The good news is, repairs have begun on the damage to my Awlgrip paint job from the big Nor’easter a few months back. The bad news is, the insurance company’s surveyor has gone nuts and thinks the job can be done for less than half of what the estimate came to. The estimator blew up when I told him the surveyor thinks it can be done for 40% of the estimated labor hours. I pointed out to the surveyor that the estimate was consistent with my records for the amount of labor it took to prep and paint before. I wrote back to contest the surveyor’s position but haven’t heard back from him or the insurance company yet. Until this gets sorted out, I won’t be blogging as regularly as usual. There are only so many hours in a day. This is so frustrating! I hate this freakin’ boat!
[takes deep breath]
That said, I installed the starboard engine room main vent panel after extending the lower edge on it and fiberglassing the side that faces the weather. This panel is one of many things I have to install before the boat will be weatherproof and can come out of the tent.
Exterior ‘gill’ vents let a lot of cold air in during winter
Vent covers will keep out the cold
I recycled the original 3/4″ marine plywood galley bulkhead panel to make the vent covers. We removed the bulkhead during the demolition phase when we first started the project, and the bits I saved have come in very handy over the years. All I have to do is epoxy seal the edges, and the vent cover panel will be ready to keep out winter for decades to come.
Sikaflex 291 LOT seals the ER vent panel attachment points
Sliding the panel in place
More Sikaflex seals the joint to the salon cabinet floor
Done!
The upper panel will be removable (or maybe hinged) so the vent covers can be installed/removed as necessary.
Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Refurbing the Original Electric Panel
1969chriscraftroamer46 