1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The Helm Station Door Openings

Since 2007, when I cut off the old aft deck enclosure with a chainsaw, I’ve been developing a vision for how the helm station side door openings would work. Finally, over one week in 2013, the vision coalesced into pretty much exactly what I had in mind. I love it when a plan comes together! 😉

The helm station entry circa 2007 when we first got the boat.

The helm entry on both sides had been radically altered back in the 1970s. It was cut off vertically where the big C-channel beam comes down from the roof after that looooong 45* run.

Circa 2008: Reconfigured steel C-channel beam supporting the helm roof.

After cutting 3′ off of the sides of the fiberglass cabin-top as part of the deck and aft enclosure project, I cut and rewelded the steel C-channel beam so it’s vertical over nearly all of its length. This makes a stronger structure than original and also provides the forward edge of what will become the door opening.

Circa 2008: the stbd helm door opening

Fast forward to March 1, 2013.

Not much had changed here in the intervening years, but by 2013 I had a definite plan for how it would look in the end. The large, curvy block of wood is 8/4 mahogany stock that Chris Craft used to provide vertical structure to the sides of the cabin top. I’ll end up using it for molding somewhere. 😉

Weld area, FRP cut and rotten mahogany

When we replaced the teak side decks with new aluminum plate, we had to cut some of the fiberglass from the sides of the cabin top so we could fit the new plate and access the weld area. When we removed the old teak deck and rotten plywood underlayment, we found just a hint of rot in the bottom edge of the 3/4″ x 4″ mahogany board that the bottom edge of the cabin top screws to where it meets the deck. This rot, which was much worse in the bulkhead below it, was the result of the seam failing where the aluminum side deck transitioned to teak–a poor design if ever there was one.

2 sheets of 3/4″ Douglas fir marine plywood make up the filler piece between the fiberglass exterior and the helm door opening.

The fiberglass piece we cut out to weld in the new aluminum deck in 2008 is back where it should be…in 2013.

Ideally, we would have fiberglassed the plywood at the same time as the FRP panel, but the carpenter needs to finish making the “3rd side” of the box surrounding the steel upright. Once that’s in, we’ll FRP the whole thing and put in the final fillets.

Marine plywood frames out the helm station door opening in late March 2013.

Rather than using 8/4 solid stock like Chris Craft did to make up the filler piece between the side of the cabin top and the steel upright, instead we sandwiched two layers of 3/4″ doug fir marine ply bonded with US Composites 635 epoxy and wood flour/cabosil. The filler piece is screwed and glued in using the same wood flour epoxy mixture.

For the boxes around the steel uprights, we’re using 19mm okoume marine plywood that’s also screwed and glued in place. We have one more piece of okoume to cut for each side, then we’ll fiberglass and fair the entire thing in preparation for paint. On the inside, we’ll use solid mahogany stock rather than plywood and finish it off bright.

The window track drain is cut out and all edges are radiused for FRP coating.

The inside surface of the sides of the FRP cabin top is ground and ready for 1708 FRP.

The epoxy gluing the plywood to the sides of the cabin top is strong, but the joint will last forever if we put a layer of 1708 bi-axial fiberglass cloth over the joint.

The top o’ the box is bonded to the helm roof.

We will fiberglass this joint, too, but first we need to put a 3rd side on the box–a piece of 3/4″ okoume plywood on the steel beam that the door will slide up against when its closed. The 4th side of the box–on the inside–will be a solid piece of African mahogany. The outside face of the box and the solid mahogany facia board inside will be wide enough to provide a pocket into which the door will fit when closed.

Window track drain made of 1708 bi-axial fiberglass cloth wetted out with US Composites 635 epoxy.

All that remains to do is fiberglass and fair the plywood at the helm door.

With wet epoxy all over the boat, it was time to go home. I’m beat.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Fillets!

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Fairing the Cabin Top (cont.)

It’s been a very busy two weeks. The weather gods suck…windiest winter ever, and what’s the deal with two snow storms in March, including one just before the Cherry Blossom Festival???

Oh, also, if anybody thinks up how to produce 20cfm of air at 90psi with only 120VAC on a 20 amp breaker in the boatyard that services 16 power pedestals, drop me a line. 😉

The fairing work continues on the cabin top, though you wouldn’t know it by looking at the end-of-the-day pix. We’re also taking a different approach to the cabin top-to-deck joint than Chris Craft did.

Back at the Chris Craft factory in 1969, 1″ x 4″ mahogany boards were bolted to the deck structure all the way around the opening that will become the salon and galley. The FRP cabin top was then craned onto the deck, with the bottom edge fitting tightly to the mahogany on the inside.  Screws spaced 8″ apart secure the bottom edge of the cabin top to the mahogany. Large radius quarter-round mahogany was then screwed in place over the seam, with bedding compound to keep things dry.

It was a good approach except for a couple of problems that arise over decades of use: The coating on the wood fails eventually, so there’s a maintenance premium without as associated payoff. The bedding compound eventually gives up, usually in just a spot or two. This allows small amounts of water to leak in and go unnoticed, rotting out whatever mahogany it comes into contact with without a telltale drip to alert the owner.

