O & Mobile, 910-285-4405-Fax coinshooter1@hotmail.com R. Michael Burns - Accredited Marine Surveyor 1996 Burns Maritime Services, Ltd. 3095 Walter Drive Concord, North Carolina 28027 704-782-3522-O, 704-784-2638-Fax, 704-608-5742-Mobile info@burnshqtrs.com Specialty: Yachts, Small Craft Wayne V. Canning - Surveyor Associate Wayne Canning Yacht Suveyor/Consultant 3535 Kirby Smith Drive Wilmington, North Carolina 28409 910-231-5874-O, 910-392-5847-Fax & R wayne_canning@hotmail.com Charles O. Davis III - Surveyor Associate North Carolina Marine Services Inc. 211 Arendel Street, Suite 203 Morehead City, North Carolina 27557 252-726-8213-O, 919-810-0302-Mobile seaodavis@aol.com Brian C. Donnalley - Accredited Marine Surveyor 1995 Donnalley Marine Services 219 Bedrock Court Wilmington, North Carolina 28411 910-686-7867-O, 910-686-2197-R, 910-686-7243-Fax bdonnalley@ec.rr.com Specialty: Yachts, Small Craft Robert C. Eberle - Accredited Marine Surveyor 1995 Eberle Marine Surveys P. O. Box 124 New Bern, North Carolina 28563 252-633-4280-O, 252-635-1958-Fax, 252-670-1976-Mobile eberlemarine@cox.net Specialty: Yachts, Small Craft Robert J. Eldridge - Surveyor Associate R. J. Eldridge Marine Surveying P.O. Box 15558 Wilmington, North Carolina 28408 910-452-2805-O, 910-452-2849-Fax, 910-232-8356-Mobile rjesurveys@hotmail.com Wade Alexander Humphrey - Surveyor Associate Carolina Marine Survey & Consulting 111 Sanford Street Holden Beach, North Carolina 28462 910-842-9055-O & Fax, 910-233-1215-Mobile hbcharters@atmc.net David W. Jones - Accredited Marine Surveyor 2000 David W. Jones, LLC 1079 Kitty Hawk Road Kitty Hawk, North Carolina 27949 252-261-1339-O & R, 252-261-1204-Fax dndjones@pinn.net Specialty: Yachts, Small Craft Gary N. Lowell - Surveyor Associate Lowell Boats 708 Guilford Avenue Greensboro, North Carolina 27401 336-274-0892-O, 336-230-2239-R & Fax boats@lowell.to Mark L. Macek - Surveyor Associate Macek Marine Services, Inc. 302 North Montreal Court Cary, North Carolina 27511 919-469-3993-O & Fax, 919-621-1621-Mobile mlm115@earthlink.net Corey E. McMahon - Surveyor Associate Triton Marine Services Inc. P.O. Box 486 Beaufort, North Carolina 28516-0486 252-422-1493-O, 252-727-5086-R tritonmarine@coastalnet.com Bert W. Quay - Accredited Marine Surveyor 1991 Carolina Yacht Surveys, Inc. P.O. Box 14383 New Bern, North Carolina 28561 252-637-1114-O & Fax, 252-249-2275-Cellular boathead@surveyacht.com Specialty: Yachts, Small Craft Randy Ranson - Accredited Marine Surveyor 2000 Ranson Marine Services 113 Scottsmoor Drive Charlotte, North Carolina 28214 704-604-4929-Mobile Specialty: Yachts, Small Craft Richard Rhodes - Surveyor Associate Rhodes Marine 740 SE Greenville Boulevard, Suite 400, #158 Greenville, North Carolina 27858 252-347-4141-O & Mobile, 252-329-0019-Fax rrhodes@rhodesmarinesurvey.net David Robotham - Accredited Marine Surveyor Charter Member Robotham Marine Surveyors & Consultants 225 Seacrest Drive Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina 28480 910-509-1387-O, 910-256-5238-Fax robothammarine@att.net Specialty: Yachts, Small Craft, Cargo Jon Roop - Accredited Marine Surveyor 1999 Marine Surveyor & Consultant 180 Lewistown Road Beaufort, North Carolina 28516 252-725-0209-O & R, 252-728-6868-Fax jonroop@earthlink.net Specialty: Yachts, Small Craft Dwayne R. Sandbo - Surveyor Associate The Hunter Group P.O. Box 436 Beaufort, North Carolina 28516 252-225-0455-O & Fax, 828-612-4836-Mobile huntersun@earthlink.net Kenneth James Spencer - Surveyor Associate P.O. Box 1372 Morehead City, North Carolina 28557 252-725-5859-O & Mobile, 252-726-2580-R spencerkj@aol.com W. Thomas Suggs - Accredited Marine Surveyor 1991 W. Thomas Suggs Marine Surveys P.O. Box 688 Beaufort, North Carolina 28516 252-838-0076-O & R, 252-838-0015-Fax Specialty: Yachts, Small Craft E. Reynold Taylor - Surveyor Associate Marine Technical Solutions P.O. Box 910 Oriental, North Carolina 28571 252-670-1251-O & Mobile, 919-562-6689-Fax reynold@marinetechnicalsolutions.com James Franklin Vass - Surveyor Associate 2010 Capital Drive Wilmington, North Carolina 28405 910-791-6414-O, 910-791-5780-Fax, 910-619-4665-Mobile jimmy@wbstorage.com Bill Whaley - Surveyor Associate Carolina Marine Surveys & Claims, Inc. 2010 Capital Drive Wilmington, North Carolina 28405 910-619-6281-Mobile, 910-791-5780-Fax, 910-791-9379-R bill@seapathmarina.com T. Fred Wright - Accredited Marine Surveyor 2000 Carolina/Atlantic Marine Services P.O. Box 77053 Charlotte, North Carolina 28271-7000 704-708-5709-O, 704-708-4806-R & Fax, 704-953-9486-Mobile Tfredwright@aol.com Specialty: Yachts, Small Craft 1979 Bertram 33' FBC ALEXANDRA Port Richey, Florida

