Update on "Phoenix"

buzzk · Post by **buzzk** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 10:10 am

Hi Frank Have you ordered your water tank and holding tank? Is the yard going to drop the Phoenix back in the water this week? Buzz 1988 Bertram FBC Buzz Off Morehead City, NC

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:03 pm

Hi Buzz... I owe you a thank you for your hospitality two weeks ago.. It was great to finally meet you and see "Buzz Off". I appreciate the time you spent with me! I was in MA last week working, so I haven't been on Phoenix in about three weeks. I plan on going back down to Charleston in a few days and measure spaces for the two tanks, then order them and the accessories for both systems and install everything ASAP after I get my hands on them. She is back in the water after a launch and quick second haulout when we discovered the yard had created a small leak when they replaced one of the external raw water screens. I need to speak with the engine tech about cleaning the raw water systems and checking out the engine alarms before we depart Charleston.. I don't want to have concerns that alarms aren't working. I have been told that in spite of the fact that the replacement of the bulkhead in our subdivision will start soon the contractor feels we will still be able to use our boats without too much problem. Additionally my insurance carrier is telling me that the company wants me to get the boat out of Charleston and 200 miles north to Wilmington before July 1 due to their hurricane concerns. Considering both issues I am planning on moving her north between June 20 and July 1, and putting her in my slip here where I will complete the remaining work, which hopefully by then will be mostly cabinetry and cosmetics. I still don't know what I will do with the crappy home done paint job on the topsides, so that job will have to wait. I mentioned elsewhere on this site that I need to post a progress report and a couple of pictures. Hopefully I will do this in a few days after I finish some work in our house. Thanks again for your hospitality! Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com "Phoenix" 1983 FBC!

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 6:15 am

It has been quite a while since I posted anything about the rebuild of “Phoenixâ€�.. the FBC I purchased several months ago in Charleston, SC. So.. here is an update.. but before I say more I would like to thank all of you who were so helpful and encouraging when I was in the pre-purchase stage. I very much appreciate all your comments and suggestions! Plus, the info regarding sources and other web sites for info has been invaluable. I just reread the above posts and see that some of what I say below was mentioned somewhat in those posts.. sorry if I am repeating myself, but below is a pretty much complete summary of what has been done to date. To start with, there is an issue as to exactly which year she is.. the numbers on the transom follow the usual sequence, and end in 81.. however about two inches further to the right there is stamped in the same font and size the number 83. I checked on this and found a site where hull number formats are discussed and apparently there was a change in formats that took place in the early 80’s, and the two extra numbers were used to designate the actual year, but this is not perfectly clear. Does anyone else have this situation? Now.. what has been done to her? (I will be brief, since the details could take several more pages I am sure). We removed two 6 gallon plastic buckets of old and unused wiring.. and have rewired anything that was suspect.. including removal and replacement of the 120 volt system. The latter has been reduced to power the AC and water heater, and only two duplex outlets, since I will later rebuild the cabinet work and the rest of the interior. We replaced/reinstalled the three bilge pumps, including fabricating and installing a new 3 switch control panel located in the salon. Each bilge pump draws clean power (no breakers or switches in their lines) from separate batteries. Originally the power for two of the pumps came from a breaker in the main panel labeled “Electronicsâ€�. When this breaker was open only one bilge pump was powered from one of the engine batteries. Dangerous? We also installed a second high water alarm in the aftmost section of the bilge. One alarm is located in the located in the new panel, the second is on the bridge. At the suggestion of my surveyor I will be adding two high volume electronic alarms to supplement the wimpy Rule alarms. (These are available from Radio Shack, and will literally hurt your ears if you set them off on a workbench.) We completely replaced all the heavy 12 volt wiring and replaced the Guest switch/fuse panel between the engines. All new wiring, buss bars, terminal strips.. etc. The original system used the P and S engine batteries as P and S house power sources.. and apparently the generator was started from the S engine battery when the boat was new. I believe engine batteries should be used only for starting engines, so I redesigned the system and added a new battery box which will take an 8D battery (or several smaller batteries) and is located to S near the generator, to be used as the generator starting battery and the house battery, but this is also wired so it can be manually paralleled with the S engine battery. Using the push button controlled P and S battery paralleling solenoid and the manual switch for the generator battery I can use all three batteries in parallel to start either engine or the generator. We replaced the two shore power receptacles in the cockpit.. new plastic housings, new 30A breakers and all new wiring. We found that the original breakers had been bypassed, so they were not functional.. just another dangerous thing someone had done in the past. We removed the cheapie shore fresh water pressure regulator. My surveyor says he knows of a few cases where owners left their boats with the shore fresh water hoses connected and the water turned on, and the regulators failed and the boats sank at their slips from being filled with fresh water. We repaired two large exhaust system leaks on either side of the cockpit. The exhaust hoses and cowls had deteriorated, letting exhaust enter the lockers on the sides of the cockpit. (These are the hoses and cowls that duct exhaust gasses to the rectangular outlets on the hull sides.) We rewired/replaced two blowers.. which were non functional. I had the yard patch two holes where old transducers were removed, and install a new transducer for the new Furuno Fish Finder I purchased. They also replaced a broken external engine raw water strainer. I also had the yard replace the wooden backing boards for the two oversized trim tabs on the transom. We replaced the trim tab power and control wiring. I removed the old defunct electric head and the complete LectraSan waste system. These will be replaced with a new electric head and a holding tank and electric discharge pump, with overboard and deck discharges, per all local and Federal regulations. We removed two coolers in the fuel return lines to the tank.. one was corroding badly and I was advised these were not necessary, and in fact might leak salt water into the fuel return lines if either one failed. We completely rewired the bridge, with two main 12 volt feeds and two new switch/fuse panels. These will power running lights, anchor light, horn, spotlight, navigation instruments, instrument lights, etc, etc, I replaced a raw water strainer basket that had the welds on the handle break. We replaced the generator raw water and exhaust hose and several bilge pump and other discharge hoses, Also replaced several plastic bilge pump through hull fittings with larger bronze fittings. We replaced both rudder bearings, and replaced all steering system hoses (some had very corroded steel fittings) with new hoses with brass end fittings. Also, one steering arm was cracked, so this was replaced. Still to do are installation of a fresh water tank (the original was removed several years ago and never replaced), and installation of a new head and holding tank. As mentioned above I will be completely redoing the interior cabinetry once I get the more important things out of the way. My insurance company wants me to have the boat out of Charleston, SC, and in Wilmington, NC, (200 miles north) by July 1 due to hurricane concerns, so I will be bringing her home sooner rather than in the fall as I originally planned. Lots done.. lots more to do.. BOAT = Break Out Another Thousand! Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com "Phoenix" 1983 FBC