So our approach has been to cover cabin top-to-deck joint seam with 1708 biaxial fiberglass, which we’ll cover with very nice, water-shedding fillets.

Circa 2008: quarter-round mahogany covering the cabin top-to-deck-joint seam.

This shot is from when we first got the boat, and shows the port side deck looking aft at the transition from aluminum decks to teak. The quarter round is broken from where the teak deck buckled, but you get an idea of how it worked. Also, note the paint has mostly fallen off the wood. It doesn’t matter how you do it, paint will not stick to exterior wood and stay there like it will to fiberglass or metal.

I think there’s a better, more modern way.

Circa 2013: heavy 1708 bi-axial FRP covering the cabin-top-to-deck joint seam where once there was wood.

As when we fiberglassed the cabin top, bowseat and dashboard, we use US Composites 635 epoxy for the FRP layup (with just a touch of cabosil to improve adhesion between the ‘glass and aluminum) and then hot coat it while it’s still tacky with fairing compound made of 635 epoxy, 3M microbubbles, and cabosil.

Though the deck was sandblasted in 2008, we ground it back a bit and also stripped the gelcoat from the cabin top before applying the FRP.

Same thing on the bow, where there was evidence of two old leaks at each corner that no doubt contributed to some of the rotten bulkheads we found when we first started the project.

Oh, my achin’ shoulders! Fairing work also continues.

It’s amazing how much fairing compound you put on compared to what remains in the end. The windshield base that had been previously repaired is now much stronger and straighter than it was before.

Fair lines from the bow seat to the helm.

We’re blocking the filler to sharp lines at the edges, which made low spots and wiggles very apparent. Before priming, we’ll sand the sharp edges down to a nice radius.

That’s a whole weekend worth of sanding and fiberglassing, but she just doesn’t look much different than when we started. We really are heading into the painting home-stretch, though.

Next up on our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The Helm Station Side Door Openings.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Fairing the Cabin Top

A potential buyer popped up for the Ford Lehman engines I had rebuilt for the Roamer back in 2008 before getting my wits about me and deciding on Cummins 450 Diamonds. So I spent two days over the weekend moving big pieces of iron around the State of Maryland, getting them back to the shop that did the rebuild for a quick check up in preparation for some videos.  On Sunday, the Boatamalans came by with their 30″ longboards and attacked the fairing compound we laid on the cabin top last week. While the guys were sanding away, I was out working on transforming Tent Model IX from a hurricane-tested winter work tent to a paint shed.

The dashboard is cleaning up nicely.

I decided to make the instrument pod part of the dashboard structure since the instruments have excellent access from below and there’s no benefit I can see in having it screwed together from below with an exposed seam above. All the joint between the two does is grab dirt. Once the dashboard is faired, we’ll put a nice fillet over the joint between the two after tabbing them together with lightweight fiberglass.

The bullet-proof windshield base.

There’s just a very fine line of yellow at the top of the windshield base to indicate there’s Kevlar bi-axial cloth below.

The previous repair area at the base of the windshield has been properly re-repaired.

Very little fairing compound was needed here, which is good since additional thickness here would increase the challenge of reattaching and bedding the windshield frame.

Shaping the starboard windshield base.
Everything looks very good here.

Process basics: apply expensive fairing compound to the surface, then sand most of it off!

The 30″ longboards are very good at finding the high and low spots in the fairing compound. Most of the dark lines here are where there were overlaps in the 1708 bi-axial fiberglass layer, creating high spots. Others, though, are high spots from where the original hard top shape simply wasn’t fair.

It’s anybody’s guess whether it was that way when new or if the wrinkly bits were caused by the monster Super Seamaster engines wracking the superstructure by bashing along at much faster than original design speeds.

Some of the original frames create high spots in the salon top roof.

Once it’s faired to this point, the fairing compound filling the low spots isn’t especially thick.

Salon roof frames create high spots all the way across the cabin top even far forward of the salon hatch roof repair.

The guys are doing a good job making the cabin top lines straight.

They faired the turn of the cabin top to the cabin top sides to a very sharp edge. We applied the second coat of fairing compound to the low spots and will do the final fairing next weekend. Once that’s straight and all of the low spots are gone, we’ll come back through and put a nice radius on it.

Nice radius on the brow.

This is a subtle styling spot on the bigger Chris Craft cruisers, but it’s notorious for developing cracks and pocks in the gelcoat. The guys did a great job reproducing and blending in the radius at the brow on the leading edge of the cabin top, now vastly improved with a continuous layer of 1708 bi-axial FRP.

Ditto on the port side.

The lines are really looking good here.Just a few touch ups were needed with fairing compound.

Meanwhile, I was busy transforming Tent Model IX on the outside.

I need to widen the aft section so we can prime and paint the aft enclosure, put a “cap” on top so we can paint the helm station roof, and drop the sides to the ground all the way around to keep paint fumes under control.

