1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Forward Fuel Tank Tabs and Insulation

With the galley floor supports installed, next I’ve got to weld some tabs on the forward fuel tank, then put the tank in, install the galley floors and insulate them.

2016 AlphaTIG 200DX maxed out on 110vac

One cool thing about this AlphaTIG is that it can run on 110 or 220 volts, and it auto-detects what’s coming in. All you have to do is use the supplied 110v adapter cord (or not, if you’re using 220). On 110, the maximum it can put out is 149 amps, which is not a lot for aluminum work. But it’ll be fine for this relatively thin stuff. I’ve got the machine set to AC high frequency output, with the pulse maxed out at 200hz. AC balance (cleaning action) is at 35% because this is dirty, old aluminum. Even lightly ground down and wiped with acetone, there’s bound to be some gunk in the weld area, and aluminum is very picky. I’m also using the finger switch on the torch rather than the foot pedal. With the exception of a couple of practice beads, this is the first time I’ve used the finger switch. I think I prefer the ability to adjust the power with the foot pedal.

Ready to tack

I originally intended to use straps to secure the tank in its cradle. But now that I’ve got my new welder, it occurred to me that welded on tabs would be better. The tabs will have bolts going through them that attach to corresponding tabs on the tank cradle.

Tacked on the corners…ready to [try and] weld!

Not exactly a stack of dimes, but I believe it’ll be fine

When I practice moving the torch and nothing else, my hand movement is pretty smooth. When I practice feeding the filler rod and nothing else…I’m getting better at it. But when I try to do them both at the same time, both become very unsmooth. Still, my welds are looking lots better than what the “professional welder” did. I’m sure they’ll hold up just fine.

One down, three to go

It’s nice to be able to open the bow seat window for ventilation. Now if only I wasn’t in a tent. 🙂

Once the tabs were welded on, I drilled the bolt holes and re-coated the tank sides and bottom with Devoe 235 epoxy.

Fuel tank and muffler platform coated with Devoe epoxy

The other muffler platform

I’ll be welding in the muffler platforms soon so I can get the exhaust system wrapped up. But while the epoxy is curing on the tank, I got to work on the galley floor insulation.

Cutting Buffalo Batt insulation

Cut wide enough to span the galley floor framing

First, use monel staples to secure the insulation to the frames

With the round water tank in place, there’s no way to put this insulation in once the floors are installed. The insulation’s got to go in first.

Lightly tensioned insulation

The batts stick up just slightly proud of the framing

The insulation needs to contact the floor once it’s installed

Wet out the under-side of the galley floor with epoxy and install while it’s still wet

That black, tar-like material Chris Craft used to glue the original fiberglass batts in place is funky stuff. Most of it came off when I removed the fiberglass. I took a scraper to the stuff that remains and was able to remove some of it. I assumed that what wouldn’t come off by itself or with a scraper was securely attached to the plywood. But when I started rolling on epoxy, gobs of the stuff would come off on the roller! So I ended up using the scraper to remove epoxy-coated tar where it came loose. Better to have it come loose now than later, I suppose. But just in case, I applied more staples to secure the new insulation to the plywood to augment the epoxy bond.

After screwing down the floor panel, more monel staples secure the batts

Next, the tank went back in its cradle

Good looking tabs

While cutting the next insulation panels, I also insulated the bulkhead and back-side of the V-berth steps

Insulating the under- and back-sides of each panel adds a lot of time to the process, but I think it will ultimately be worth it. I’ve heard from other metal boat owners whose boats weren’t well insulated that it can be horribly uncomfortable (or prohibitively expensive) keeping the boats cool in summer and warm in winter. The R3 insulation value provided by the Buffalo Batts should help keep the air conditioned/heated space inside separate from ambient temps outside.

Galley floor framing goes back in

Once again, wet out the under-side of the floor panel with epoxy

Done!

That’s a wrap for the forward fuel tank and galley floor. Now I can move my track saw from the salon to the galley, then move the plywood pile sheet-by-sheet to the other side of the salon so I can get to the mahogany panel I need for the last wall of the V-berth head (AKA the Throne Room).