Capt. Ed · Post by **Capt. Ed** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 7:11 am

Gee's, I am wore out just reading about that much work. Great job! If you call Bertram with the serial numbers they will fax you the delivery papers, they did that for me 1979 Bertram 33' FBC ALEXANDRA Port Richey, Florida HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR BERTRAM PRIDE '06 yet? DO IT NOW... SPACE IS LIMITED!

lobsta1 · Post by **lobsta1** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 9:30 am

Frank, you & Brian must be on mega doses of mega vitamins. Al 1978 33 FBC NITES OFF

buzzk · Post by **buzzk** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 9:57 pm

Frank, How's it going on the restoration? Did you get the boat moved to Wilmington? Buzzk 1988 Bertram 33 FBC Buzz Off Morehead City, NC

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 12:28 am

Hi Buzz... Not in Wilm yet.. I moved "Phoenix" about 45 water miles south to a diesel shop on Wadmalaw Island (Bohicket Creek).. about a week ago. Stbd engine has a small coolant leak and port prop/shaft has a high speed vibration that I wanted someone to check out, plus they will do a Rydlyme flush and a coolant system flush. While they have the coolant drained they will also install block heaters. Additionally the survey showed the engine mounts were at the end of their useful life so they are being replaced. The engines ran fine on the 5 hour trip, which was the longest run I have made in her. The plan is to move her back to Charleston in about 10 days and then move her to Wilm soon after. I have bought a Garmin 3210 chartplotter and an ICom radio, which I have played with on my kitchen counter, and she already has a new fishfinder. We haven't done anything cosmetic (hence no post with pics here yet), but when the leak is fixed I am ready to depart Charleston. Hopefully she will be snug in my slip here before the end of July. Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com "Phoenix" 1983 FBC

buzzk · Post by **buzzk** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:23 am

Frank have they finished your engine work. I'm sure you're ready to start using your boat. Buzz Buzzk 1988 Bertram 33 FBC Buzz Off Morehead City, NC

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:36 am

Hi Buzz... I have the two tanks in my garage. A 23 gal holding tank and a 62 gal fresh water tank. Both are rotomolded plastic.. supposed to be at a min. 3/8" wall thickness. I ordered them from Ronco Plastics in CA.. they fabricated the tanks to order, and installed all the fittings to my specs. So as to not have any too small, I had them install all 1 1/2" threaded half couplings, which I can reduce down wherever I want to. They were great to deal with.. did not charge me anything for the 1 1/2" fittings, and only $30 each for the two 6" inspection ports. I sent them two sketches and they installed the fittings exactly as I wanted. Phoenix is now at Marine Propulsion.. the diesel shop I mentioned in Rockville, SC.. on Wadmalaw Island, about 35 land miles, and 45 meandering river miles, from Charleston Harbor. I am having new engine mounts installed, a small coolant leak fixed, engines and shafts aligned, block heaters installed, and expect a call any day to come and get her. Then back to the Charleston for the head/holding tank installation, and then we will head for home. Cosmetic and cabilet work will begin in earnest after I do some more work on my house. Any chance you might be anywhere near Wilmington in the future? Would really like to have you stop by if you could. BTW: Great posts about the Stanley Cup! Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com "Phoenix" 1983 FBC

buzzk · Post by **buzzk** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:04 am

