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

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roamer46
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Re: Using a Shop Smith Mark V on a Chris Craft Roamer refit

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Thanks!
roamer46
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Re: Using a Shop Smith Mark V on a Chris Craft Roamer refit

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October is coming up fast, but I'm checking off pre-splash priorities pretty quickly.

Making the bottom water-tight and the topsides weather-proof are my top priorities now. And with the aft stateroom vents finally installed, I was able to install the pretty mahogany panels surrounding them. Then I permanently installed 12 of the 14 portholes that have been done and awaiting installation since 2016. They look great!

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing [most of] the Portholes

Cheers,
Q

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roamer46
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Re: Using a Shop Smith Mark V on a Chris Craft Roamer refit

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Closing up all of the holes in the hull that will be underwater when the boat splashes is my top priority. The biggest holes are where I need to weld in the raw water intake standpipes for the Cummins 6CTAs. But the most numerous holes are on the transom, where the swim platform supports will attach to the hull with a bunch of 3/8" stainless bolts.

I did all of the cosmetic work to the teak swim platform back in 2016. It's been sitting behind the boat, ready to install, since then. So I wrapped up some tapered spacers I need for the stainless platform supports, broke out the caulk gun, and installed the stainless and teak platform. That's ~40 holes below the waterline that are now water-tight. And the teak looks gorgeous mounted back where the goddess of the seas intended.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Swim Platform

Cheers,
Q

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roamer46
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Re: Using a Shop Smith Mark V on a Chris Craft Roamer refit

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Still working toward splashing this month. Getting exterior holes sealed up is my current priority. I filled a whole bunch of them by installing the stanchion bases, fairleads, and fresh water fill on the mahogany toe rail. I had all of those original bronze pieces rechromed and sitting in a box since 2016. It's nice to finally have them back where they belong.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing Rechromed Deck Hardware

Cheers,
Q

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roamer46
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Re: Using a Shop Smith Mark V on a Chris Craft Roamer refit

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I buttoned up four more holes on the cabin top by installing the chromed bronze mast base. That has the practical effect of getting the boat closer to weather-tight, and it's pretty, too. It's also nice to finally move stuff that's been taking up space in storage back to the boat, where it belongs.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Mast Base

Cheers,
Q

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roamer46
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Re: Using a Shop Smith Mark V on a Chris Craft Roamer refit

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Next, I started working on closing up holes in the engine room; in this case, the raw water inlet for the air conditioners. By "closing up," I mean getting the raw water pump installed so I can connect the strainer/seacock to the pump with a hose. I had a big 3000gph Dometic pump that I was going to use, but after looking over the spec sheets for the AC units, I realized I only need 1000gph. The electric requirement drops from 6 amps for the Dometic unit to 1 amp for a March 1000gph pump.

Anyway, I finally got the platform built for the pump and distribution manifold, and got it installed. The distribution manifold is made of Schedule 80 PVC Tees, close nipples, and hose barbs, and is attached to the pump platform with some 316 stainless pipe straps I whipped up from stainless leftovers I had laying around.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Air Conditioning Raw Water Supply

Cheers,
Q

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roamer46
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Re: Using a Shop Smith Mark V on a Chris Craft Roamer refit

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Well, the boat's not splashing in October.

I don't post articles to my blog (or link to them here) in real-time, so the boat's actually a lot farther along than what I've shared publicly so far. But problems keep popping up that take time to resolve, which I'll write about in the future, and they've killed my grand plan for an October 2022 launch. But I haven't given up hope and am now aiming for November.

Anyway, I installed the aft stateroom air conditioner. It was nice to finally get it out of my garage, where it's been sitting since 2018, and in its new home inside the boat. That allows me to connect a raw water hose to it from the pump and manifold I wrote about recently, and another hose from the AC unit to the thru-hull that takes it off the boat.

There are six raw water circuits in total that I want completed before the boat splashes: two main engines, one genset, and the three AC units. So that's one raw water circuit down, five to go.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Aft Stateroom AC Unit

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BuckeyeDennis
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Re: Using a Shop Smith Mark V on a Chris Craft Roamer refit

Post by BuckeyeDennis »

Hey Q, I’m curious. My own boating experience is pretty much all fresh-water inland lakes and trailered boats, so everything comes out of the water and into winter storage by this time of year. So I keep wondering, why would you even WANT to splash the boat with winter about to close in? I’m guessing it’s not so that your hull can get fouled before using it in the spring!

With my small fresh-water boats, cruising down to winter in the Caribbean was not an option …
roamer46
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Re: Using a Shop Smith Mark V on a Chris Craft Roamer refit

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BuckeyeDennis, I want to splash the boat and move to another marina. I wrote in my blog about that recently. There are new owners at my current marina, and they increased rates 30%. Also, Tent Model XXX is past its expiration date, and I don't want to have to do another tent renovation. So my plan is to splash the boat, drive to a marina that's 15 minutes from my house (the current one is 1 hour away), and have it hauled for the winter.
roamer46
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Re: Using a Shop Smith Mark V on a Chris Craft Roamer refit

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Problems keep popping up that are delaying splashing the boat. I'm dealing with those as fast as I can, and fortunately the weather is cooperating. But I'm also checking off items on my pre-splash honey-do list.

I want to have all of the raw water circuits finished before I splash. Raw water circuits involve inlets for the water the boat is floating in, some sort of mechanism that needs raw water, and the outlet for the raw water after it passes through the mechanism. On this boat, that’s two main propulsion engines, one generator, air conditioners, and two toilets. I want all of the raw water circuits done before I splash the boat, because failures in raw water circuits are the main reason why boats sink.

This time, I got the salon air conditioner installed, including running new Shields 200 Series 5/8" hose from the raw water manifold I made recently to the aft stateroom and salon AC units. The installation went well, and I'm moving onto other things. Hopefully, the boat will be splashed this month.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Salon AC Unit

Cheers,
Q

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