Basically, I’m turning it into a big paint spray booth.

The tent transformation is nearly done on the starboard side.

1.5″ PVC hoops will go over the helm station roof from the long uprights aft to create a new tent roof frame 5′ higher than now. I’ll then cut the existing PVC film and raise the whole aft section over the top of the new hoops. Then, with lots of shrink wrap tape and the torch, I’ll weld new shrink wrap film to the old so it goes all the way to the ground and secure it along the sides of the tent structure all the way around.

I’ll be begging the goddess of the seas for dead calm on that day, let me tell you!

Next week, we’ll finish longboarding then put some nice fillets around the dash pod and at the cabin top to deck joint. Time permitting, we’ll also get the fairing work done on the fore and side decks. I’ll continue transforming the tent and hope to have that done by Sunday, when the forecast is for 5mph winds!

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Fairing the Cabin Top (cont.)

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The Helm Station Dashboard

The same problems we saw on the cabin top were apparent on the helm station dashboard: completely degraded enamel paint over old gelcoat with some cracks, pock marks and blisters. The plan was to strip off the gelcoat, fill blisters with wood flour -thickened epoxy and apply a single layer of light boat cloth fiberglass over the whole thing. While stripping the gelcoat, we found that a previous repair under the windshield was completely inadequate. So we shifted gears, brought out the Kevlar and 1708 bi-axial fiberglass cloth and made the whole thing much, much better than new.

The gauges will come out and go to Kocian Instruments for reconditioning.

“Roamer Cruise Control”
Gotta love the ’60s!

Cruise Control-ometer…how cool is that?!?!

None of the instrument shops I spoke with had ever seen one of these before, but Dale Kocian said he should have no problem making it as good as new.

With the gauges out, it was time to strip the dashboard.

Preliminary stripping revealed some trouble.

Shabby previous repair on the port side.

In fact, the repair under the windshield on the dashboard side of the cabin top was even more poorly done than it was on the exterior side. When we started, the only visible problem was a crack running top to bottom immediately under the port side center windshield upright (on the right side of this pic). As we stripped away the old gelcoat, the sander went straight through the left side of the repair! Turns out there was only ONE layer of light boat cloth here and it wasn’t wetted out very well. The gelcoat and paint over the top didn’t show any hint of what lay below.

When we found this, I made the decision to ramp up the new FRP schedule for the dashboard to the “bullet-resistant” standard we used on the rest of the cabin top: Kevlar and 1708 bi-axial fiberglass.

It is now absolutely certain that the missing fasteners I mentioned in my article on removing the windshield were, in fact, not the fault of Chris Craft. This windshield has been out before to repair a pretty significant break in the fiberglass at the base.

My guess is that the boat was significantly faster after the 1973 repower from 427 Fords to 534ci twin turbo and intercooled Super Seamasters. Bashing through rough seas, something Roamer hulls excel at owing to the deadrise that carries all the way back to the transom, the higher speed put more stress on the FRP superstructure than what the relatively low-powered 427s were capable of dishing out. Something had to give, and that something was the resin-heavy FRP layup at the base of the windshield uprights.

Other areas of the dashboard needed help as well.

Even places where the gelcoat showed no imperfections before being stripped revealed voids and dry fiberglass cloth once we hit it with a grinder. You simply cannot see these things without grinding off the gelcoat.

Small cracks at every sharp corner revealed problems in the FRP below.

The edges of the dashboard had been damaged back when the boat was in regular use.

Resin-heavy FRP layup resembles prehistoric amber.

With the gelcoat removed, the resin pool at the underside of the base of the windshield lights up to reveal all of the fractures in this brittle material. It’s a shame, really, since there were spots where the original fiberglass mat could have used a bit more wetting out.

The underbelly of the windshield base repair area.

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why the people who repaired this even bothered leaving this piece sort of hanging there underneath. It’s only tabbed in place in a few spots with 9oz boat cloth. It serves zero purpose.

Pock marks…no surprise what’s below that.

Pits under where there used to be pock marks in the gelcoat.

Starboard side windshield base repair.

This repair, which is under the starboard center windshield upright, is nowhere near as extensive as on the port side.

Stripped and ready for a new FRP skin.

First, we brushed US Composites 635 epoxy thickened with wood flour into all of the seams and across every blistered area.

We used the same mix to fill any voids that remained, then we rolled on unthickened epoxy to wet out the old FRP layer.

Next came the Kevlar, but only at the base of the windshield where it’s strength is needed most.

Next comes the layer of 1708 bi-axial fiberglass cloth.

After rolling the air bubbles out of the Kevlar layer, we brushed more wood flour-thickened epoxy across the edge of the Kevlar to make a smooth surface for the 1708 layer.

Rolling the air bubbles out from under the new FRP layer takes time.

Bullet-resistant windshield base.

Fairing compound “hot coated” over fresh FRP on the dashboard.

