1973 Bertram 28' FBC Restore Part 6 "So Close, Yet So Far"

With the boat still in the water, I pumped out the leaking aluminum fuel tank and completely removed the old fiberglass tank as I did want to make the same mistake as the old owner. I came to the boat to find that the fwd bilge pump was acting up. We had a lot of rain and the aft floor was completely off so the water quickly rose up. I luckily caught it and decided to haul out the boat the following day. I had a new 3/16" aluminum tank made, had some fresh awl grip sprayed in the cockpit and repaired aft bulkhead that I found damaged after removing the old fuel tank.
Upon installation of the new tank, I pumped in the old fuel that I had just put into the tank before I realized that there was a leak. I went for a sea trail but found that the props were causing too much vibration to safely test the boat. I hauled out again and found that the bottom pain wasn't holding up so I purchased two new props. While she was out, I had the bottom repainted and had propspeed applied to shafts and props.
I coordinated with the marina to splash the boat the following day afternoon after starting the engines. I receive a call the next morning confirming if I had asked to splash the boat to which I replied that I had but we had coordinated for later in the day. Long story short, they needed the space where my boat was located on the hard so decided to splash the boat first thing in the morning without me be present, without notifying me, and without having anyone check the boat at all.
I imagine that you know where this is going. I had the drain plug out as we were having excessive rain and I was planning on being in the marina late morning to prepare everything. As soon as I got the call, I jumped in my car and raced to the marina having no idea what to expect. When I arrived, she was on the forklift being moved back to a slip on the card and I could see water pouring out of the 3/4" drain plug. Once boat was lowered into a cradle, I jumped onboard and found water up to the cockpit floor.
I was at the point of giving up the project at this point but ultimately decided to keep going, I wrapped a hose, gallons of degreaser, and a few cans of corrosionX to save what I could. The structure was unaffected but I had to replace almost all of the wiring. it took a few months to get back to where I was but now she is better than ever and it was a great excuse to do some upgrades along the way.
TLDR: fixed fuel tank, redid bottom, boat partially sank and now she is back in the water with some upgrades

[@loviepeiffs3822]

Beautiful motors sounds awesome

[@loviepeiffs3822]

Man I watch those guy’s taking boats in & out w giant fork lifts so good at it I could never do that

[@blackbeardboatworks242]

Restoring these old girls is definitely a marathon. But worth it.😎

[@EquiQuery]

Nick. Good job. My 28 is being painted as we speak. One thing I did was to remove those external horns. I put a pair of standard auto horns under the cowling. It's a very clean look now. Dont know how many horns i've ruined over the years by squirting water in them.

[@nicolasmabru]

Thanks Dwight! What color are you going with? Regarding the horns, i ended up going a different route and upgrading to air horns, I am hoping that the new ones will be more reliable but we will see

[@EquiQuery]

@@nicolasmabru Its really just the same color, just all consistent with Awlgrip. I will post something in January. I know it doesn't look too bad from afar. But all the wings, dings, spider cracks, and thin gel coat will be gone. kzbin.info/www/bejne/naWTm3Sthah4lbc

[@therustyblades1212]

I got my 28 home. Started my KZbin channel with some videos of the tear down and walk through. May have some questions for you. Mine is in a lot rougher condition.

[@nicolasmabru]

Ask away! I’m more than happy to help and congrats on the project!

[@therustyblades1212]

@@nicolasmabru I like how you put the hvac unit under the Flybridge. You should do a video on how it is installed.

[@nicolasmabru]

@@therustyblades1212 I’ll definitely do one, I’ll have it live in the next week or two

[@nickrdgz9323]

Is this for sale?

[@nicolasmabru]

She is not for sale