1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 refit

[Dan Mapes]

Hopefully the water doesn't have iron or other minerals in it. I've seen owls on the hard tops of CCs on moorings that had seagulls sitting on their heads.

[q240z]

This marina is way out in the sticks, so the water supply is a well. It's the same water I wash the boat with (and my last boat), but I've never seen any mineral stains or residue.

September is the absolute worst. I scrubbed the topsides clean and went back after three days. Our former boat and all the other boats on my pier looked like the world's biggest black and white Jackson Pollock canvas. People have owls, CDs hanging from fishing line, fake snakes, and all sorts of other gadgets...nothing passive works. When people are around, the birds leave.

If the impact sprinkler doesn't work, I'm thinking Tesla coil... lol

[q240z]

Rather than cobbling something together, I found the Orbit Yard Enforcer Motion-Activated Sprinkler. The reviews are good. $90 delivered will be cheap if it keeps the birds away.

[q240z]

I had some leftover scraps of Tricel lightweight panels, so I'm using them to recreate the salon settee. I'm very glad that I kept the original panels as patterns even though they had some rot in them. Between the patterns and different colored primer lines on the salon floor, I've been able to figure out where the new panels need to be. Then I applied mahogany veneers, Pettit stain, and ICA base coat clear before installing the main settee panel in the galley. It's coming along nicely.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Remaking the Salon Settee II

Cheers,
Q

What I started with.


What I've got now.

[q240z]

I'm having trouble with my CAPAC impressed current anti-corrosion system controller. The meter swings between 5.5 (barely protected aluminum hull) to 7.5 (fully protected) but spends most of its time around 6-6.5, which is under protected. Turning the set-point adjustment potentiometer doesn't seem to change anything. This blog post has the schematic from the OEM CAPAC manual, and I've noted voltage readings that I took at many components. I also link to the manual, which has an excellent Theory of Operation section. Unfortunately, I don't speak transistor. If anybody with a grasp of electronics can take a peek and let me know what's wrong, I'd be much obliged.


1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Dialing in the CAPAC Anti-Corrosion System


Cheers,
Q

[Captain Ralph]

Rite off da bat, question for you; How salty, brackish or fresh is the water your in rite now?
I can theorize a lower reading in not so salty water.
I think it is supposed to be automatically adjusting but have to question this.

Second half of page 7 briefly talks about polarization taking 6 weeks.
And this automatic & self adjusting.

Does the meter read anything with fuse removed?
The manual says it should have a low reading at this time.

Does the meter read anything when power is removed?
I hope it comes to Zero to verify a Zero point.

Meter assembly has a good connect to the hull?

Battery negative has a good connect to the hull?

Is the MFG still in business?

[q240z]

I'm in brackish water. We've got barnacles and jellyfish here.

Per the manual, the pre-set adjustment potentiometer can be used to dial it in to just the right spot. But thus far, going full on and full off appears to change nothing.

I believe the meter is displaying the voltage it receives from the reference cell, which generates it's own signal. So the meter never reads zero.

All connections are good and done consistent with the CAPAC manual schematic.

What's an "MFG"? Some ideas came to mind, but I don't think they're what you meant. ;-)

[Captain Ralph]

Sorry, I get carried aweigh with my typing. MFG,, Manufacturer.

Brackish water would not conduct as salt water. But the manual hinted it should auto adjust.
Or, Auto adjust is only when the water conducts, when it is trying to eat aweigh on your hull bottom.

Also, I wonder if that 6 week wait is really important.

Did you notice the reading when you splashed?

[q240z]

The original manufacturer is no longer in business, and the outfit that bought them out knows nothing about these units.

The controller is supposed to auto-adjust. The Theory of Operation section of the manual explains how it all works. I'm just not fluent enough in transistor-ese to grasp everything it's telling me.

The six week wait is only in fresh water: "complete polarization may require as much as six weeks in fresh water." The manual also said the reading should rise over time until it's fully polarized. But as I mentioned in the blog post, it rose, then fell, and it's been rising and falling ever since, but never settling in above 7, which is the minimum "fully protected" level for aluminum.

I was too busy with other stuff to notice the meter when I splashed. It wasn't until I got to my brackish home port that I finally attached the hull and battery connections. I believe the needle initially indicated 4.5.

[jim rosenthal]

So this is an impressed current system, right?