We used the same approach with fairing compound on the dashboard as we did on the rest of the cabin top: using the same US Composites 635 epoxy, we mixed 3M glass bubbles with Cabosil to make fairing compound that we applied over the still tacky 635 epoxy in the FRP layers. This results in a perfect chemical bond and eliminates the need to sand the fiberglass after it cures and then apply the first layer of fairing compound.

Unfortunately, I ran out of 3M glass microballoons, so I used some phenolic microballoons I had laying around, which is the red fairing compound you see in this pic. Phenolic microballoons are somewhat cheaper, but we find they don’t sand as nicely as glass.

The dashboard is ready for sanding and a final coat of fairing compound in the low spots.

This work on the dashboard took place on March 1, 2013. Since I’m only able to work on weekends and holidays, this means we’ve come to the end of all of the historical work on the boat. Things have come a long way since we first acquired this 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46. I’m reasonably pleased with the progress I’ve made since clearing up the paperwork SNAFU that almost sank the project. Since August 2012, when I finally got the paperwork cleared up, I installed the Cummins 450 Diamond engines and have completed almost all of the necessary major superstructure repairs and revisions:

• the bow seat is vastly improved over the original;
• the salon roof hatch is stronger than anything Chris Craft originally built into any of their various models;
• the cabin top is bullet-resistant and will almost certainly never crack again; and
• now the windshield base is fully bullet-resistant, too.

The next steps in the project will be to:

1) transform Tent Model IX from a winter storm tent that survived Hurricane Sandy to a paint shed;

2) finish the wooden structures for the helm roof supports and sliding doors; and

3) fiberglass the wooden structures around the helm roof supports and tie them into the cabin top structure.

Once that’s done, we fair the decks, prime the decks and superstructure and then…paint with Awlgrip starting at the helm station roof and working down to the bottom paint.

Unless something catastrophic happens (hey, it’s a big project and I’ve got grandkids–you never know what life will throw at you 😉 ), she should be painted by the end of May.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Fairing the Cabin Top.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Bullet-proof Cabin Top

By February 2013, it was time to take the next step and get the cabin top covered with new fiber reinforced plastic. The plan was to put one layer of 1708 biaxial fiberglass over the salon roof hatch repair area, then cover the whole cabin top with a single monolithic layer of the same material. Modern biaxial cloth is a huge technological advance over anything that was available in the late 1960s, offering much greater strength than even heavy woven roving with a much, much lighter final layup. Since the original Roamer 46 cabin top FRP layup was only three layers of light woven boat cloth (and very resin heavy in spots), this new FRP skin should greatly strengthen the roof. No more collapsed hatches from broken roof frames and 3″ fiberglass tape!

On the big day, my fairing crew boss showed up with a surprise (albeit an expensive one): several yards of biaxial Kevlar cloth. He felt this would be the best option for the first layer over the salon roof hatch repair and for the base of the windshield.

I’ve looked at the original spec sheet for these Chris Craft Roamers, and I can say for an absolute fact that “bullet-proof cabin top” was NOT a factory option. But it will be on mine! 😉

Previous repair to the base of the windshield.

The repair was done in lightweight boat cloth and it was dry in spots. There was another repair to the starboard side but not as extensive as this. We decided the best approach would be to apply a new layer of FRP from the bow seat, over the windshield base support area, and all the way to the dashboard.

We also stripped off the remainder of the gelcoat on the aft end of the cabin top sides.

The helm station door frames still needs to be built and tied into the cabin top, but I haven’t had time to do it yet. I’ve also been looking for a competent carpenter who can do the work but thus far haven’t had any luck. I’ve found competent carpenters who are too busy to focus on a big project. Incompetent ones, needless to say, are everywhere and ready to work…but no thank you.

1708 bi-axial fiberglass is pretty stuff.

Random oriented mat on one side stitched to 90* bi-axial on the other.

Bi-axial Kevlar Fabric is Bullet-proof (and almost scissor-proof!!)

My Wiss 1225 scissors are pretty good, but that Kevlar fabric put up a good fight. It’s incredibly tough stuff, and we haven’t even saturated it in epoxy yet!

Boatamalans* brushing US Composites 635 epoxy thickened with wood flour over the hatch seams and other imperfections.

We’ll brush and squeegee wood flour-thickened epoxy into all of the blisters I documented while stripping the cabin top. Doing so fills the blisters and gives the FRP layer a solid surface to bond to. If we just ‘glassed over the blisters, we’d get air bubbles under the new FRP.

* Boatamalan: portmanteau indicating highly skilled boat workers of Central American origin. 😉

Rolling on the US Composites 635 epoxy to wet out the new cabin top plywood and old fiberglass roof.

Bullet-proof Chris Craft

Ruis, the head Boatamalan, tells me that they use Kevlar and 1708 fiberglass bi-axial on the bottoms of Weaver Boatworks’ multi-million dollar sportfish boats. Apparently, the manager at Weaver took a sample of their bottom layup to the shooting range and set it up as a target. Later analysis showed that .308 rounds would penetrate two layers of fiberglass, but they could not pass through one layer of 1708 over Kevlar. The ‘glass layer was damaged, but the Kevlar stopped the bullet.

