Future Brown Water Cruiser: 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit

[sailnow2011]

You only want risers that discharge on the downward side of the pipe, not water the entire length of the riser.

[q240z]

Exactly. That's why I'm not using the OEM Cummins risers--their design makes them inherently unsafe if the water jacket ever fails.

[q240z]

The exhaust riser mistake I made (and the eye-popping cost of having a custom set made) has led me to buy the materials and a new welding machine and make a custom set myself. I've used my other two welding machines do steel and aluminum MIG, but I've never done stainless or TIG. How hard could it possibly be??? My blog article today is on the new stainless tubing that arrived. This looks like it'll be fun.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: New Riser Materials

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

The turbo flanges I bought for the exhaust risers I'm going to make come pre-drilled for exhaust gas temp probes. Since boost and EGT gauges provide useful information for making sure the engines aren't overloaded when dialing in propellers, and I've got no baseline data to work with, I got myself a set of Isspro Turbocators. I've got an idea for making a gauge pod that will kind of look like the existing tachometer pods. I've never done fiberglass modeling from scratch before, but how hard could it be???

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Turbocators!

Cheers,
Q

[Warby12]

Looking forward to seeing how you fabricate the Turbocators!!!

[q240z]

Me too!

But first...A pile of parts that needed coating was starting to grow because I'd run out of my favorite epoxy primer--Devoe 235. None of the local suppliers sell it anymore, and when I did find gallon kits in nearby states the shipping charges were 4x the cost of the paint itself. I ended up going up to Baltimore personally to pick up the kits, but what a stupid situation. It all comes down to this: the "nanny state" regulators who are trying to protect the environment and people from hazardous substances have created a situation where it costs so much to put a gallon kit on any one of thousands of trucks moving between big cities that it made sense for me to drive 90 miles round trip to get my paint. The same regulators would agree that one person driving 90 miles to pick up supplies is also bad for the environment and adds incrementally to risk on the road. Add this to the long and growing list of unintended consequences of letting busy regulators solve every problem we face, including completely imaginary ones. The private sector isn't being nationalized in the conventional communist/socialist sense. Instead, it's being nationalized through regulation.

In addition to a rant about this, my blog today shows a bunch of parts that I prepped for paint.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer Refit: Cleaning Up Cummins Parts

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

I got the Cummins parts and engine room steps painted with Devoe 235 epoxy, then I partially installed the ER steps and got the cooling system parts installed. I'll weld the ER steps in soon. The OE hoses for the cooling system used a straight heater hose even though it had to take a hard 90° corner. That was probably fine when the hose was new, but with repeated heat cycles the hose had collapsed at the bend. I found a molded hose that fit perfectly.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer Refit: Installing Cleaned Up Cummins Parts

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

Since I found a new supplier for Devoe 235 epoxy, that pile of parts that was awaiting coating is finally getting smaller as parts go back on the boat. I got the aftercoolers reassembled, and saved some money by buying generic o-rings for the end caps instead of going with OE ones...$4.88 for generic vs $77 for Cummins! So now the intake side of the engines are done. All I've got left is to complete the fuel system, hook up the electrics, and finish the exhaust.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer Refit: Reassembling the Aftercoolers

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

To splash in 2016 I need to seal up the exterior, and that means I have to install all the portholes. Before I can do that, I've got to install all of the plywood surrounding each porthole. The aft stateroom should be relatively easy, but the V-berth will be a challenge because of all the curves at the front of the hull. The head in the V-berth will be the most challenging of all, so that's what I decided to tackle first.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 49 Refit: The V-berth Head

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

I got the ceiling wiring done, then cut and fitted the 1/4" marine ply ceiling panels. I should be able to knock out the rest of the wood work here over the next weekend or two, then we'll move on to fiberglass, fairing, fillets, and paint.
Booya

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 49 Refit: The V-berth Head Ceiling

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

The V-berth head (AKA the throne room) is coming along nicely. Insulating the back of each interior panel adds a lot of time to each one, but I think it'll be worth it.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The V-berth “Throne Room”

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

The V-berth head (AKA the throne room) is coming together nicely. Another day or two on cabinetry, and we'll be ready to start the fiberglassing, fairing, priming, and painting.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The V-berth “Throne Room” II

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

More progress on the "throne room." Cabinetmaking is challenging...but I haven't screwed anything up so badly that it can't be fixed with epoxy. lol

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The V-berth “Throne Room” III

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

My new AHP AlphaTIG 200X arrived earlier this month, so I've been messing around trying to learn how to TIG weld. After a very rocky start, things are looking better (if not professional-grade). I don't know if there's a world record for sticking the tungsten in the weld, but I've got to be getting close to breaking any existing record. At my age, learning to coordinate the filler dipping motion with the torch hand (and I've never had a smooth welding hand anyway), plus the foot pedal, and all those little dials and switches that adjust some very important things...it's been very challenging but super fun, too. I suppose for pros it gets to be just the same ol' same ol' daily grind. As a hobbyist, this is a real hoot.

But then, it turned out that my bandsaw wasn't big enough. So, I did what any right-thinking man would do and bought another new toy! lol

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: New Toys and Fuel Inlet Pipes

Cheers
Q

[q240z]

I'm putting in as much practice time with the AlphaTIG as I can, but I'm also keeping things moving on the boat. I got the interior of the Throne Room side cabinet assembled and insulated, and I also insulated the hull-side wall panel. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm making and insulating a cabinet so I can install the portholes so we can splash the boat later this year and take it to my home port. Gotta keep my eye on the prize...

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The V-berth “Throne Room” IV

Cheers,
Q