Bertram33 User Forum

My buddy's and I purchased a 1979 33 Sportsfisher. It has become a labor of love for us and we now have most of the major issues dealt with and are now dealing with cosmetic issues. The common wall to the head and the galley on the port side apparently did not have an interior curtin on it and the sun light UV rays dried out the finish. Does anybody know if the wood used on that wall is solid wood or stained? I sanded it down and sealed it with Helsman, but it is much darker than the rest of the interior walls. Anybody got a fix? Also, does anybody know what king of wood the builders used in building the interior finish? Thanks, Pepito

I think the interior wood is white oak. Not sure about your finish problems, maybe Frank will be able to answer both questions definitively. Welcome to the board! David Sumich 33 Megabites Huntington Harbour, CA Forum Administrator

Pepito, I don't know the earlier boats very well but I thought they used formica instead of wood. The wood interiors started after 1986 as far as I know.I'm a little at a loss on this one. Are you sure it's original? Rick would probably have some input since he has the earlier style. Frank Price

I have an 83 Sportfish and most of the interior is formica. I always assumed the trim around the formica was teak - but I never really sanded it down - mine is still nice enough - I have been considering ripping out all of the formica next winter - but I don't know if I want to get into that - I will have to see how this summer goes. If yours is formica,and it is sun damaged - no amount of sanding and staining will help you.

How does formica get sun damaged? Regards, Doug L. 1986 33 Bertram FBC Queen Elizabeth Marblehead, MA

Wood of the formica tree? Frank

Thanks for fixing the problem David. Here's a photo of an undamaged portion of our oak fomica finish[:p] [img]http://www.bertram33.com/images/uploads/Boat _1049.JPG[/img]

How's that? You mistakenly put the local location of the picture in the image prompt instead of the uploads web location. You posted the pic to the right place at least. If you click to edit your last post, you can see what the proper code looks like. Maybe you didn't change the "Format Mode" to "Prompt" first before clicking the "Insert Image" icon? David Sumich 33 Megabites Huntington Harbour, CA Forum Administrator

So Mike, You and Pepito are co-owners, correct? From the pics you've posted it doesn't look like you've got an original interior (i.e. no formica), which is probably good as it was one of the major complaints about these boats. Regards, Doug L. 1986 33 Bertram FBC Queen Elizabeth Marblehead, MA

That's a great looking interior guys. My experience with sun damaged wood hasn't been good.To really make a decent repair you'll probably need to replace the piece and try to match the color with stain. You can bleach wood and stain to match but if the wood is sun damaged, it's probably always going to be compromised. Frank Price

I have come to appreciate that some of you guys are true wood craftsmen so I'll press for more suggestions. Here's a shot of our first attempt to deal with the sun damaged oak. [img]http://www.bertram33.com/images/uploads/wood1.jpg[/img] I was so impressed with Frank's sole,(I mean that in a manly way Frank) I wonder if that kind of shine is lost forever here? Those specks are like pits in the wood. [img]http://www.bertram33.com/images/uploads/wood2.jpg[/img] Probably the biggest project-the first several coats of oil we put on after cleaning the teak just soaked away. Do we need to just mop on some oil or what? [img]http://www.bertram33.com/images/uploads/wood3.jpg[/img]

On the wood in the first two pictures it's pretty obvious that the finish is the worst of it and I'm sure the wood is damaged also . If it were my boat, I'd sand all the finish off of the panels(the complete panel)and try to sand out the bleached areas. You have to see how thick the venear is so you don't sand through, sometimes it's pretty thin. Then I would try a few coats of varnish. It really looks like you need to refinish all of it though , so maybe it's time to do it all? Typically you won't find any stain on the woods , it tends to color pretty well with just a clear coat and then darkens with exposure to sunlight, until it bleaches with over exposure as you've got. On the teak in the cockpit, I'd try a different product that was a little thicker, you should be seeing some improvement with the first coat and then add more. The best things I've seen for teak is a complete system of cleaning with an acid then sanding and then oiling. You guys have a lot of work in front of you. Good luck. Frank Price

I think that David nailed the matter. I now beleive that the interior paneling is in fact white oak which was stained with a paint on stain to make it look like teak. I am in awe of the pride of workmanship that the folks who built our 1979 33 sportsfisher put in the fit and finish of the boat. I am going to take Franks advice and sand down the entire panel and will attempt to find a "paint on stain" that mirrors the look of teak. On a somewhat related subject, does anyone out there know the material used on the cabin floor? Mikedcabo posted some pics of the floor. Someone told us that they thought that the wood used was holly with ash strips? Anybody got a read on this one? We have a committed crew and we are going to bring this classic back to life! Thanks Doug Johnson

[whispers] sole Pepito, sole-don't use the f word [/whisper]

A little unknown secret for teak cleaning is sudsing amonia. Cleans the teak right up. Try a little spot and check for yourself. You will be pleasantly surprized how easy and nicely it works. Mike just plain addicted