OK, I’ve been informed that “bullet-proof” is the incorrect term, since a modern .50 caliber machine gun might (with some effort) breach the fabric. Bullet-resistant Chris Craft is apparently the preferred term.

That’s still pretty freakin’ kewl! 😉

Wetting out the 1708 bi-axial fiberglass.

Once a big fiberglass job like this begins, everybody has to move fast until it’s over.

Unfortunately, I was unable to take pictures after this because I was the official epoxy mixer. We went through 20 half-gallon batches that day.

After putting the 1708 biaxial layer down all the way to the bow seat, we cut more Kevlar and 1708 and applied it to the base of the windshield. By the time that was done, the epoxy in the hatch area had set up.

Time for fairing compound!

US Composites 635 epoxy + 3m Microballoons + Cabosil (5:4 ratio) = world’s best fairing compound.

After the FRP layer was done, I continued mixing resin for the fairing compound.

Since we’re using the same epoxy for the FRP layup as the fairing compound, chemical compatibility is perfect and so is the chemical bond between layers. When we sand the fairing compound layer and apply more compound to the low spots, we won’t break the fibers that give the FRP layer strength. This approach is also less labor intensive than applying the FRP then sanding it to apply fairing compound.

My secret resin makin’ lair. What a dusty, sticky mess!

Frosted goodness.

The evil cracks and weak spots from the original FRP layup are forever entombed…in modern epoxy, Kevlar, fiberglass and glass microballoons.

Once the epoxy cures, we’re ready for the fairing crew!

That was a very long day…and it happened only two weeks ago.

Next up on our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The Helm Station/Dashboard.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Removing the windshield

With the cabin top stripped, it was time to remove the windshield.

I started by removing the center and side windows.

After removing the screws from the perimeter frame, it takes some careful prying to get the frames out. The safety glass had begun to delaminate, so I wasn’t particularly concerned about breaking anything.

Braced for removal.
The helm roof is supported at the back and in mid-span, but with the windshield gone all of the forward support will be gone.

Windshield fasteners on the under-side of the cabin top.

The nearest one is properly seated, but the far one is 1/8″ or so away from the fiberglass. It was never installed properly.

What the hell were they thinking???
The first screw could have had a few more turns on it, I’d say.

From the looks of the cracking pool of resin around it, I’d say that washer has never been seated.

Four screw holes…three screws.
The second hole has never had a screw in it.

There’s no evidence of a screw or washer having ever contacted the FRP there. On the upside, the pool of resin doesn’t go all the way across.

A veritable ocean of resin.

What we have here is about 1/2″ thick resin pooled up along the bottom of the windshield support. The fiberglass in this area is light boat cloth sans roving…not exactly the best FRP layup for a high stress area like this.

This is a patch, right at the base of the port-side center windshield support.

The entire area appears to have broken at some time in the past, but the repair is extremely shoddy.

Again, missing fasteners. At least the FRP looks like it was done well here.

With all of the fasteners out, the frame came out pretty easily.

The upper edge was sealed very well to the helm station roof. The lower edge…not so well.

The leading edge of the frame was sealed, but none of the screw holes were.

Sealed up in spots, but mostly not at all.

Of course, we also had the obligatory line of silicone spooged into the leading edge. It doesn’t keep rain out, but it sure plays havoc with any paint you try to put on the boat!

The steel corner supports had long since turned to rust.

While it made removal easier, you have to wonder what was holding the windshield in!

The windshield is out and the area is almost ready for fiberglass.

But back to that repair at the base of the windshield.

I don’t know what to make of this. The FRP layup wasn’t very good. The whole thing was swimming in resin, and that was obviously Chris Craft’s doing when they made the cabin top upside down in a mold. But that patch at the base of the windshield was obviously done after the cabin top was made. From the inside, the patch is barely held in place with a few strips of light boat cloth. It seems unlikely Chris Craft would have done this in the factory.

Then again, there were 6 screws actually fastened properly long the bottom edge of the window frame, and some of the holes that didn’t have screws also had no scratches around the holes…as if no washer or screw had ever pressed against the under-side of the fiberglass. If the FRP repair happened after the boat left the factory, it would make sense that the windshield had to come out. But then I’d expect there to be signs of fastener damage to the FRP from Chris Craft’s original install…unless this was a “Friday” boat and they did a shoddy job of it in a rush to get to a beach party.

In any event, it’s amazing the thing held together. We’ll just have to make sure it’s done better than the way it was done before!

With the salon roof hatch back in, the cabin top stripped and the windshield out, the next step on our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit is to ‘glass the cabin top!

