1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 refit

[q240z]

You can never have too many boats, Jim! lol

I'm still clearing out pictures from my camera's memory card of stuff I did a while back. Today's post covers final installation of the salon entry door.

A surprising challenge popped up when I tried to get new keys made for the original Schlage lockset. None of the brick and mortar "locksmiths" in my area have the ability to cut a new key without an existing one to copy. I finally found a retired hippy locksmith who hand-filed a key in about 15 minutes in the back of his old work van. Anyway, compared to what I started with, I think this looks terrific.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Wrapping Up the Salon Entry Door

Cheers,
Q

Before

After

 

[hat4349]

I hope you enjoy using it as much as you have enjoyed the rebuild. You do excellent work and definitely need to experience the thrill of using her!

 

[jim rosenthal]

X2 to that!

 

[q240z]

Thanks! I'm looking forward to splashing it in a few months.

Way back when the Boatamalan paint crew was priming my hull, they oversprayed the helm dashboard. I'd already removed the gauges and chrome switch knobs, but the black plastic switch plate that runs along the bottom of the dash from port to starboard ignition switches got dusted with primer. The painter decided to soak it in lacquer thinner to soften the paint...which it did...but it also melted the plastic into a ball.

A few months ago I took very careful measurements (4 times!) between all the switches and the space the plate has to fit into, then I used Sketchup to make a 2D model. After being told by lots of plastic engraving shops that they couldn't make the plate, Los Vegas Custom Engraving took the job. They turned my 2D model into a CAD file and made the part with their laser CNC engraver. I had to do a bit of shaving here and there, but that's to be expected since I'm pretty sure Chris Craft hand-drilled the switch holes...the CAD file was too precise.

With the plate installed, I reinstalled all of the original lights and switch nuts and knobs that I had rechromed back in 2013. I polished the push button switches for the horn and alarms, which turned out surprisingly good. The ignition switches were toast, so I got new ones.

For the finishing touch, I installed medallion stickers with Chris Craft logos on the Morse Control throttle and shift levers. HOF members Seven and drburke made a batch of them and are selling similar medallions for Hatteras and Bertram IIRC on ebay. They look really good

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Wrapping Up the Helm Dashboard

Cheers,
Q

Before

After

Throttle lever medallion

 

[Dan Mapes]

Simpley bahyooteeful!

 

[SEVEN]

Thanks Q. Here are a few photos to remind members what they look like.

 

[q240z]

Seven, I have to say that those are soooo much better than the originals, which were just flat stickers. You guys did a great thing making these. It's a minuscule detail on a 46' boat, but they just look so very nice.
Thx!

 

[jim rosenthal]

What a beautiful job.

You hardly ever see this kind of work on boats, especially big ones like the 46 Roamer. There are plenty of auto restoration shops that charge a mint and don't turn out work nearly as meticulous as what you're doing here.

 

[q240z]

Thanks Jim! On the flipside, if I wasn't being so careful I'd probably have had the boat in the water years ago! lol

 

[jim rosenthal]

Possibly. But all the systems will be new, so when she goes in, you'll have a (hopefully short) period of sorting things out and then get to do a lot of boating. In between signing autographs.

 

[q240z]

HA! Little chance of that! But I appreciate the sentiment...

I'm still clearing out my camera's memory card with things I finished a while ago but never posted on because...well...life got ugly for a while (and it's still ongoing).

Anyway, today's article is about the positive crankcase ventilation system I came up with, which should help keep my engine room from getting gunked up with oil discharged from the Cummins original vent scheme...which was to just vent those fumes directly into the ER.

There are many commercial options for PCV systems, and the cheapest of them is ~$375 per engine. The most expensive can run $750 per side. I put mine together for ~$100 for both sides, but that didn't include new air filters because new ones came with my engines. Even if you add the price of new filters in, the parts total would be ~$200. It'll be interesting to see how they perform once we splash the boat and run it for a while.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: DIY Positive Crankcase Ventilation

Cheers,
Q

 

[jim rosenthal]

I have Tony's Envirovents on my Cummins B engines. They work very well indeed. Everything goes where it's supposed to.

 

[q240z]

That's good to know! Hopefully, mine will, too.

