1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 refit

[q240z]

It's finally cooling off a bit, so I got the moldings made for the V-berth head. It sure goes a lot faster making moldings with a semi-dedicated shaper and a separate table saw.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Making V-berth Head Moldings

Cheers,
Q

[jim rosenthal]

Can you hurry up a bit? I am running out of interesting threads to read.

LOL- this work does look great. The interior is going to be really something to see.

[q240z]

Yeah, I've been slackin' on the articles recently. Things should start ramping back up now that the heat wave has passed.

Booyah

[q240z]

Who was the clown who said the heat wave passed?

Freakin' east coast humidity...

Anyway, I got the mahogany moldings sanded, then sent them to the paint shop for finishing with ICA clearcoat. They turned out great! But when I went to install them, I found a couple of spots where the fiberglass didn't stay put until the epoxy cured. Fixing those spots throws another week or two into the process of getting the V-berth head painted, but at this point it's not stressing me out. Every bit of progress gets me closer to being done.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Sanding and Finishing the V-berth Head Moldings

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

It looks like the long, hot summer is finally over, so I can finally get back into the rhythm with weekend trips to the tent. While it was scorching hot through the last month, I made a couple of trips to chrome shops in the area and finally decided to drop off my precious hardware with Hanlon Plating in Richmond, VA. The results are pretty good! Eye protection may be helpful while viewing the pix in the linked article.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: More Chrome!

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

Way back in February, I put together an order of glass for the salon and all of the portholes. But the supplier for my first glass order has a new sales manager who doesn't give big boat owners a deal on relatively large purchases, so the quote I got back was about 3x what I paid per pane in 2013. I did some shopping around and eventually found a glass factory in Pennsylvania that sold to me at wholesale pricing. The crating was outstanding, and the pencil polish edge treatment was much better than the initial supplier I used. Unfortunately, I botched the measurements on four panes, so I've got to do a follow-up order. Ironically, it was the panes I measured with a super accurate Bosch laser that ended up being wrong. The far more complicated panes I measured with rulers, framing squares, and protractors turned out perfect.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer Refit: More Tinted Glass!

Cheers
Q

[jim rosenthal]

Q, what is "pencil polishing"?

I think the white stuff is where the glass is etched by wear, maybe.

I have used that plating shop in Richmond, they did a nice job for me, too.

[q240z]

I figured acid rain may have etched the glass, but the white isn't just along the very bottom. I reckon "wear" is as good a description as any for nearly 50-year old glass that was unloved for 3+ decades.

Pencil polishing is what the glass factories do to cut edges of glass to smooth them off and slightly round the edges. This is a good explanation: http://www.55glass.com/edge_chart.htm

[q240z]

I installed the new tinted glass in the bow hatch, then cleaned and installed the latches and props. I have to say, the tinted glass looks great next to the Matterhorn White Awlgrip paint, even if the paint is covered in dust. That's one more exterior hole that's no longer open. Once I get all the exterior parts installed, which should be pretty soon, I'll be able to wash the boat and get rid of the dust.

Booya

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Assembling the Forward Hatch

Cheers,
Q

[Walter P]

Looking great Q. Seems like you're getting down to the details now. Exciting to see all your hard work coming together with no corners cut.

Walt