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Stripping the Cabin Top

With the salon hatch installed and covered with two perpendicular layers of 1/4″ marine plywood, the next step was to cover the entire cabin top with fiberglass. When the project began, I assumed I’d be able to sand off the 20 year-old enamel paint job that was cracking off of the cabin top, then prime, final sand and paint. But as we sanded through the paint layers, it became obvious that the old gelcoat was degraded to the point that stripping all of it off was necessary. As the gelcoat came off it became readily apparent that being thorough cost a little bit more this time around, but if we hadn’t stripped the gelcoat the new paint job would have failed within the first year or two of service.

Fundamental problem #1: complex FRP cabin top seams

There is no practical way to make the Roamer 46 cabin top out of a single monolithic FRP structure. So multiple parts of the top are made in separate molds, then bonded together using heavy fiberglass roving on the inside. On the outside, Chris Craft only filled the seams with fairing compound, which eventually cracks. Grinding out the cracks and putting in more fairing compound is a band-aid approach that previous owners used on our Roamer–they all predictably failed. The end result is broken paint down the length of the cabin top.

Incidentally, based on what I see on my 1968 Commander 42, Chris Craft used the same technique on all of their FRP hulls and cabin tops: heavy roving holds everything very solidly together on the inside, but they didn’t use even a light fiberglass boat cloth to cover the exterior seams. Every exposed seam eventually cracks. On the flip side, the perfectly fair gelcoat that covered all of the finished parts was highly praised by both the media and the market back in the late ’60s. There would have been no practical way to accomplish this with a layer of fiberglass covering both sides of every seam. This perfectly exemplifies the longstanding observation that boats are all about the compromises.

But since we’re taking a somewhat modern approach to this refit and will use Awlgrip paint rather than gelcoat as the top coat, we can make improvements to the original built that would not have been practical on Chris Craft’s high volume production line.

Fundamental Problem #2: degraded gelcoat and FRP surface layer

This shot shows why all of the gelcoat had to come off.
Region 1 is where the enamel paint from a repaint decades ago remained. It was all pretty much cracked and dead, though tenaciously sticking to the gelcoat.
Region 2 (between the red and blue lines) is the original gelcoat. It’s got some cracks in it, but the bigger issue is the little pock marks and tiny bumps in the gelcoat. Some of these pock marks indicate where the gelcoat has popped right off the FRP below. The tiny bumps, though, appear to be little blisters. The latter are the sneaky little buggers.
Region 3 shows where there were no pock marks in the gelcoat. After sanding the gelcoat off, we found the FRP surface to be in perfect condition–ready for primer, a light sanding and paint.
Region 4 shows what happened to the FRP surface when the gelcoat bond failed. Presumably, water got in and through a likely combination of chemical reactions and freeze-thaw cycles, the surface of the FRP was attacked. Region 4 is literally covered with pits wherever there was a pock mark in the gelcoat. If we had simply sanded and filled the visible pits and smoothed out the tiny blisters in the gelcoat, the new paint would likely have popped off of the blisters (or at least cracked) on the first hot day.

Crack AND pock marks

Seam crack and voids but almost no pock marks

A veritable field of pock marks and a curiously dry patch in the first layer of light boat cloth that makes up the original FRP layup. This was in the middle of the salon top.

The challenge was finding even one square foot of FRP that didn’t have surface damage under the gelcoat.

Ultimately, we stripped all of the gelcoat off the cabin top.

The dust relocator got a serious workout that day, as did our Tyvek suits. But once we were done, the cabin top offered a very nice surface on which to apply a new layer of modern epoxy and fiberglass.

The next step in an earlier iteration of the plan was to only fiberglass over the salon hatch hole in the cabin top. But with everything we discovered on the FRP skin, I decided the best approach was a new monolithic layer over the whole thing. In light of the really poor FRP layup at the base of the windshield, I felt it was best to remove the windshield entirely and run the new glass all the way up onto the flat surface that the windshield frame rests on. Little did I know what I’d find next.

“Just needs engines and a paint job…”  HA! Yeah, RIGHT! lol

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Removing the windshield.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Strengthening the Salon Roof

While installing the hatch and 1/4″ marine-grade Douglas fir plywood that underlays the FRP skin on the salon roof, I cleaned the old fairing compound off of the cut edge of the original Chris Craft fiberglass. What I found was…disturbing.

The previous weekend, I put in the salon roof plywood.

When putting in the battens, I finally “saw” something that had been obscured by fairing compound.
See the wavy FRP layup?

Catchin’ the wave now?

See the little dude on the surfboard? 😉

What we have here is three layers of fiberglass. The top layer follows the shape of the mold, as does the bottom layer (presumably, so the boss wouldn’t notice what was going on in between).
But in between, they thickened up the layup in a high stress area at the base of the windshield by mooshing the middle fiberglass layer into a corrugated pattern. Thing is, resin rich FRP layups like this are extremely brittle. Which might explain the cracks we were seeing at the base of the windshield. The FRP layup here is almost 1/2″ thick. On the leading edge of the hatch, where they didn’t corrugate the middle layer, the FRP layup is only about 5/32″ thick.

To make up the depth in the FRP layup, we decided to start with another layer of 1/4″ marine plywood.

