1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 refit

[q240z]

+1 to what oscarvan said. For aluminum, I prefer flapdisks to grinding disks. I use my Makita electric die grinder more often than I use the air-powered ones. If the compressor happens to be on, I'll use air because they're lighter. But whatever shaping tools you use for aluminum, don't use them for anything else.

Youtube is a terrific teacher...not only the videos, but the comments, too. You might consider paying a welder a couple of hours' time to get you started, then just practice, practice, practice. As far as equipment goes, for a hobbyist I think ebay and craigslist are the way to go. I went with the Trailblazer because the yard I'm in doesn't have 220v except in the shop, and not even a fancy-schmancy 110v inverter machine has the oomph to weld 3/4" aluminum like I've got for my struts.

Safety-wise, Harbor Freight's auto-darkening helmets are good, especially when they put them on sale and you get a coupon to knock 20% off that. I'm not terribly impressed with HF's welding gloves. I tend to use the set that came with my shrink wrap heat gun. So maybe consider visiting your local welding supply, try on a few sets, and buy the ones that fit well. Also, any kind of electric welding can cause UV burns, and lots of guys say aluminum is worse than steel. Always suit up ankles-to-wrists and tight to the neck. Pull the trigger while you're wearing shorts and a tee-shirt and you'll get a sunburn in no time.

[oscarvan]

But whatever shaping tools you use for aluminum, don't use them for anything else.

Important.

Because if you use it to shape other metals you'll then be introducing particles of those metals into your aluminum project...... built in electrolysis.

Yes, auto darkening helmets are a must have, and can be had relatively cheap.

Roger the sun burn...... ask me how I know

[q240z]

In other news, I started putting my portholes back together. I'm ordering new tinted glass soon, but first I need to get the screens in. I figured it'd be an hour or two job. Little did I know all of the screen and glass flanges are drilled differently. I didn't realize that when I took them apart, so figuring out which ones go where was a tedious PITA. Got 'er done, though.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing Porthole Screens

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

It took a ridiculous amount of time to measure the window and porthole glass and record the dimensions. Out of 26 panes, only 2 had 90° corners. I was hoping to buy a fancy new tool to make the process easier but couldn't find one that gave me confidence in its accuracy. But I got the job done and sent the order off to the glass shop yesterday. Hopefully, I'll have the new glass in the next two weeks or so.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Measuring For New Glass

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

While I'm waiting for the glass to come back, I dove into the engine room for a bit of fun. My Cummins engines come standard with intake air heaters that help reduce white smoke on cold starts. Since I installed oil pan heaters in mine, and the Cummins units are known to be fickle and even harmful to expensive alternators, I got rid of mine. Good thing, too, since on the underside of one of the solenoids, totally out of sight, one of the solenoids was in the process of dying.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Removing Unnecessary Cummins Parts

Cheers
Q

Bad solenoid

[q240z]

Even though my Cummins engines started up and ran fine on the pallets when I bought them, I decided to follow the advice of some gurus and service the aftercoolers. Good thing I did, too--the magical combination of a cast aluminum housing, bronze core, steel bolts, and saltwater had begun to cause minor problems that would have turned into expensive problems if I hadn't taken the aftercoolers apart.

Oh, and a blizzard is forecast for tomorrow. We'll see how Tent Model XXX holds up.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Servicing the Aftercoolers

Cheers,
Q

[jim rosenthal]

Yes, it's about time for mine to get cleaned again.

How is Tent Model whatever holding up? It looks like 20" of snow up there.

[oscarvan]

I'm further north, but here it's well below freezing, and the snow flakes are small and light. What's on the ground is pretty "dry" and not heavy.

In fact I am risking letting it go 'till the end and getting the snow blower out tomorrow when it will be sunny.......

[q240z]

I took a run out to the boatyard yesterday and was going to write up my trip, but my computer stopped reading SD cards a while back (thanks, Microsoft, for that update that crippled my computer!) so I can't transfer the pictures just yet. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to see the tent standing just fine, with a 40" tall berm of snow around the perimeter from where the snow slid off and piled up...just like it was designed to.

Now that I got all cocky, I'll go back next time to find the high winds yesterday afternoon knocked it down.

[q240z]

Good news! The tent survived the overnight thundersnow and wind. I didn't get anything done on the boat, but at least I don't have to rebuild the tent once it thaws.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Mid-Atlantic Blizzard 2016

Cheers,
Q