To get the boat waterproof, I need to do some work on the ducts between the mahogany toe rail and the engine room. I did that on the port side of the salon already. I started on the starboard side by cleaning out the space and then waterproofing the main ER vent panel.
The starboard main ER vent
Chris Craft used pressboard panels to enclose the main air intake vents to the engine room. Not surprisingly, water comes in through the gill vents on the outside of the hull, and water does bad things to pressboard. I decided to use 1/4″ marine-grade Douglas fir plywood instead of pressboard, and put a heavy coat of epoxy on it before screwing the panels in place. As with the port side, I want to extend the lower edge of the panel further down than Chris Craft did so it goes fully below the salon subfloor and framing. If any water gets in, it’ll run all the way down below the salon floor and drop into the bilge.
The OE flexible hose for the ER vent fan is a bit…worn
The vent fan itself still works fine, but the housing has some broken tabs
Inside the cabinet, looking forward
Inside the cabinet, looking aft
The ER vent panels are out
Ready for fiberglass
The small 3/4″ thick plywood panel in the pic above will be used in winter to block off the exterior gill vent and keep cold air out.
Wetted out with epoxy and covered with lightweight fiberglass cloth
Trimming off the excess fiberglass
If you look closely at the face of the plywood, you can see cracks in the veneer. Those cracks had telegraphed through the heavy coat of epoxy I put on a few years ago. This time around, I used US Composite’s 635 epoxy, which is less viscous than the 150 series stuff I used the first time. It wicks in much better, and no cracks telegraphed through the fiberglass layer.
New extension panels installed and topped with fiberglass
Next day, the excess fiberglass got trimmed
Upper panel gets a layer of fiberglass
I’ll leave the ER vent panels to cure for a while and get busy on the other bilge vents on the starboard side.
Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The Starboard Salon Bilge Vent Duct
1969chriscraftroamer46 
I just came to terms and am making a deposit on the same boat tomorrow. I’d love to connect with you fo expert advice. I’m happy to pay for it expecting you’re time is precious. My email is steveostrowski@bell.net. Please connect so I can send some photos and a list of questions. Where are you located by the way. My boat is currently in Sarnia ON and I will be moving it to Toronto in June by way of Lakes St Clair and Erie.