The windshield on this boat has been an ongoing source of frustration since I first started the refit back in 2008. I thought all my problems were solved when I installed the custom units from Motion Windows. But when I washed the boat in preparation for some paint repairs in October last year, a bunch of water came through the screw holes on the center windshield clamp ring and pooled up on the dashboard. I tracked the problem down to a couple of manufacturing defects: outer seals that were cut too short and shrank, and an inner seal that wasn't attached to anything over 3-4 inches. Motion Windows graciously sent me a length of their window seal to replace the defective one, and I used Lexel sealant to fill the gap for the inner seal. The tent has some holes in it, and rain has streamed down the windshield several times since I finished the repair. No more leaks! The windshield is finally done!

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Helm Windshield Wrap Up

Cheers,
Q

The shrunk seal.

 

[q240z]

Chris Craft started installing Engelhard Impressed Current Cathodic Protection Systems (Cathodic Protection Automatically Controlled, or CAPAC for short) on all of the Roamer metal boat models in the 1960s. When I started this refit, I had no idea that these systems even existed. So when I saw the biggest pit in the hull in close proximity to a thing that looked like a plastic picnic plate (the bottom paint in the area also looked like it had been cooked), I decided that whatever it was, my boat was better off without it. I removed the picnic plates (there were two of them) and stupidly threw them in the trash.

As the refit progressed and I learned a thing or two, I realized that what I'd done was a big mistake. With a properly functioning CAPAC system, you don't need zincs. And with a properly installed CAPAC system, you don't get the hull pitting that I found on my boat. So I did a bunch of research, found an original manual for the model of CAPAC my boat came with, and I found a company in Florida that still sells the 'plastic picnic plates'.

One plate is the anode that pushes current (at 12vdc) out into the water to "polarize" any exposed underwater metal on the boat. The other plate is the reference cell that senses the degree of polarization. Together they cost $1750...to replace the two perfectly good ones I threw in the trash because I was stupid. lol

Anyway, the new ones are installed and wired to the Engelhard panel I refurbed and reinstalled in the salon electrical panel a while ago. All I need to do is supply it with 12vdc and it's ready to 'polarlize' my hull and underwater metal when I splash in the Spring.

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

Cheers,
Q

 

[Avenger]

This is why I never throw anything out until a job is done, and sometimes not until the warranty is expired.

Naturally, this means everything in my shop and garage look like a hoarder's paradise, but hopefully I'll never have to buy an expensive piece I already owned.

 

[Tricia II]

I agree. But I learned the hard way.

This is why I never throw anything out until a job is done, and sometimes not until the warranty is expired.Naturally, this means everything in my shop and garage look like a hoarder's paradise, but hopefully I'll never have to buy an expensive piece I already owned.

 

[Avenger]

I agree. But I learned the hard way.

I never said anything about my tuition.

 

[jim rosenthal]

My metal boat, the 44' Striker, only had the measuring part of the CAPAC system, not the impressed current feature. You have the entire package, good for you.

 

[q240z]

The only things not protected by the CAPAC system will be the shafts and props. They're isolated by the ShaftSavers I installed. I may eventually install shaft wipers to bond them with the rest of the underwater metal, but initially I'll just use conventional zincs.

In other news, I've been working on the sliding helm doors off and on for three years. Finding hardware that will work in this application has been far more challenging than I thought it would be. After two false starts, I finally found slider tracks that will work. They're linear motion tracks from PCB Linear. There are no moving parts. The tracks and traveler cars are anodized aluminum, and the bearing material that lines the contact surface of the traveler appears similar to delrin. They slide very smoothly, with almost no friction. I'll use two cars per track, with a piece of 316 stainless angle connecting the two. The doors will sit on the angle, with screws holding them in place.

Once the doors are installed, the boat will be very close to weatherproof.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Aft Deck Helm Doors II

Cheers,
Q

 

[q240z]

I've been making progress on the refit when I'm not swamped with case filings in my various employment-related lawsuit and other claims. I haven't had time to post anything recently but thought I'd give a quick refit heads-up.

After a bunch of nonsense with the fuel system that I'll cover in more detail later, I finally got the starboard engine fuel circuit nailed down and was recently able to light it off. The idle is rock-solid, gauges show good oil and gear pressure, and the tach appears to be working fine. I plan to dismantle the tent the first week of June and will splash the boat as soon as the surveyor and insurance company clear it for launch. There are more details at the linked blog page and also a video of it starting and running. I can't figure out how to make my video link work here.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The Starboard Engine Runs!

Cheers,
Q