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit:  Final “Throne Room” Wall Panel

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Fuel Fills

When I last wrote about the fuel fills, I’d relocated the fill pipes on the tanks and made stainless fill tubes that will connect the exterior fill caps to the aft tanks. The new hoses arrived recently, so it’s time to install them.

I first saturated and isolated the fuel fill opening  with epoxy

Beneath that dusty Awlgrip Matterhorn White paint and primer is a layer of fairing compound, aluminum plate, and then a large block of mahogany that’s glued and screwed to the underside of the plate. I saturated the mahogany with West System epoxy. Then, when the wood wouldn’t take any more resin, I thickened it with West aluminum powder filler to waterproof the entire hole–the wood, the aluminum, the filler, all the way out to just over the edge of the paint. This should keep water molecules from finding their way to the aluminum plate and starting a blister.

Vix centering drill bit puts the screw hole in the middle of the opening

The screw will go in dead-center, with zero offset

Once the pilot hole is done, drill for the tap size

In this case, I’m using a #29 drill to go through the filler, aluminum plate, and into the mahogany below.

Next, drill out the filler to clear the threads

Since filler has zero holding power, I drilled out the filler with a 3/16″ bit. That way, the threads will never touch the filler and risk starting a chip.

Tap the aluminum to 8-32

See the aluminum shoulder? The screw threads will never touch the filler.

Liberal application of TefGel, being careful to keep it off the paint.

Two more holes to go

Drilled, tapped, taped, and ready for final install

Good Sikiaflex squeeze out

The only thing keeping the 2-3/8″ red brass pipe in place is the caulk, so I put a lot of it in the gap between the pipe and the surrounding hole.

Next day, the caulk is cured.

While I was at it, I also installed the pump-out fitting on the port side deck

That’s one more exterior hole that’s waterproof

Slick design: water that gets under the cap drains through the holes near the screws

With the exterior fuel fill installed, I had a couple of last details to weld on the stainless fill pipes I made: a screw for the ball chain that attaches to the fill cap to keep it from falling in the water if it’s dropped, and a lip to better seal the hose.

Stainless screw needed inside the fuel fill pipe

I don’t have a TIG torch that can fit in this pipe, so I’ll do the best I  can with what I’ve got (both tools and skill level 😉  )

That’s tacked well enough…probably

Super long stick-out and a gas lens might help put more weld on the screw

It’s tough welding this because the arc wants to preferentially jump to the screw head and I can’t get the torch inside the pipe at a better angle. So I pulled the 3/32″ tungsten way out, turned the argon up to 20 with post-flow set to 10 seconds, and started the puddle a bit away from the screw, then filled back in to the screw head.

That sucker’s going nowhere

The fuel cap is solid bronze and weighs about 2 pounds. There’s a ball chain that connects the fuel cap to this screw. I’m pretty sure that even if I drop the fuel cap it won’t break this screw loose. They’re not making those Chris Craft fuel caps anymore…I definitely don’t want to see one go in the water.

Next I ran a bead around the outside of the tank-end of the fuel fill pipe and cut it to size

It was very difficult maintaining a straight bead on the pipe with no reference point. In retrospect, I probably could have put a hose clamp on it 1/4″ away as a visual cue of a straight line. The purpose of this bead around the circumference is to give the hose something to bite onto. I’m not even sure it’s necessary….just a good excuse to keep practicing TIG. 😉

Ready to install

Set to install…

I love it when a plan comes together

I have some things going on the starboard side right now, so I will install that inlet and also the tank vents soon. In any case, it’s great to have another item on the honey-do list pretty much checked off.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Completing the Hydraulic Steering System

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Relocating the Fuel Tank Fills

Somewhere between 2008 when this refit began and 2012, when it restarted in earnest after the paperwork SNAFU, I spent some time with Sketchup making concept drawings how I thought the aft stateroom would look if the project ever restarted. By the time the SNAFU was resolved, I’d already purchased a new aft fuel tank that would go above the keel rather than outboard, like the original configuration. What I realized eventually was that the fuel inlets for the new tank were in the wrong spot–the pipes were pointing straight up on the headboard end of where a queen-sized mattress will eventually be. The fuel fill pipes on the tank don’t stick up all that much, but by the time I added hose and a 90° fitting it was going to be very tall. About 18 months ago I realized moving the fuel inlets would be the best approach. Then I got let down by yet another local fabricator/welder and decided I’d learn a new skill and buy myself a TIG welder to compliment my other welding machines. Recently I bought an AHP AlphaTIG 200 and have been practicing away on aluminum and also stainless. My first stainless project turned out pretty good–replacement pipes for the fuel fills–and my aluminum TIG welding was looking better with each hour of seat time I get. If I’m going to splash this year, the job’s gotta get done. So I got ‘er done.

