1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 refit

[Finalee]

Of course if the boat has stabs it's a four fin alignment required to prevent crabbing.

 

[q240z]

No stabs on this boat!

 

[q240z]

The theft that happened back in May forced me to rethink some things. Case in point: the helm windshield. After all that work to get 'em ready to paint, the thieves punted me back to the drawing board.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Demise of the Evil Helm Windshield Frames

Cheers,
Q

 

[sandspur1966]

Ok. You did it all wrong! How's that?

Seriously, I think you would want something to load them slightly. If not, you will probably get some slight shaking back and forth that will eventually start to wear your bearings and linkage bushings.

I don't think it matters much whether you toe in our out, but you need some constant side load to hold them there.

Sky is right, the tradition is to toe them in a bit so the side load reduces shaking in the prop wash.

Never heard of toeing out but thinking on it not sure I see a difference other than the pull or push pressure the difference would put on the tie bar.

 

[q240z]

I'll give a turn on the tie rod, then, to toe them in a bit. Thanks!

In other news, things are still chugging along on the Roamer. I've been doing a lot of backgroundy stuff that doesn't really warrant writing articles just yet. Here's a couple of things, though:

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The New Windshield Frames and
1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: (previously) Hateful Portlights and Bow Hatch Out and Back from the Paint Shop

Cheers,
Q

 

[q240z]

I knocked out a couple more little jobs on the honey-do list. Getting all of the holes in the exterior covered and filled is my priority over the next half-year or so. The major support for the spine of my tent runs up through the bow deck hatch hole, so that hole won't get filled with the hatch just yet. But I reassembled the hatch itself (and made a few improvements over the original), so it'll be ready to install come spring 2015.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Reassembling the Bow Hatch
1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Transom Steps

Cheers,
Q

 

[bobk]

Sky is right, the tradition is to toe them in a bit so the side load reduces shaking in the prop wash.

Never heard of toeing out but thinking on it not sure I see a difference other than the pull or push pressure the difference would put on the tie bar.

I can't vouch for the veracity, but once read that towing out (aft end of the rudders closer together than the leading edge) puts more water pressure under the stern and there fore increases lift like a trim tab. Intuitively this seems correct but how big is the effect??

Bobk

 

[jim rosenthal]

Glad to see you are moving ahead, Quentin. If fuel prices keep going down I'm going to buy you some diesel. Once you have tanks to put it in.

 

[q240z]

Thanks, Jim!
It's funny you mentioned diesel. The tanks are in, but I need to relocate the inlets so I haven't filled them yet. With fuel prices dropping, I've got another incentive to get the mechanical stuff done quickly.
But for whatever reason, diesel doesn't seem to be dropping to the same degree as gas. After the new year, I plan to start schlepping gas cans to my Commander.

 

[Boatsb]

Diesel at under $3/gal in miami. That's with road and sales tax.

 

[Red Hatt]

2.65 in va

 

[sandspur1966]

Always seems to happen... I put 700 gal aboard before laying her up. Just checked and I can get it at 2.90 off a truck here in NY.

$400.00... poof.

 

[jim rosenthal]

No kidding. I filled my tanks before her winter haulout. Although that marina will not buy fuel again until the spring- I would have had to lay her up with half-empty tanks all winter, which is not a good idea. She only holds 250, which was lucky for me.

 

[q240z]

Since I last updated this thread, diesel dropped to $2.49 at the local on-road station, the same price as off-road/home heating oil. Turns out I'm saving myself all kinds of money on fuel by poking along and not getting this dang refit finished.

In other news, I got sick of interviewing mechanics so I'm going ahead with the engine install myself. But before I can bolt them to the stringers, I've got to build a gantry that I can bring up the ladder and into the salon. Check out what I've got in mind:

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Gantry Time

Cheers,
Q

 

[z28jimi]

I'm sure you've done your homework well, as you always seem to do, but you might want to consider triangular gusset plates between the bottom tubes and the uprights instead of what appears to be 1/2" tube or rod. Less likely to suffer any tendency for buckling.

 

[q240z]

z28jimi, I think it'll be OK as designed. The steel box sections are equal to or larger than what's used on my 2-ton engine hoist, which only has two 1/8" thick steel straps bolted to either side to stabilize it side-to-side. The Cummins C-series with with gears are only a ton, split between the two, relatively short uprights as compared to one long cantilevered upright on my hoist...it should be fine.

But turning the gantry plan into a gantry has been a comedy of errors, all tied to the theft back in May. So, I've been jumping from metal work to wood work and back again without actually getting anything DONE. It's frustrating.

Anyway, here's the latest --
1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Laying Out the Aft Cabin Walls

Cheers,
Q

 

[q240z]

The unofficial (and much dreaded) theme this winter is "jumping from one part of the project to another without actually getting anything DONE."

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Insulation

It's an interesting topic and, like so many other parts of this project, it's better to think about it early than to choose poorly or get stymied right when it counts.

Cheers,
Q

No pix on accounta...I haven't actually gotten this done just yet.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I once converted an old Eagle Intercity Bus into a motorhome. After reskinning with new aluminum, I spray foamed the entire thing, side and ceiling and then cut any excess back to the ribs. It did a great job. It stuck great to the aluminum and filled all voids. I would definately recommend it, but make sure you find someone with one of the big commercial machines. They can do the whole job in a few hours.

 

[q240z]

Sky, I'm definitely leaning toward having a pro spray the foam. I've seen some videos of DIY jobs and they tend to be...lumpy. Lots of DIYers also complain about the product not covering as much as advertised, which the manufacturers all write off as inappropriate application.

In other news, I put the saw to a bunch of mahogany ply that's been patiently waiting its turn. Gotta keep up the pro-gress...

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Turning Mahogany Plywood Into Aft Cabin Walls

Cheers,
Q

 

[jim rosenthal]

You're painting that mahogany? Say it ain't so.