Tag Archives: duct

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: V-Berth Air Conditioner Ducting

With the wiring and plumbing to the V-berth air conditioner pretty much done, next I worked on the ducting.

With the forward cabinet interior panels removed, I marked the AC outlet location on the under-side of the shelf panel

Laying out the hole for the AC outlet and the area to get insulated

Round the edges with a router

Same pattern as always–fit the insulation to the panel, then saturate the area with epoxy before laying the insulation back in place.

Press the insulation in place until the epoxy cures

Modify the AC outlet and connect 2″ PVC pipe

There’s not enough room inside the V-berth cabinetry to pass a 4″ insulated duct over to the starboard side, so I decided to use 2″ PVC as the duct. This duct will go to the V-berth head.

Sikaflex 291 seals the PVC to the outlet

Shrink wrap heat gun comes in handy for customizing PVC pipe bends

Insulating the PVC pipe duct with Buffalo Batt

I don’t want the PVC dripping water that condenses on it when the AC is on during the summer. So I wrapped the pipe with Buffalo Batt, which doesn’t absorb water like fiberglass can. Then I wrapped it in plastic sheeting and zip-tied and taped it all together.

Next, I installed the 4″ insulated flexible duct

And the 2″ duct going around to the head

For now, the 2″ duct ends in the closet

This is far enough for now

My plan is to install a booster fan at the outlet for the head to pull air through the small duct. But for now, with the duct installed inside the cabinetry, I’m focusing on getting the last of the plywood panels installed.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Final V-Berth Mahogany Panels

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The Starboard Salon Aft Bilge Vent Duct II

Slowly but surely, I’m getting closer to having the Roamer weatherproofed. There are eight bilge vents that exhaust through the mahogany toe rail. Three of the vent ducts are done in the salon, and I’m getting close to finishing the last one there.

The duct box is glued and screwed together

I just need to sand down the OEM sealing coat on the mahogany and it’ll be ready for fiberglass.

Fully saturate the interior and all exposed edges with epoxy

It’s always amazing to me how much resin these things soak up. Next…you guessed it…

Fillets!

I do love my fillets.

Next, I laid on the fiberglass cloth and rolled out the bubbles

I also sealed the duct face panel with a heavy coat of epoxy

Leave it and come back the next day

Next morning, trim off the excess fiberglass overhanging the edges

Not a bad looking vent duct

I decided to seal up the exterior surfaces of the duct with white tinted US Composites 635 epoxy. I’m using the 2:1, no-blush hardener for all of this. Even during the roasting hot summer, it’s got a pretty long pot life and it cures by the following morning.

I do like a heavy coat of that tinted epoxy

For places that have zero UV exposure, epoxy as a sealant and tinted top coat is a good approach.

Next day, I put a coat on the duct wall and another one on the electrical panel

That sure did turn out nice

With sticky epoxy in the salon, I got to work on some things in the V-berth. It’s been a while since I was in there, and I look forward to wrapping that room up.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Starboard Salon Aft Bilge Vent Duct

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing More V-berth Panels

The V-berth is coming together quite nicely, though not as quickly as I’d hoped. I thought I might have it done by the end of August, but then I realized I had to do HVAC, wiring, and plumbing in addition to the cabinetry. Otherwise, I’d find myself retrofitting after the space was built out, which would be even more time consuming.

New speakers for the V-berth

I know next to nothing about audio systems, but these Kenwood speakers had good reviews and the price was right. The boat originally had speakers in the forward bulkhead that were wired to the radio in the salon, with a volume control knob in the berth. I’ll just install a car stereo in the room, so whoever is in it can listen to whatever they like.

The original V-berth bulkhead

When I installed the new mahogany panel over the existing bulkhead, I left the speaker holes so I could use them later…which is now.

Making a hole pattern

This piece of plywood fits inside the original speaker holes. I drilled holes at each intersection in the grid, then used those holes as a guide for drilling holes in the mahogany panel.

That’s kind of what I had in mind…not exactly a perfect grid, though

Without the bright backlighting, it looks just fine

I temporarily hooked the speakers up to the stereo in the salon. They sound a LOT better than the ones in the salon ceiling. I’m guess it’s because they’re in this enclosed space. I wonder if the big holes that will one day have cabinet doors over them boost the sound? I’ve seen holes on woofer boxes but never knew what purpose they serve. Anyway, the speakers are installed now.

Next up: the big closet panel

Wet out the panels with epoxy, then slather with epoxy thickened with wood flour and cabosil

Ready to install

 

Every single piece of this Rube Goldberg clamping system is essential

Clamping the leading edge is easy: a couple of thick wood scraps covered with waxed release tape and held firmly in place (but not too firmly) with some Harbor Freight F clamps. Along the lower back edge, the new upright panel is glued and screwed in place. But the middle of the panel and the back edge…that took a combination of thick boards, clamps, levers, and fulcrums to press the pieces together and get just a bit of squeeze out all around.

Give me a long enough lever…

Next day…looks great!

The proof of a solid joint: no air gaps

Drilling holes for the V-berth head HVAC duct

I’m using 2″ PVC as the V-berth head HVAC duct

Off-the-shelf PVC parts will last forever as HVAC duct

The V-berth head won’t need lots of heat or AC. It’s insulated extremely well, and it’s a pretty small space. So 2″ PVC should provide plenty of volume. Before I close up these areas with the pretty mahogany top panels, I’ll wrap the PVC with Buffalo Batt insulation to keep the heated or cooled air on the right side of the pipe.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Spraying More Parts with AwlGrip Matterhorn White