1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 refit

[Boatsb]

Read his blog. He now has more experience building tents than all of us put together.

A small amount of knowledge can be a bad thing. Asking random questions is not going to help either. Some gain experience from doing. Some think they gained experience from discussing. I've done my fair share and I have a dozen torn up pairs of jeans to prove it.



Dan has been building Boats, trucks and tents around boats since the 70's. He has also repaired or restored boats and vehicles for himself and others. Its not his first time. I remember his truck when I was a teenager so I know he is real old by the way.

His comment was right on with how to keep the weight of the snow from destroying the tent. Just like when we shrink wrap boats the idea is to shed the weight not support it. Here in Fl we try to keep the sun out and wind from tearing it up or lifting it. Its not the same for sure.

[jim rosenthal]

When the winter cover for my boat was designed, the man who built it put in as steep a pitch as he could get for the upper part of it, the part that comes down from the ridge beam at the center. We've had some formidable snow loads during the time I've been using it, and so far, so good. The snow slides off it because of the pitch, and doesn't accumulate up there. I've seen four or five feet of snow around the boat- well up the side of the hull, from the ground- and the top is still pretty much bare.

[q240z]

I think this boat looks great. Next thing you ought to tackle is restoring an E-type. That will make this look easy. LOL

I've got a convertible Datsun 240z on a rotisserie in my garage at home. Rebuilt 3.1L stroker with triple Mikuni carbs sitting next to it on an engine stand. G-nose (with brand new OEM glass lenses!) in the garage attic. All I have to do is weld in doglegs on the left and right quarter panels and throw it all together...but I haven't touched that in years. You're right. That will be easy.

Jim, I find the same piles of snow next to Tent Model X after a big dump. In my experience, 60-degree connectors at the peak are the key.

[q240z]

I've been taking advantage of the great weather we're having to transform Tent Model X into Tent Model XXX. One thing I'm doing with this new version is re-using old shrink wrap plastic as a vapor barrier between the gravel in the yard and the tent above. That should cut down on condensation drastically. I figure it'll take 4-5 days total to reconfigure it. Hopefully this will be the last tent I ever build.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Tent Model XXX

Cheers,
Q

[oscarvan]

On the interior fit..... did you know the boat was "sitting on it's lines" and that plumb now would be plumb post splash? Or did you assume that the floor would be level-ish and that the bulkheads should be square to the floor?

[q240z]

My biggest assumption all along the say is that the goddess of the seas loves old Chris Crafts and she'll make everything right no matter how badly I botch the planning.

I've been doing rough calculations of where all the heavy stuff is going, so I don't expect too bad a list one way or the other. So I stuck to the original boot stripe height and bottom paint heights, and I level the boat fore-aft and side-to-side every six months or so to keep the floors where I want them. I figure I can always reactively locate my water heater or even add batteries if I need to ballast one way or the other once she's afloat. I also added 200 gallons of new tankage forward, under the galley, that I can use to ballast with fuel if necessary. And I've got two smaller tanks--maybe 75 gallons each--that I could place along either chine if need be.

That said, Chris Craft's bulkheads were definitely not installed square, which makes it a real joy fitting panels up to them. For new bulkheads and other panels I've put in, I just use a framing square to make them square to the floor.

[oscarvan]

My biggest assumption all along the say is that the goddess of the seas loves old Chris Crafts and she'll make everything right no matter how badly I botch the planning.

I've been doing rough calculations of where all the heavy stuff is going, so I don't expect too bad a list one way or the other. So I stuck to the original boot stripe height and bottom paint heights, and I level the boat fore-aft and side-to-side every six months or so to keep the floors where I want them. I figure I can always reactively locate my water heater or even add batteries if I need to ballast one way or the other once she's afloat. I also added 200 gallons of new tankage forward, under the galley, that I can use to ballast with fuel if necessary. And I've got two smaller tanks--maybe 75 gallons each--that I could place along either chine if need be.

That said, Chris Craft's bulkheads were definitely not installed square, which makes it a real joy fitting panels up to them. For new bulkheads and other panels I've put in, I just use a framing square to make them square to the floor.

OK, so you level the boat on land. Makes sense. Still enjoying your blogs..... (except for the occasional missing hot link to the next one ) But, a big thank you for changing the index from subject area to sequential.... much better. The story has to be read in order.

[q240z]

Did you leave a comment on the pages where I didn't activate the link? I find one every once in a while and fix it...thought I got 'em all.

Speaking of the next article, I got the tent uprights moved out on the stbd side and hung the skirt/side plastic all the way around. I've got three sunrise-to-sunset days into the tent transformation, and I figure I've climbed the ladder equivalent of halfway up Everest so far. This would go so much faster with a 4wd articulating high lift or, since there's no room between the boats to the right and forward, maybe a magic carpet with a strong winch.

The vapor barrier is looking good--I can see big drops of water forming all over the under-side of the clear plastic. The skirt plastic is hung all the way around...I'm getting too old for this cr4p.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Tent Model XXX 2

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

I finally wrapped up the tent remodel. I thought Tent Model X was pretty good, but XXX is a lot better. The vapor barrier made a huge difference, and using battens all the way around is keeping the shrink plastic film tight as a drum. I'm ready for winter. Time to get back to making progress on the boat.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Tent Model XXX 3

Cheers,
Q

[Walter P]

Not only are you good at restoring older boats, but apparently you are also a master at building tents. Looks very good....good luck and thanks for keeping us posted.

Walt

BTW Omar the tentmaker had nothing on you........