1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 refit

[q240z]

I made an expensive mistake with a set of exhaust risers I bought off of ebay. Turns out one was damaged, but they both were the wrong size. To make matters worse, instead of just sending them back, I thought I could make the best of a bad situation without really thinking it through. By the time I'd taken the time to process all of the factors and realize I made a bunch of bad decisions, it was too late--I'd dismantled one of the risers and couldn't return it. This has been one expensive lesson in not making rash decisions.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: New Exhaust Risers

Cheers,
Q

[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

[oscarvan]

A TIG is on my Christmas list too...... but not near the top. Looking forward to your reports on using it.

[q240z]

Fortunately, I've already got argon and CO2/argon bottles and regulators. For stainless tubing, I'm trying to decide whether to go with Solar Flux or put a Tee on the bottle with one regulator going to the TIG machine and the other going to a rubber tube to purge O2 from the inside of the stainless. As for technique, "youtube university" is good. Welding Tips and Tricks has a lot of very helpful videos. I don't even have the TIG yet, but I'm already practicing the motion for walking the cup. My wife walked in and couldn't figure out what the heck I was doing.

[q240z]

The turbo flanges I bought for the risers come pre-drilled for exhaust gas temp probes. Since I've got no baseline data to work with as far as engine loading when dialing in the props, 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

[jim rosenthal]

I have these, and they are great. Very reliable so far, after 6-7 years.

[q240z]

That's good to hear. What are your average cruise and WOT EGTs?

[jim rosenthal]

Cruise is about 900; I can't remember WOT, I can let you know in a month when she goes back in with a clean bottom and the shafts tweaked etc.

[q240z]

Excellent.

In other news, 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

[jim rosenthal]

Quentin, I found a really good powder coating place in Sykesville if you need that. They did all the parts for the Jaguar's rear axle assembly, beautiful job, reasonable cost and got it done despite the blizzard. Ultimate Powder Coating.