1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Transom Name and Home Port

My Roamer is a US Coast Guard documented vessel, which means (among other things) I can’t legally navigate away from the marina until the name of the boat and its hailing port are prominently displayed on the transom. My first shake-down cruise out to the jetty and back doesn’t count. 🙂

After the Paperwork SNAFU got resolved in 2012, I got the boat documented and used the name of our then-current boat for the application: Libertarian. I like the name because ‘lover of liberty’ and ‘taxation is theft’ are fundamental to libertarian philosophy, and they’re quintessentially American concepts. The name has absolutely nothing to do with the Libertarian Party, though it’s funny how people almost always assume that’s the case.

While the refit proceeded, every once in a while people would ask what I was going to name the boat. I toyed around with changing the name over the years. The missus thought her family crest would be a good way to pay respects to her father, but Sagarifuji doesn’t exactly roll off of American tongues.

I came up with Aluminaughty. Alumin for the aluminum hull, and naughty because…well…it’s a classic Chris Craft yacht and sometimes naughty things happen on boats…or so I’m told. And then there was the alleged connection of some of America’s Founding Fathers to the Illuminati. Washington DC was my home port at the time, so it struck me as fun to have a name that sort of rhymes with a somewhat obscure connection to America’s founding.

I also recently considered Belphegor, the archdemon of sloth (one of the Seven Deadly Sins), after it seemed my starboard engine was possessed and didn’t want to go to work. Since we figured out the secret to making the starboard key switch work right, the engines are back to lighting off immediately. Check out this video from when the boat finally splashed for real:

Back to the boat name, ultimately I decided to stick with Libertarian and went with Elegant font, which is a cursive font reminiscent of Madison’s calligraphy in the US Constitution. I got the decal from SignSpecialist.com for $54.40.

I also renewed the USCG documentation. But instead of just sending me the new Certificate of Documentation, they also sent me the Abstract of Title, which they didn’t send me back in 2012. What I learned from the Abstract of Title was that the boat had several more owners than I previously believed.

According to the USCG documentation, the Chris Craft dealer Grand Craft in Memphis, TN, originally sold the boat for $80,000 in 1971 to one Jerry Hull, who named the boat Outward Bound. Mr. Hull sold the boat in 1972 to Frank Harris, who named it Becky-Jane III and proceeded in 1973 to have the original Ford 427s removed and replaced with the absolutely gorgeous Super SeaMaster turbocharged and intercooled monsters that were still in the boat when I found it. Mr. Harris sold the boat to Oscar Brill in early 1975, who named it Marguerite and subsequently sold it to Stephen Wordell in 1981. Mr. Wordell kept the name and refinanced numerous times before selling it to Epifanio Vargas-Dones in 1986, who named the boat Sa-Va (Let’s Go) and allowed the boat to almost sink during a bad winter freeze in the late 1980s. I bought the boat for $1 from Mr. Vargas-Dones in December 2007, and here we are today.

It’s funny that I’ve owned the boat longer than any of previous owners but Vargas-Dones, yet I’ve only had a few hours on the boat while it’s floating. That’s going to change going forward. 😉

But first…the missus and I got the transom lettering installation done today.

Transom decal is laid out flat on the dock

I put a bit of compound on the transom to remove wax and any accumulated dirt. Then taped the decal into place, measuring several times. I measured from the portholes to the edge of the decal backing paper on both sides initially, but a guy driving a boat by kept hollering “TILTED!” I’m glad he did, because it turned out measuring to the edge of the backing paper was the wrong approach. I then measured from the lower rub rail to the bottom of the lettering on each side, then applied tape to indicate where the top corners of the backing paper should go. Measuring to the bottom of the lettering and making sure it was the same on both sides was the key.

Backing paper removed

Transom sprayed with soapy water

Ten minutes’ work with squeegees, and the boat name is done

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Retiring Tent Model XXX’s Alarm System & Depth Sounder Install