Practice welds on 1/4″ plate

I pulled this 1/4″ plate out of the scrap bin in my garage at home when I was practicing my TIG welding. It brought back memories of the profoundly incompetent master fabricator at Chesapeake Marine Engineering, who after having my Miller Trailblazer and spoolgun for two weeks to learn the machine and practice (his shop welder is a different brand…Snap-on, of course), managed to weld the blobs you see on the left side of the plate. The welds on the right side and the fillet around the tube are mine, done after 15 hours of practice time with my AHP AlphaTIG.

$70/hr “professional” welds; the one on the right was his best

Aric Euler, the professional fabricator at Chesapeake Marine Engineering, blamed my lousy Miller equipment for the blobby welds (he owns Snap-on equipment, you see). But it turned out that the problem was he had the polarity switch going the wrong way and he tried to make up for that by welding in short circuit rather than spray transfer. You’d think he could have figured the polarity problem out over the two weeks he had the machine and the manual, being a professional and all that. Perhaps the Snap-On machine does it all for him…

100% amateur welds

I know…my welds are inconsistent, I’ve got craters in the ends, and since I didn’t preheat the plate the first weld was cold. I also didn’t grind the plate first, so there’s a lot of contamination. But compared to the welds done by the expensive professional, they’re not bad at all. The fillet weld on the pipe, which was particularly challenging because the plate is 1/4″ and the pipe is 1/8″, turned out quite nice, if I do say so myself.

I know I could do with a lot more seat time practicing, but time’s a wastin’. I’ve got to get the tank fills done.

The honey-do list

AHP AlphaTIG moved into the Roamer salon

That’s a great thing about these inverter machines–they’re very light compared to older transformer machines. 60 pounds goes up the ladder much easier than 350 pounds does.

Forward tank moved out of the bilge

Another plan that changed was fuel storage management for the forward 125 gallon tank. If I use the normal fill, I’d have to cut another hole in the exterior. And every hole I cut is an opportunity for a leak or for the paint to fail at some point in the future. So, I’ll use fuel lines and a pump to fill the front tank from the rear tanks. The front tank will supply the genset as well as a hydronic boiler system I’ll be installing one day, and in a pinch it can also supply fuel as a day tank for the mains.

Front tank filler inlet cut off

Plug cut with hole saw

Straighten 1/16″ 5056 spoolgun wire, then wipe with acetone

Three passes around…not pretty, but sealed well.

Strike one line off the honey-do list

Move TIG machine to the aft stateroom

Cut off the port fuel inlet

and then the starboard fill

Filler inlet from the front tank fits great in the aft tank

Welding the top around the new fill was fairly easy

I know, I know…not exactly a “stack of dimes.” But it’s fused well all around.

The underside was extremely difficult

I’d been practicing welding flat on a table in my garage while sitting with everything at just the right height. Then I practiced vertical welding on the same table with everything just so. I’d heard that “out of position” welding could be challenging…I’m here to attest that “challenging” is a HUGE understatement.

The new tank fill inlets are pointed back at the transom, which is 18″ away. The steering gear is 12″ below the fill, so there’s no easy way to squeeze in and look up at the under-side of it. And my welding helmet adds to the joy of fitting in this confined space. I ended up laying on the tank with my head hanging over the end, basically welding upside-down. The welds aren’t the prettiest, but they’re solid and well fused all around.

Port side old fill ready to be capped

Good fit on the starboard side

Not the prettiest, but it’s well sealed

Port side done

Starboard side done, with three passes around the old fill cap

Striking lines off the honey-do list

That’s a wrap for relocating and capping the fuel tank fills.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Fuel Fills