1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 refit

[hat4349]

No weddings during boating season. Not allowed!!

I concur!!!

[q240z]

Jim, isn't "disassembling a massive and filthy shrinkwrap tent" on your bucket list? I know it's on mine! lol

I've officially finished all of the mission-critical items on my pre-launch honey-do list. In preparation for splashing next week, I took my woodshop machines out of the tent and moved them back home. Then I removed compressor air lines and electric circuits I installed in the tent to distribute power. I'm tentatively planning to launch Friday, June 16, 2023.

But over the winter, I was still working on getting helm doors installed. After reconfiguring the door openings so they'd work with slider doors, I had the doors painted, installed the latch hardware, and then installed them. They look good.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Aft Deck Helm Doors

Cheers,
Q

Port helm sliding door


Starboard side

[jim rosenthal]

They looks great.

The wedding date wasn't my idea. But since it's my nephew, I HAVE to show up, or my sister will skin me alive. Happy to help out when I get back Sunday afternoon.

[q240z]

I won't be there on Sunday. The tentative plan is to dismantle the tent on Thursday and Friday. It all hinges on the surveyor giving me his report and the insurance company approving the splash. Because of the burglary a few years ago, I don't want the boat exposed on the hard for any more time than necessary

That said, I discovered a problem with the aft deck enclosure windows over the winter. The Boat Life caulk I'd used to bed them didn't bond well to the paint. Every single pane had a loose corner. On the upside, the weak bond made it easy to remove the windows so I could rebed them. I learned some tips and tricks from the professionals over at Weaver Boatworks and used Bostik 70-08A windshield adhesive, which they swear by. Six months down the road, and the glass is still properly adhering to both the glass and the painted frames. I suppose I should be pleased that I discovered the problem before splashing.

Oh, and I've got 2-1/2 tubes of leftover Bostik if anybody needs to bed some windows.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The Season of Do-Overs...Aft Deck Glass 2.0

Cheers,
Q

The Boat Life caulk doesn't adhere well to the paint.


Tinted glass looks great against the Matterhorn White Awlgrip.

[Walter P]

Q, I would love to drive down to Maryland to look at your boat after you splash it. From all the pictures that you
have posted it looks better than factory new. You are truly a master.... Walt

[q240z]

Thanks Walt! You are more than welcome to come check it out. I hope to splash next Friday, but I'll keep this thread updated as to the status.

That said, the last item on my must-do pre-launch punch list was installing hull strainer scoops for the main engine raw water intakes. Groco makes a nice scoop in aluminum, with little access doors so you can clean out anything that accumulates in the strainer or intake standpipe. I decided to attach mine with screws and caulk rather than welding them on, since I'd rather have all of the underwater aluminum barrier coated and bottom painted.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing GROCO Hull Strainers

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

With all of the mission critical items checked off my pre-launch punch list, like sealing up all holes in the hull that will be underwater shortly, I started working on slightly less critical items. Making sure stainless rub rails were installed all around was one such item, since pilings can rip up a paint job in no time. I also need to protect the teak swim platform. All of the marinas in my area have very short finger piers, so you have to back into the slips. With ~15 tons moving at even a very low speed, if I botch the landing and have direct contact between pilings and the teak swim platform it could be disastrous.

So I got some 1-1/4" solid back stainless rub rails and polished them, and the heads of the screws I'll use to attach them, to a super shiny finish. The platform looks a helluva lot better than what we started with.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Swim Platform Rub Rail

Cheers,
Q

Before


After

[cww]

I don't back into my slip anymore. I know some people consider going bow-in to be bad form, but I often go sit on the back of the boat and have a drink and relax after work. I like the improved view and privacy factor from having the back porch face outwards. You'll get over wanting to back in soon enough.

[q240z]

I've done bow in and stern in and find they've both got their pros and cons depending on the marina. But as I mentioned, all of the marinas in my area have very short finger piers, so you have to back into the slips. The slip I'll use in the current marina has 12' finger piers, and they taper down to the width of the piling at the end, so there's no room for steps. The ones in my soon-to-be home port are only 6'! If I parked bow-in there, I'd have to scale my bow railing and need a very tall staircase for boarding.

[q240z]

Thanks Dan!

In my quest to get all of the above-the-waterline thru-hulls attached to hoses, pumps, or whatever appliances they service, the ones servicing the bilge pumps were a top pre-splash priority.

Chris Craft did a strange thing with these boats: they'd cut NPT threads for hose barbs then weld the various thru-hull pipes to the hull. But the mechanical team would come along and just install the hoses directly on the pipes rather than threading on proper hose barbs. Water inevitably gets into the threads and starts eating the bare aluminum. They also didn't barrier coat inside these pipes. So I cleaned up all the white aluminum oxide powder using wire brushes and an NPT die, barrier coated everything, then installed proper hose barbs with Gasoila sealant before installing new bilge pumps and hoses.

I also wrapped up the Panda generator installation with some big 304 stainless fittings that attach the 1-1/2" dry exhaust hose to the OEM Chris Craft genset exhaust thru-hull. It turned out very nice.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Bilge Pumps & Panda Exhaust Wrap-Up

Cheers,
Q

Aft compartment bilge pump


Panda genset exhaust plumbing