Since the salon hatch hole measured 5’x10′, I had to scarf three sheets together to fill the space. The upper layer of plywood is oriented longitudinally, whereas the lower layer was transverse. This cross-oriented, two-layer 1/4″ plywood underlayment is reportedly the same layup Weaver Boatworks uses on their multi-million dollar sportfishermen decks.

Vacuum bagging would have been the best approach, but the hillbilly method of laminating works too.

After wetting out both layers of plywood with US Composites 635 epoxy, I coated them with a bonding agent of 635 epoxy and wood flour (wood dust and cabosil). After laying the top panel in place and squeezing out as much air as possible, I started carrying heavy things up the stairs and put them on the salon top. The whole time I’m thinking “I am getting too old for this $4!t”. 😉
The idea was to not have any nail or screw heads on the top layer, since they have a tendency to “print through” the fiberglass and top coat.

On the inside of the boat, I felt I could strengthen the salon top with additional longitudinal pieces.

The original Chris Craft design only had longitudinal pieces around the hatch opening. Weaver Boatworks uses a similar frame structure for the boats (though in laminated plywood rather than solid mahogany), but with longitudinal pieces running down the entire length of the structure.

I added two strakes of 3/4″ plywood longitudinal stiffeners to the salon roof.

The panels are each cut to fit very tightly between the frames, then are edge sealed with US Composites epoxy and glued in place with wood flour-thickened epoxy. I’ll put additional longitudinal stiffeners in all the way from the aft salon bulkhead to the forward-most roof frame before I take down the supports I’ve been using to hold the roof level.

Final bonding of the longitudinal stringers.

After putting a nice fillet on the wood flour-thickened epoxy glue, I used 9oz boat cloth to make the longitudinal stringers a permanent part of the roof structure.

With the path forward worked out for strengthening the salon roof substructure and framing, the next topic in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Stripping the Cabin Top.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Salon Hatch Hole Problem Formulation

All of the big Chris Craft cruisers I’ve seen with the headline out had built-in hatch framing in the salon roof. Chris Craft built them into the boats to make repowering that much easier. Our Roamer was repowered with Super SeaMaster twin turbo engines back in 1973, so the hatch had already been cut out once. By the time we had acquired the boat in 2007 the hatch had begun to collapse, which allowed rain from the salon roof to fall inside the boat, eventually filling the engine room. After dejunking the boat, I removed the hatch so I could get the old engines and other big stuff out and put new stuff in.

While the original Chris Craft hatches are well conceived and executed, the reinstallation of the Roamer’s hatch in 1973 was not; hence the collapse.

This is the basic framework for Chris Craft salon hatches.

The mahogany salon roof frames are 1 3/8″ thick and of varying height. They follow the crown of the salon roof and support the 1/4 plywood that underlays the FRP and gelcoat salon top.

The hatch itself is a “box within a box” design, with 1/4 solid mahogany spacers between the two box sections and 3/8″ bronze bolts and washers spaced every 12″ to hold it all together. The open hatch hole on the 1969 Roamer 46 measures 5’x10′.

To remove the hatch, you simply remove the headliner and drill a small hole at each corner of the box. Then strike a line on the top side between the four holes and cut with a saw set to a shallow depth so as not to cut through the bolts. Then, support the hatch from below, unbolt it and out it comes!

Here’s what the frames look like installed in as-found condition

The outline of the hatch in 2007 was a tell-tale that the seam had broken

Upon closer inspection, I found that the seam was only covered with one layer of 3″ fiberglass tape, not much resin and the rest was fairing compound that had long since cracked apart.

All of that was topped with various forms of goo: both rubber and silicone, neither of which kept the rain out for long.

Give me a long enough lever and a place to stand, and I can…take out a salon roof hatch all by myself!

The hatch came out in January 2008. Little did I know it would remain out until 2013.

By 2009 I determined that the hatch skin was shot. Water intrusion through the broken seam around the hatch had rotted out the 1/4″ plywood between the frames and the FRP skin.

This longitudinal outside hatch frame wasn’t horrible, but the plywood was rotten.

Port side aft, the plywood was the worst.

The rot caused the plywood to spread apart, pushing the fiberglass skin up and cracking it at the drilled out hole in the corner.

The plywood rot was really bad on the port side in the middle of the hatch.

The Cause of the hatch collapse: relief notches.

Nobody’s come up with a good explanation for why they cut notches out of the frames when the boat was repowered in 1973. This is definitely not something Chris Craft did originally. This longitudinal frame is actually the best of them all because it only has two small hairline cracks leading away from the tip of the notch.

Three of the four longitudinal hatch frames.

The fourth one was broken entirely at the notch that somebody cut out back in 1973. I’ve already recycled it into cleats (1″x1″ mahogany strips). The bottom one in this picture was almost (but not quite) completely cracked into two pieces.

