Future Brown Water Cruiser: 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit

[zeehag]

wow!!! dang Q, at this rate your total rebuild will be effected faster than my lil refit...hahahahahahaha

[q240z]

Thanks ZH!

The headliner installer came back and wrapped up the track installation in the salon over three days. It's looking good.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing Salon Headliner Tracks

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

The last step before the headliner gets installed involves installing the stainless safety rails for the side decks on either side of the helm. It's always nice to put shiny chromed bronze and stainless parts on the boat, especially since I've had most of the rechromed parts at home sitting in a box for the better part of a decade. It turned out pretty good, though there was a drill malfunction that took some work to resolve.


1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing Safety Rails

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

With all the prep work finally done, I called the installer back to get started on the Whisper Wall headliner in the salon. He knocked out three panels on Day 1. I can't tell you how nice it is to show up and see that contracted work was done competently and on time. It's been my experience on this refit that's a rare thing.

So with the three panels installed, I got busy installing lights. It's looking great.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The Salon Headliner Install Begins!

Cheers,
Q

[q240z]

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

[q240z]

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

[q240z]

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

[q240z]

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

[q240z]

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

[q240z]

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

[q240z]

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

[q240z]

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

[q240z]

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

[q240z]

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

[q240z]

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