1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: New Mounts for the Panda Genset

Before digging into the genset article, if anybody in the Mid-Atlantic region is thinking about installing Whisper Wall headliner like I did, I’m cleaning out the tent and have 23 sticks of 9-foot Whisper Wall track for sale for $1.50/ft. I just added them to my For Sale page. These are the tracks that connect Whisper Wall fabric panel-to-panel, not the tracks that go around the perimeter of the room. Send me an email if you’re interested (use the Tip Jar box to the right) .

Having gotten Egyptian and moved the Fischer Panda genset from the port to starboard engine stringers, next I made new vibration-isolated mounts that will place the genset even further outboard to starboard. There are several reasons for moving the genset further outboard: my gut tells me it’ll help with weight distribution, it’ll make space for exhaust hose that I’ll put under the genset to go from the waterlift muffler up to the Vetus water/gas separator, and it’ll make space for the vented loop hoses I’ll install, otherwise those would stick out past the inboard engine stringers.

180° panoramic shot of the scene for today’s article

You can see the coolant header for the port engine on the far left of the panoramic shot and the same for the starboard engine on the far right. The Panda genset was on the port side, so I got Egyptian and rolled it over to the starboard engine stringers.

You can also see that the engine room steps are centerline over the keel. That’ll pose a challenge when it comes to routing the exhaust hose for the genset.

The Panda in the original Kohler genset position

In the pic above, on the left, you can see the genset exhaust thru-hull that’s welded in. I’ll still use that as the exhaust outlet even with the Panda on the starboard side.

After getting Egyptian, the Panda in its new home

That grey, vertical stick in front of the Panda is an OEM salon floor support is primer-coated mahogany. It’s in the way of the genset installation. After I remove it I’ll make a new one out of aluminum, as I have elsewhere in the ER.

Making new genset mounts from old gas tank mounts

When we were in the demolition phase way back in 2008, I saved the 1/4″x2″x1-1/2″ aluminum angle that Chris Craft used for starboard and port gas tank mounts in the aft stateroom. I used two of them for the cradle for the new centerline fuel tanks and will use this one to make new mounts for the Panda genset.

By the way, the Harbor Freight metal-cutting bandsaw is a great tool.

Steel screws securing plywood to aluminum for 50 years makes removal a challenge

Chris Craft didn’t use Tef-Gel, so most of the hardened steel screws snap off

ONE screw out of nine came out without snapping

New vibration isolators

The Fischer Panda genset is mounted to the sound enclosure with very soft vibration isolators. But, this being a metal boat, I wanted to add a second set of vibration isolators between the new mounts and the engine stringers just in case stray harmonics try to get through.

Mark the ends to get rid of sharp edges

Drill holes for vibration isolators and stringer thru-bolts

Sand the rounded ends smooth

The smoothed edges have two benefits: it eliminates sharp things in the engine room and paint sticks to rounded surfaces better than sharp corners.

Drilled, sanded, and ready for the first test fit

Perfect!

PVC spacers will separate the steel bases of the vibration isolators from the aluminum engine stringers

Of course, the stringers are coated with epoxy, but PVC spacers will help ensure the steel doesn’t gouge into the epoxy.

The vibration isolators and PVC spacers also raise the genset two inches, which is a good thing. It may not sound like much, but without those parts the middle of the raw water pump on this Panda was 10 inches above the engine stringers. The OEM waterline was also 10 inches above the stringers, which means there was a potential sinking hazard if a hose fails and a siphon starts pulling water past the pump and into the bilge. By raising the center of the pump two inches (and I’ll be adding a siphon break per Panda’s installation manual), it completely eliminates that siphon potential. When the genset shuts down, the raw water level in the intake hose will drop to the waterline, which will be an inch below the raw water pump body.

ShopSmith bandsaw makes quick work of cutting the PVC spacers

ShopSmith 12″ disc sander smooths and shapes the PVC spacers

Genset mounts are coated with Barr Rust 235 high-solids epoxy

Time to get Egyptian again

I had to jack up the genset, pull the aluminum angle genset mounts I made earlier (that were too short), attach the new mounts, then roll the assembly outboard until the vibration isolators are in position over the stringers.

Tools of the trade for gettin’ Egyptian

It’s pretty amazing what you can do with mahogany blocks and levers, and 1-1/2″ PVC pipe scraps. A Harbor Freight porta-power comes in handy, too. Like the metal-cutting bandsaw, the porta-power is a Harbor Freight tool you won’t regret buying.

Salon floor support is out of the way, but one screw was stubborn

Chris Craft left bare aluminum in direct contact with the wooden support base

Wood absorbs water, even humidity from the air. Wood in direct contact with bare aluminum turns the latter into Al3O2 white powder…basically rust. This screw was extremely difficult to remove because of it, but at least it didn’t snap off.

I’ll sand and epoxy coat this area later. It’s not a priority for splashing the boat this year

Gettin’ ready to get Egyptian

The new mount is attached on the aft side. Next I jacked up the forward side and attached the other mount.

After rolling the genset outboard, I used levers to lift the inboard end and pull the PVC pipe out one-by-one

The Panda more permanently in its new home

I drilled one 1/4″ hole for the outboard vibration isolator, then pivoted on the bolt with levers to get the genset in its final position

I drilled the 1/4″ holes in the stringers for the inboard vibration isolators and bolted them in place. But the genset hangs over the outboard isolators, so could only drill one hole for each of the outboard isolators. I had to disconnect the genset and mounts from the isolators, jack up the assembly, and move the genset inboard temporarily to drill and install the last two bolts.

Gettin’ Egyptian one last time to drill and install the outboard vibration isolator bolts

Final step: Tef-Gel in the holes in the aluminum stringers before torquing the stainless bolts

I also positioned the Vetus gas/water separator to verify proper clearance

I’ll put a waterlift muffler under the genset. Exhaust gases and raw water will go up a hose from the muffler to the left hose barb on the gas/water separator. Water will drop out the center hose barb, and cooled, dry exhaust gases will exit the right hose barb before heading over to the exhaust thru-hull welded to the hull on the port side.

New Fischer Panda mounts and vibration isolators are done

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Panda Genset Waterlift Muffler and Siphon Break