Frank, I would enjoy stopping in to see you the next time I'm in Wilmington. I'll call you. I'm having to put a new alternator on one of my engines. And I think my auto pilot is not working right. Oh well the joys of boating. I am going to buy a new pilot at the Ft. Lauderdale boat show this fall anyway. Buzzk 1988 Bertram 33 FBC Buzz Off Morehead City, NC

jav · Post by **jav** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:19 am

Frank, I'm real curious to get your impressions on the new mounts. I know you haven't had much time with the existing mounts but any comaprison you can share would be most appreciated. I'm condiering changing mine (you had responded to a post I made on Boatdiesel... but I'm not sure you've been back). BTW- did you go with Barry Control mounts?

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:55 am

Buzz.. I also put a new alternator on one of my engines.. the old one had low output (not sure of thye details, just was told that by the engine survey tech. I was going to have it rebuilt, but the price for a new one was almost the same and I was in a hurry. My boat had a autohelm, but as to be expected it was not working. I removed some of the components and will eventually reinstall them.. the previous owner had cut the wiring harness, so there was no hope of me easily getting it operational while I was in Charleston. Maybe next year when I have some more time. (Hopefully). John.. I really don't know which mounts my diesel guy is installing.. I trusted his judgement on this... when I delivered the boat to him I told him I thought the mounts needed to be replaced, and he said he would look at them and tell me what he thought. I told him not to delay, but to do whatever he thought was necessary.. when we next spoke he said he had looked at them and the shaft logs, and was already in the process of changing the mounts. I don't usually do business this way, but I trust this guy explicitly, and he has a great reputation in the Charleston area (and was even highly recommended by the Cummins shop owner here in Wilmington, NC.) I had no problems with what I perceived as unusual vibrations or anything like that.. (remember I am new to a 33).. my issue was that the rubber inserts had "relaxed" and there was no more adjustment left, and both shafts had dropped and were rubbing on the inside of the shaft logs. I have been back to Boatdiesel several times, but could not find the string where we "spoke" there. Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com "Phoenix" 1983 FBC

jav · Post by **jav** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:59 am

Frank, here's a link: http://boatdiesel.com/Forums/Thread.cfm ... 80:1024:32 It was just a few days ago but things move real fast there and its 3-4 pages down now... we didn't really communicate - I wrote, you responded, I responded to you and then you snubbed me!!! Damned Bertram superiority! -

just kidding.

buzzk · Post by **buzzk** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:19 am

Frank I know that you usually go to Charleston on the weekends. Have you moved it back to Charleston? The mechanic is putting my alternator on my boat on Thursday. It looks like I'll be able to go fishing on Saturday. Buzz

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 3:32 am

John V and Buzz K... I got a call yesterday from my diesel guy that "Phoenix" is ready to go.. so I plan on moving her back to Charleston sometime in the next few days. They flushed and cleaned the raw water systems, installed all new engine mounts, installed block heaters, had the props scanned, checked the shaft logs for wear, (and of course with all this being done they realigned both engines), and fixed the leak in the coolant system on the stbd engine. In the past (at least during the pre-purchase seatrial) the coolant leak had been so small that it did not show on a pressure test, even though I knew the coolant was disappearing.. but it apparently opened up during the 4 1/2 hour trip to the diesel shop. Prior to that trip we had only run her an hour here and there around Charleston Harbor. The diesel guy said they found that the exhaust manifold had a crack.. apparently it was started as a result of the engine overheating episode the previous owner had two years ago when he lost a belt.. but it remained small until the trip a couple of weeks ago. I am lucky! It is possible for coolant from such a leak to get into the cylinders.. but this did not happen. Ouch! John.. I will let you know how she feels with the new mounts.. but honestly, I have always been surprised at how smooth and vibration free she was before. BTW: I see on the Bertram31 site someone posted a technique for replacing engine mounts without using a jack and shoring to the hull.. instead the mounts themselves are used with some blocking between the engine and mounting stringers. Buzz.. Once we get her to Charleston I will install the new head/holding tank system (all parts are on hand) and then we will be clear to head north to Wilmington. I will let you know when we are finally here. It has been a long, expensive 4 months! Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com "Phoenix" 1983 FBC