So, what I started with was rotten plywood, broken frames and a cracked and deformed fiberglass cabin top skin. To fix the hatch and surrounding salon top structure would require stripping out all of the rotten old plywood and bonding in new. Then we’d have to cut new frames to replace the broken ones. Finally, we’d have to reassemble the whole structure that Chris Craft originally created upside-down in a mold from the gelcoat up, but I’d have to do it from the inside of the boat looking up and from the outside looking down!

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Rebuilding the Salon Roof Hatch.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The Bow Seat

The bow seat on the larger 1960’s Chris Craft cruisers is, in many respects, the best seat in the house. The view is great, the wind’s in your hair and they’re spacious enough to serve as a picnic table or sunbathing lounge. While the 1969 Roamer 46 bow seat had all that, it had some areas in need of improvement, too.

For example, the 52′ Constellation we owned had two large hatches built into the bow seat. They were great for line storage, but we converted one into a propane locker that allowed us to have a gas stove. This was a huge plus from the missus’ perspective. The Roamer bow seat not only didn’t have hatches, it was also several inches lower than the one on the Connie. Not even 10# propane bottles would fit in the space between the deck and the seat, and when anyone over 5′ tall sat up front it would feel like they were sitting on a bench sized for children. The plan, then, was to cut out the bow seat, raise it a few inches and install hatches.

The original bow seat was too low.

It was also dead flat across, except for certain low spots near the center. No doubt about it, rain water would tend to collect there and so would dirt.

In October 2012, we reformed the bow seat.

There were cracks at the base of both window uprights, indicating they were high stress areas that were not strong enough.

The cracks were more than skin deep.

They went all the way through the fiberglass.

Plenty of room for a skinny man, but not enough for a propane bottle.

This was an early attempt back in 2008 to make the space more useful. Ultimately, we determined that the seat had to be raised.

Bow seat, meet Mr. Sawzall.

This old bow seat will make a nice piece of scaffolding some day!

Evidence of Chris Craft under-engineering on the underside of the bow seat.

With zero support under the seat, the 3/8″ plywood core eventually broke, as did the 9oz weave fiberglass that encased it. Simply fixing the cracks on the topside would not have resolved this problem. It’s a good thing we cut it out.

Test fitting the new bow seat plywood, which is 1/2″ rather than the original 3/8″.

I cut the bow seat opening at the base of the windows 3″ higher than the original on either side and 4″ higher at the center. This would allow me to put some crown in the seat, so water would tend to naturally run to the sides.

Time for bow seat vertical supports/compartment walls.

There will be four compartments under the bow seat: On the right is the propane locker, which will be accessed from a hatch that will be built into the top of the seat. In the center are two line lockers, which will be accessed from hatches in the forward lower panel. On the left is a storage locker that will be accessible from the galley.This is all space that was completely wasted in the original design. And the compartment walls offer excellent support where before there was none.

Bonding in the bow seat supports.

The supports are 3/4″ plywood that’s repurposed–it was originally a bulkhead somewhere on the Roamer. I cut the top edge of the vertical supports so the plywood seat surface at the back, near the windows, is 1/2″ or so higher than the leading edge. This should shed water much better than the original flat design.
I edge sealed the plywood supports with US Composites 635 epoxy, then bonded them to the cabin top and deck with cabosil filler. After making a nice fillet with the filler, I overcoated with a layer of 9oz fiberglass boat cloth wetted out with more 635 epoxy.

Bow seat plywood test fit completed.

Next I made the new leading edge of the bow seat.

This shot shows how much we raised it up.

The leading edge of the bow seat was difficult to make.

Not only is this a long, skinny piece of plywood, it has to follow the curve of the crowned plywood seat (X-Y axis) and the other X-Z axis curve along the leading edge. The upper edge is flat, to match the seat plywood, but the lower edge is cut at an angle to match the original FRP that goes down to the deck!I’m sure a master craftsman could knock it out in an hour, but it took me a whole day.

Time to screw and glue!

With all of the pieces fitting quite tightly, we added cleats (solid mahogany 1x1s cut to length) to the supports inside, then edge sealed, glued and screwed it all together.The bow seat was now high enough to accommodate a propane bottle and strong enough to hold a football team!

The new bow seat in 1810 biaxial fiberglass.

This shot also shows the two center hatch cutouts. Granted, it won’t be the most convenient storage to access, but for line storage it will be fine.

While the epoxy was still tacky, we also applied a layer of US Composites 635 epoxy with cabosil and 3M micro bubbles as fairing compound.

This allows the epoxy in the FRP layer to chemically bond to the identical epoxy in the fairing compound, which eliminates the need to sand the fiberglass. Since sanding breaks glass fibers, not sanding the fiberglass results in a stronger FRP matrix. Labor savings and a stronger finished product…nice.

Incidentally, this is the same process they use at Weaver Boatworks on their multi-million dollar sportfish models.

The bow seat, rough faired and ready for longboarding.

The black spray paint helps to guide the fairing crew by showing where the low spots are.

With the bow seat ready for primer, we moved on to the next big part of our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Salon Hatch Hole Problem Formulation.