Post by **dougl33** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 10:33 am

I would also try and get in touch with the local Cummins rep to see if they recommend someone or can actually have a factory rep go down. Regards, Doug L. 1986 33 Bertram FBC Queen Elizabeth Marblehead, MA

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 2:17 pm

To answer the questions/comments above.. Thanks for the good info on surveyors.. I see a couple of names there that have been also recommended to me by others in this area. I don't have an agreement on the price yet.. The broker called after I sent a fax offer this afternoon but I was out for the rest of the day so I will call him in the morning. Assuming we can come to terms I will set a date for the surveys as soon as possible. I have already spoken with the Cummins regional distributor and he has given me a couple of names of engine surveyors in the Charleston area, plus I have spoken with the service manager of the company that did the 500 hour engine service 18 months ago. (They also do engine surveys). The engines have run about 20 hours since. Now I suppose I have to tell my wife what I have done. Have any of you got any suggestions in this regard? Frank B Actively looking newbie

Capt. Ed · Post by **Capt. Ed** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 4:28 pm

Glad the information was useful. I would ask some of the SAM Surveyors who they recommend for the engine surveyor, as you may find some new names of people you will like. By this point in time, you should know Bertrams well enough to interview the surveyors and find one you like who will do a good job for you. Ask to see some reports they have done for others as samples of their work too. Perhaps even some names of recent clients you could speak with. As for telling your wife what you have done, depending on the moon... do it from a safe distance! lol [:D] 1979 Bertram 33' FBC ALEXANDRA Port Richey, Florida

photo finish · Post by **photo finish** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 4:56 pm

Buy her an epirb for Christmas[:)] Tim Stamm Photo Finish 1981 33' Bertram FBC

Capt. Ed · Post by **Capt. Ed** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:09 pm

Excellent selection Tim!!! You have good taste in gifts! And to think, here I was about to get my wife a new buffing wheel and wax too! [;)] 1979 Bertram 33' FBC ALEXANDRA Port Richey, Florida