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Bertram31.com General Bulletin Board
Re: B28 Follow Up
Posted By: Leigh In Response To: Re: B28 Follow Up (Rob)
Date: Thursday, 22 December 2005, at 5:28 p.m.
Rob: I have been following your B28 search and felt that now was the time I could possibly give you some insight. I bought a lightly used 1985 FBC last spring which had been berthed in Sandusky, OH on Lake Erie. It has the original RWC 260 Mercs (GM 350)and had 780 hrs when purchased. These engines have nice, even compression and original manifolds/risers and run great. I doubt that RWC engines in salt water will last like that, but my experience is limited to our pristine Great Lakes water. Prior to my purchase of the '85, I had made offers on two '70's vintage boats, neither of which passed survey due to rot issues in the engine compartments. The inside engine beds and plywood engine room bulkheads get wet constantly due to the hatch configuration and resulting wet bilge. This is more of a problem with fresh water boats, but based upon the comments I have seen, all are susceptible. The beds are mahogany sandwiched between marine plywood and rest on the stringers with the tabbing to the bulheads you described. These should be checked closely by your surveyor. You can put a wrench on the engine mount lag bolts and if tight, chances are the beds are not too bad. If rotted, the bolts will not tighten down. Other trouble spots are the rudder shelves, again due to leaking hatches. Replacement is a straightforward DIY project. The boats that I passed on had some wet core in the cabin top/ Flybridge deck, especially around the edges under the side panels and around the ladder mounting hardware. The side panels which you mentioned can be replaced with 1/4" starboard which looks great. I wouldn't be too concerned with a liitle oxydation on the gel coat. Every Bertram I have seen can be polished out to look almost as good as new. My boat has dual stations and hydraulic steering which performs great. One thing the newer ('83 on) B28 gives you is a 240 gallon fuel tank and a little nicer interior. My boat has H/C pressure water with the OEM hot water tank mounted behind the fridge. I spent some time trying to figure out how to get at it to winterize and finally pulled the fridge out. Not real convenient. The aluminum water tank under cabin sole is original. The plywood base this sits on has a tendency to rot. Bottom line is that the 28 is a great boat and there seem to be a lot of them around in the South, so you might want to hold out for a good one. E-mail me direct if you have any questions that haven't been answered and good luck.
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