1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Muffler Platforms

I’d hoped to get the V-berth head (AKA the Throne Room) done by the end of April, but now it looks like it won’t be done by the end of May. My Boatamalan* painter is very busy at work, and he hasn’t even been able to spray ICA on the final wall panels over the last week. But there are plenty of other things going on, and even more on the honey-do list of things I need to do before we can splash (hopefully, later this year). So I installed the new platforms for the water lift mufflers that are painted and awaiting installation. The side exhaust outlets are already installed. Once the mufflers are in, I can begin making the exhaust risers.

* Boatamalan: Noun. Joking portmanteau referring to the Central American origin of the fairing and paint crew (boat + Guatamalan). In fact, the Boatamalans are from Honduras, but Boatduras doesn’t roll off the tongue like Boatamalan does.

Under-side of the muffler platform

For the muffler platforms, I welded some 3/16″ 5052 plate leftovers from the aft deck enclosure and side decks to some angle that was leftover from the galley floor supports. Once the platforms are installed there will be no access to the bottom side, so I rolled and brushed on a couple coats of Devoe 235 epoxy primer.

Upright angles will hook onto existing engine room floor frames

Ready to light up

The uprights “capture” the original ER floor frames

Since these platforms will be subjected to quite a bit of vibration, I didn’t want to rely strictly on my welds to hold them in place. So I cut a slot in the uprights so the original engine room floor frames slide into the upright. These things aren’t going anywhere.

Dirty aluminum puts a bit of carbon in the weld

Chris Craft used Bitumastic, a tar-like substance, as the insulation on their metal hulls. It’s not bad stuff, but removing it is a real pain. The aluminum looked clean and I wiped it with acetone before welding, but there must have been some residue remaining (maybe embedded in the aluminum).

Port muffler platform is welded in

Not bad for a vertical weld done up-side down

These vertical welds were hard. I was looking straight down at the joint and had the torch angled slightly upward, to keep the weld area covered in argon. I pulled the torch toward me as I added filler. It doesn’t look like a stack o’ dimes, but the penetration is good and the weld is clean.

Starboard muffler platform is clamped and ready to weld

First tack looks good

Better looking vertical weld

It’s more like a pile o’ dimes than a stack, but the penetration is good. I’m sure it will be fine.

Coated with Devoe 235 epoxy

Done!

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Rub Rails