Things are flying along on the boat. Lots of stuff that’s been in the works for more than a decade have fallen nicely into place. The surveyor still hasn’t gotten me his report, so I don’t have the insurance company’s permission to splash yet. But I’m going full steam ahead on dismantling the tent. Tomorrow’s the big day to pull it all down. If anybody in the Deale, MD, area has “dismantle massive shrinkwrap tent’ on your bucket list, this is a golden opportunity. 🙂
It rained overnight after I cut off the tent top over the bow
I mentioned before that the base for the handrail stanchion brace wasn’t fitting right
The part that it fits into was also riding too high on the stanchion pipe. I finally decided to just cut them and weld the shortened braces back together.
Harbor Freight metal-cutting bandsaw is a great tool
Shortened parts ready for TIG
That should do the trick
Not perfect, but I think they’ll do fine
It’s perfect!
The stanchion top piece wasn’t flush with the handrail before
Lopping off 1/2″ of the brace brought the top piece level…just what I needed.
And the base is flat to the toe rail…perfect!
Taping everything off for caulk
All of the threaded parts also got a generous dollop of Tef-Gel.
Good squeeze-out
Clean up with a squeegee, then pull the tape and wipe up with mineral spirits
Nice!
Next up: the stainless safety line
I got the stainless swageless turnbuckles and swageless jaws for the lifelines at e-rigging.com. I’ve had the stainless wire rope in the garage for years. It’s nice to finally get it out of my way and on the boat.
The wire rope is threaded through all of the port stanchion pipes
The turnbuckle jaw is attached to the bow rail.
Tef-gel in all threads and metal-to-metal contact areas
Swageless jaw is tightened to spec and ready for tensioning
Turnbuckle at the bow rail tensioned the safety line
Next, I tackled final installation of the port aft mahogany hand rail.
316 stainless screws and Sikaflex LOT caulk secures the handrail to the stanchion tops
I didn’t bother taping the handrail off…just applied the caulk to all of the stanchion tops, lowered the handrail into place, then drove the screws home. Cleanup was easy with a squeegee and little rags dampened with mineral spirits.
The joint between the two sections of rail was the last step.
The rails are coated on the ends, so there’s no exposed wood. I taped off the joint and injected Sikaflex between the two.
The original stainless steel plate joints the two rails from below
That’s a wrap for the port side handrail!
That looks great!
I repeated the process on the starboard side.
A tip for installing pipe stanchions threaded in NPT
Having spent all that time polishing stanchions, the last thing I wanted to do was gouge them with a pipe wrench while snugging them during install. Since the pipes are drilled for the safety line, a long driver bit just fits in the hole.
Wrap the pipe with a cloth and open the wrench jaws wide
The jaws are biting on the driver bit, not the pipe.
Starboard handrail is done!
I tensioned the turnbuckle, and that was a wrap on a very productive day.
Boom
This was all from today, by the way. You probably noticed the tent top is peeled back a lot further than it was at the start of this article. It’s sooo nice not having that tent locking in heat!
The view from the salon got a lot better today
I got handrails!
Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Walk-Through Video
1969chriscraftroamer46 
I physically got sick reading that. That guy ought to get a hard kick in the dick for that kind of neglect. What a shame indeed.
Imagine my reaction going to that marina and, with the caretaker’s permission, walking on the abandoned Connie. If you’ve seen the google site I’ve linked to several times, you know the Connie was gorgeous when I sold it. Within seven years it was on the hard in Purgatory Row.
I mean, on the one hand, it’s his property and he can let it rot so long as the check cashed. On the other hand, as a fan of old Chris Crafts, it was a bit soul crushing to realize I’d sold it to a man who simply didn’t care.
Thing is…if I knew then what I know now, I’d still have sold it to him. Because it set the high bar for sale price at that time for that kind of boat. Emotionally, it might hurt to see a formerly beloved boat turn to rot, but economically I got far more for that mahogany-hulled Connie than they’d sold for in decades, specifically because I’d put the effort in to make it sound and pretty. I just have to dissociate myself from what happens after I’m no longer the captain.
You’re making me homesick, Q! For your next project, I say put the Constellation back into proper sailing condition. 😁
I sold the Connie to a guy who won the lottery on a hospital liability claim. He had more money than sense, or a love of old boats. The old girl is currently returning to nature in Purgatory Row at the same marina as we found the Roamer. Her keel is stoved in…she’s done. The current owner has asked the yard to cut the boat up and sell the parts for scrap. What a shame…
But the Roamer has been granted a new lease on life!
Stay tuned!
Q
Wow, you’re making some fantastic progress with the old girl! I’m happy for you.
;0)
I’d be happier if you’d help de-tent the boat tomorrow, Marty!
lol
Q