1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Re-skinning Tent Model XXX (for the last time?)

With the damage finally repaired from the big 2018 Nor’easter, I spent four days spread over a couple of weekends transforming and reskinning Tent Model XXX. The transforming part involves adjusting the height of the roof line, which had to be raised so the crew could fix gouges and re-paint the nonskid and Awlcraft 2000 shiny paint on the hard top. A lower roof line makes for a smaller structure that doesn’t catch wind quite as much. It’s our sincere hope that this is the last time I ever have to reskin this tent…time will tell. And for a little retrospective, check out the history of tent building over the course of this project.

Step One: roll out the top skin

Shrink wrap is heavy stuff. That 149′ roll weighs 210 pounds and it’s slippery as an eel. The boat’s 46 feet LOA, but the tent’s closer to 52. And the top skin has to go all the way from the front to the deck level at the stern. Previously I’ve lifted the skin up to the back end of the hard top straight off the roll, then tossed the leading edge over each frame while pulling more up from ground level. That reduces waste, but it’s a lot of work for an aging geezer. So this time, I’m cutting the top skin off the roll and schlepping the whole thing up the ladder. It’ll sit on the aft deck until I”m ready to spread it out from the top.

Next, start cutting off the starboard wall skin

She sure looks better from outside the tent.

…and then hang the new wall skin

You wouldn’t know it from the pictures, but it was scorching hot that day. The humidity in the Mid-Atlantic is bad enough during summer, but I was racing against the shadow of the tent as it grew smaller and smaller. Around 1:30pm, the sun is dead overhead and there’s no getting away from it. Fortunately, I’d finished hanging the starboard skin by then.

Next, the port side

Off comes the plastic

Signs of the Nor-easter’s power show up in broken scaffold framing

That piece of 3/4″ marine plywood wasn’t directly load bearing. I used it as a cross brace for the scaffolding to keep it square, so all it would normally ever be subject to is push-pull forces. But once the Nor’easter ripped off the big overhead vent, it left a gaping hole in the roof that the wind came through, providing lift to the structure enough to move the nose of the tent over 8″ or so. Something had to give, and that ‘something’ was the cross braces.

Another plywood cross brace snapped clean

The port wall skin is off

I don’t know if you can see it in the pic above, but the front of the tent was moved  over about 8″ from the storm. The uprights are all square to the ground, then they take a lean around the front salon window. To fix the scaffolding would require major disassembly and rebuilding of Tent Model XXX, so I’m going to gamble a bit and leave it as-is. The scaffolding is still solid and the exterior paint work is basically done. I just need it to hang on for another year or two.

Starting to hang the new skin

Bright and early the next morning

Today is Top Skin Day!

Top skin cut off, with frames up high

The top skin plastic was loaded with nonskid overspray. It’s very abrasive stuff, so I had to be very careful when pulling the plastic off the top.

Frames adjusted down

The boat looks pretty good from this angle!

That toe rail looks great in the sun!

Ready to drape the top skin

Clamps hold the plastic in place in a few spots

Next day, the top skin gets attached to the sides

First, use the propane heat gun to attach the panels, then cover the joint with preservation tape

I can only do about four feet of joint at a time. So I climb the ladder, work the heat gun, tape the joint, climb down, move the ladder, and repeat…and repeat…and repeat.

Next, a batten gets screwed into the board backing each joint

A few years ago, I figured out that I could extend the life of the tent skin by about 2x by using battens on each joint. That approach really helps keep the joint together, even if the tape and welded joint lose their bond.

Last step: shrink the side wall plastic

I was getting seriously sick of climbing that ladder.

Next, I did the back panel and port side

There’s nothing quite like working a propane heat gun on a 90° day.

Gotta hurry up…the sun’s going down

I really, really hate that ladder.

End of the day, the top is joined to the sides

My buddy’s outboard is in the way, so I can’t shrink the front

My buddy is doing a complete refit on a 25′ center console, and he was concerned about somebody stealing his outboard. So he put it near the tent, where the passive infrared alarm sensors keep a watchful eye out. Unfortunately, it’s in the way now that I’m reskinning the tent.

Next day, I shrunk the top a bit theninstalled the vent

When the big Nor’easter came along, it ripped the vent fan assembly off the roof, which left a big, gaping hole in the top plastic. So even though I like the idea of a roof vent to get rid of summer heat that basically turns the tent into a land-locked hot air balloon, I’m not cutting any more holes in the roof. Instead, I relocated the vent assembly to the side of the tent. To do that, I had to attach some 2×4 framing to the PVC pipes.

That’s ugly, but it works very well

Rain clouds were coming as I finished the battens

The starboard side is looking good

The little porch roof makes a big difference on rainy days…and that’s a wrap

Without the little porch roof in place, water runs down the tent skin and inside through the door opening. It makes a big difference having that in place.

It took several hours to fold up and dispose of the old shrink wrap and get the area back in order. The marina owner has been very understanding through all of this, and I do my best to keep things neat.

As I was driving away it started raining and was pouring buckets by the time I got home. I have to say, I was beat. It’s hard work reskinning the tent. But until the boat is weatherproof, it’s essential to keep it covered. The V-berth is weatherproof, since I installed the deck hatch. I’ve got the four salon bilge vents done, which makes the salon weatherproof. There are four more bilge vents in the aft stateroom that need to get done, and I have to install the swim platform. Once that’s done and I figure out what to do about the porthole seals, it will be weatherproof…after I have the aft deck canvas done.

There’s still a ways to go. But I believe I can get it all done before this tent needs reskinning again. Let’s hope this is the last time.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Back Into The Starboard Salon Cabinetry