Cockpit deck

TBonedad · Post by **TBonedad** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:06 am

Has anyone extensively re-done the cockpit deck in a sportfish? I currently have my generator out and was designing a sound shield and box to protect it from water intrusion. The thought occurs to me that the entire cockpit deck could be reworked to incorporate a sizeable fish box, self bailing hatches for storage and move the generator either under the galley or into the engine room where the batteries currently sit. The latter location being easiest all the way around. I probably will just complete my box / sound shield as-is, but I would love to see what's been done in tihis regard. So many of the refinements that have become common in sportfishing boats have come after production ceased on our boats. I wonder how adding some of the custom features after the fact would affect values.

Capt. Ed · Post by **Capt. Ed** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:45 am

Fraser, Capt. Gene had written about this, search the forum for it. He had used a BBQ grill cover over the gen. when not running to protect it. I think he spoke about the drain also. Here is the link: http://www.bertram33.com/forum/topic.as ... =gen,cover 1979 Bertram 33' FBC ALEXANDRA Port Richey, Florida HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR BERTRAM PRIDE '06 yet? DO IT NOW... SPACE IS LIMITED!

MIKEFRITZE · Post by **MIKEFRITZE** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:47 am

Glasstech makes a fishbox that is incorpoated into the transom.It looks nice but i bet it is expensive.You can see a picture of it on their website.I had my deck recored and painted by glasstech they did a very good job.I am going to plumb the 4 hatches to a thru hull to hopefully keep some of the water out of the bilge.My boat did not have a generator it has a 70 gallon fuel tank under the big hatch.I had a generator installed under the galley directly behind the engine room bulkhead.

photo finish · Post by **photo finish** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 4:22 am

Fraser, I would not move a generator forward as i think this wil severely alter the ride due to the weight shift.I do not think if you do wise alterations it will de-value the boat i think the opposite.I think it is quite a bit different than restoring a classic car. Mike, On a boat that someone on this forum bought recently from Naples"Wavy Gravy" had the cockpit drains running to a shower sump pump installed in the aft bilge then plumbed to a thru hull made a lot of sense to me and is something that i would like to do!

TBonedad · Post by **TBonedad** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:07 am

Thanks for the input, guys. I guess making the best use of the existing space with the generator in its original location makes the most sense in the long run. Thinking about relocating it you run into several hurdles. The weight, as most of you mentioned, but also a longer exhaust run, significantly changing the wiring runs, relocating the batteries and the accompanying changes to wiring from that... Too much to consider this close to fishing season!