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Using a Shop Smith Mark V on a Chris Craft Roamer refit

roamer46

We got two more Whisper Wall Headliner panels and Kai LED lights installed in the salon. This it turning out really nicely.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Salon Headliner Install II

Cheers,

Q

roamer46

Drumroll please...the Whisper Wall headliner in the salon and galley is done. And it looks great!

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Wrapping Up the Salon Headliner Install

Cheers,

Q

roamer46

While the headliner installer has been working his magic, I've been tinkering around with other stuff that keeps me out of his way. This time around, it's V-berth moldings to cover up all of those exposed mahogany edges. The mahogany I used was from the old wing doors I broke down and jointed back in February. It's gonna look great when it's refinished with ICA clear coat...a lot better than it looked covered with white paint for 50 years!

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: V-birth Moldings

Cheers,

Q

roamer46

Before I put ICA 2-part urethane clear coat on the moldings, I wanted to have a bigger pile of mahogany needing varnish. That ICA stinks, so if I'm going to mix it up and break open carbon filters I want to make sure I get a lot of wood coated. So I jumped back into the aft stateroom and fitted a couple of mahogany panels at the transom. In doing so, the mahogany stack dropped by 1/2". When the plywood stack is gone, the project should be finished.

"Progress"

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Aft Stateroom Transom Panel

Cheers,

Q

nuhobby

Looking Great! Your patience and persistence is an inspiration.

Reminds me of an old song....

Mahogany....

Do you know, where you're going to ? :)

Chris

roamer46

Thanks Chris!

Speaking of mahogany, I've got 15 4x8 sheets coming tomorrow!

Cheers,

Q

roamer46

While the headliner was being installed, I was working on other stuff. With the V-berth moldings and aft stateroom transom mahogany plywood cut and fitted, next I mixed up the stinky ICA urethane basecoat and brushed it on. It's always nice to see the wood grain POP when you hit it with varnish.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: ICA Basecoat on Moldings and the Aft Stateroom Transom Panel

Cheers,

Q

roamer46

I got that back panel installed in the aft stateroom. That did a lot to hide a big patch of spray foam insulation I was sick of looking at. Now it's pretty mahogany.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Aft Stateroom Transom Panel

Cheers,

Q

roamer46

On Tuesday, I posted a new blog article...and then my computer keyboard bit the dust. I haven't even been able to login until today when I finally got a replacement keyboard that works. Anyway, the article from Tuesday is pretty cool. In preparation for some epic mahogany work I need to do on the aft deck as part of the prep for the headliner install back there, I took some 8/4 (2" heavy) x 14' long boards to a local shop and had them resawn down to 1" thick. Then I cut those to useful sizes and ran them over my jointer. If you're into wood porn, this article's for you.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Resawing Big Mahogany Boards

Cheers,

Q

Before

After

roamer46

I've been jumping around from topic to topic recently, all over the boat, because lots of stuff has been going on while the headliners were being installed in the V-berth, salon, and aft stateroom. One of the things I contracted out was to have the headliner installer put padded Whisper Wall on the walls surrounding where the mattress will go in the V-berth. I'm really happy with the work this installer has done. It's refreshing after so many incompetent fools I've had bill me $$$ for poor-quality work.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: V-berth Bed Surround Padded Headliner

Cheers,

Q

roamer46

From the V-berth, next I jumped into the aft deck and started making mahogany dust. Lots of it.

The Boatamalan painter lost two of three big pieces of original mahogany that span the top of the helm windshield. It would have been practically impossible to make new wood match the old one, so I made all three panels from the boards I had resawn recently. I also made some corner pieces for the aft deck that I'll use to join four plywood panels.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Helm Station Mahogany

Cheers,

Q

roamer46

As long as I'm working with solid mahogany in the aft deck and helm area, I figured I might as well get the panel work done, too. It's turning out really nice.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Aft Deck Mahogany Panels

Cheers,

Q

roamer46

I've been ripping through the resawn mahogany boards recently. Turned another couple of rough cut boards into pretty stuff.

"progress"

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Helm Station Mahogany II

Cheers,

Q

roamer46

Next I fitted the 3mm mahogany plywood to the helm bulkhead. I'm using plywood instead of veneer because it's a lot easier to work with and it's half the price of veneer.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Helm Station Mahogany II

Cheers,

Q

Way back in the beginning

Last weekend

roamer46

I spent a tedious day recently pulling wire and cable from the V-berth and salon power panel all the way up to the aft deck hardtop ceiling. I have to get the wiring all done before we can install the headliner. Fortunately, this part of the job is done. Hopefully, I'll never have to do that again.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Aft Deck Wiring

Cheers,

Q

roamer46

As part of the prep for installing the aft deck headliner, I've got to get everything installed in the ceiling overhead. The wiring is pretty much done, so my next project was to make a mahogany box for the radios and fuel gauge. I ended up using the leftover mahogany boards from the resawn fascia boards I made in the aft stateroom. I have to say, it looked a bit rough on the dusty, oxidized side that was exposed to air without varnish for a decade. But once it's glued up, sanded, and varnished that's some pretty wood.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Helm Station Radio Box

Cheers,

Q

Before

After

roamer46

The helm station radio box is looking good. So next I jumped on the One-Mile Ray searchlight install. The light sure looks nice rechromed and assembled. But I found a surprise in the hardtop ceiling when I went to install it.

That seems to be a pattern with this refit...

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: One-Mile Ray Searchlight

Cheers,

Q

The good part

The bad part

roamer46

As part of the prep work for getting the headliner installed on the aft deck, I had to install the radio antennas. I installed the AM/FM antenna on the port side hand rail and the marine band/cell booster on the starboard side. Running the coax cables through the stainless tubing made for a nice, clean look. The rechromed handrail ends look great.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Antennas

Cheers,

Q

BuckeyeDennis

Very clever, Q! :cool:

roamer46

Thanks!

I had some trouble when I went to install the searchlight, which was original to the boat. The mahogany mounting blocks were also original. But somehow, the blocks ended up being ~1/2" too thick. I had to use a router upside-down to remove the excess mahogany from the underside of the mounting blocks. It was an ugly job, but I think it'll work fine. Once the headliner is installed, nobody will ever see it.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: One-Mile Ray Searchlight Install II

Cheers,

Q

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