This model of Roamer came with an L-shaped sofa, or settee, with a sliding bottom cushion that converts it into a bed. The missus likes the design, but the original was badly weathered by the rain that came through the hole in the salon ceiling while the boat was sitting on Purgatory Row in southern Maryland for several decades. When we dismantled the boat, I saved most of the pieces of the settee to use as patterns when I rebuilt it. I never thought it would take this long, but I finally got around to remaking the salon settee.
The original settee in as-found condition
Why didn’t I just run away?!?!?
Seriously, what was I thinking?!?!
The original settee back panel was barely pattern-grade
It roughly fits the hole but the angles are off
The leading edge was even rougher
But it’s got lots of clues to help me remake it
The outlines of the original framing are a big help.
I had to pull a panel from the plywood stack
The stack is getting smaller and smaller. It’s my overall progress-o-meter. When it’s gone, the project will pretty much be done.
30 minutes later, I finally had the new panel chosen
These are 4′ x 8′ sheets of mahogany plywood, so it’s a challenge moving them around the salon. Fortunately, with my EZ-One tracksaw table, breaking down full sheets in the salon isn’t too difficult. Unfortunately, it appears EurekaZone, the company that made the table, has gone out of business.
Ready to cut the panel
First cut is done
Next I cut the ends
Next I made the solid mahogany end piece
I traced the angle from the original piece to the new lumber
Looks about right
There’s a lot of character in that new mahogany. I think it’ll look great when it’s varnished.
Time to test fit
This end piece will be prominently visible when entering the salon, which is why I wanted it pretty. The other sofa parts aren’t visible and the original wood is in fine condition, so I’ll reuse them.
Test fit checks out
The salon is widest at the mid-point between the aft wall and galley forward bulkhead. So this long settee panel takes a curve to match. A benefit of using the original lower settee frame piece is that Chris Craft’s magicians formed the complex bevel on the back edge so it matches the curve of the side decks that the cabin top and interior panels all follow. It would have taken a while for me to make that from new stock.
Next, I glued and screwed the lower frame to the new back panel
Test fit looks good
Next, I coated the panel with ICA base coat clear urethane
The tape is where I’ll be epoxying the solid mahogany parts that will be visible when the settee is complete. No point in applying ICA there only to have to sand it off when I glue and screw the new parts in place.
Next day, sand the first coat of ICA with 220 grit
2nd coat of ICA base looks good
The panel is ready to install.
Next day, I coated the bond areas with US Composites 635 epoxy
I applied wood flour-thickened 635 epoxy to the solid mahogany cleats
This is very strong glue
Boom
So that’s the first part of this salon settee rebuild. It’s a complicated piece of furniture, and I’m doing some things differently than Chris Craft did. That makes this project even more complicated, but I think it’ll turn out nicely in the end.
Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Remaking the Salon Settee II
1969chriscraftroamer46 