1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Aft Stateroom Head Ceiling

There are many, many things going on all at once as I work through the issues on my helm station windshield frame. Getting the aft head done is one of those multi-step processes, and everything has to get done in a certain order. While we were getting the walls fiberglassed and faired, we’re also cutting and fitting plywood panels to use for the ceiling. In preparation for spray foam insulation, I also removed the original fiberglass insulation from overhead. As you can see in the pics below, there’s some of the tar-like adhesive Chris Craft used to attach the fiberglass remaining. But, according to the spray foam literature, the substrates don’t have to be perfect so long as they’re clean and well adhered.

Cheap luan ply makes good patterns

Breaking down a sheet of 1/4″ marine ply

My EurekaZone EZ-One woodworking center and track saw make it pretty easy to break down large panels. There’s no way I could do this with a conventional table saw.

Plastic guide strip shows exactly where the blade will cut

The track saw guide strips stick out a bit when new. You do the first trimming cut on scrap wood down the full length of the track, which cuts the plastic exactly to the edge of the saw blade kerf. Taping the guide before the trimming cut makes for a cleaner cut. From that point on, just align the guide strip edge with the start and end points of the cut.

Clamps on the underside hold the track tightly to the wood

Final cuts on the ceiling panels

After checking the fit of the panels in the aft head, we moved them up to the aft deck and applied fiberglass to what will become the inside surface.

FRP on the ceiling panels

We then applied home-made fairing compound when the epoxy resin became tacky

We’ll sand the fairing compound later and applying Alexseal 202 fairing compound, which is reportedly the best stuff to use in showers. Then we’ll sand the Alexseal and apply Buffalo Batt insulation (R3) to the backside of the panels, then glue and screw the panels into place. But first, in preparation for the spray foam insulation, I need to get all of the African mahogany pieces that will be attached to the overheads cut and installed. Word has it it’s much easier to install bulkheads and then spray foam than to spray foam and remove strips of it to install bulkheads.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Cutting and Installing Overhead Mahogany Plywood