1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Fixing Fuel Supply Manifold Leaks

I really hoped when I built and installed the fuel supply manifold in November 2022 that it would be a ‘one ‘n done’ deal. I’ve used plenty of pipe fittings without problems over the years, so I was confident in my abilities. What I didn’t foresee was the poor quality of the threads cut in some of the 304 stainless Tees, street elbows, and hex nipples I bought on ebay to make the manifold. They were all made in China. I used a highly recommended thread sealant (Gasoila Soft Set), but I ultimately ended up with five joints that leaked. Oddly enough, none of the joints for the stainless valves (also made in China, bought on ebay) leaked.

As much as I dreaded taking the manifold back home and re-doing it, there really wasn’t any other option.

Back on the bench

I only disassembled the joints that failed. Instead of using Gasoila, I picked up a tube of Loctite 567, which several pipe fitting professionals said is the only thing that works consistently on stainless fittings. After putting it all back together, I decided I didn’t like some of my earlier supply and return line tubing work and needed to re-do it.

Not my proudest moment…

As I described when I made the fuel return lines, the engine room floorboard support angle is very close to where I installed the Swagelok bulkhead tubing fittings. The best spot for the fuel return manifold was also very close to the same longitudinal aluminum angle piece. So I looped the tubing under the angle with two 90° bends, followed by another 90° bend to align it with the bulkhead fitting.

Each 90° bend adds the equivalent friction of ~15′ worth of straight tubing. So that one 9″ return line tube had the equivalent of 45′ of friction. Plus, I kinked the tube a bit in a couple of spots, which only added more internal friction. What can I say? I’m just a weekend warrior and that was my first attempt at a solution to a tough problem in tight quarters.

After staring at that tube for a while, I figured there was a way to make the connection with a single 90° and another 45° bend.

That’s a lot more elegant

That’s much cleaner

The huge hole in the bulkhead was for HVAC ducting the previous owner had installed. In retrospect, I probably should have welded a plate in there, though it’s not mission critical…just unsightly.

I next re-installed the manifold and filters

I used the fuel primer bulb to pull fuel from the tanks and fill the system, then closed all the valves and strategically placed absorbent pads.

Everybody keep your fingers crossed!

Hopefully, they’ll still be pristine white tomorrow when I go back to the boat for the survey. White diaper means no fuel leaks. Presuming the boat passes the survey, I need to get my insurance company to authorize the splash. If they do, I’m going to want a place to sleep aboard while I’m getting it ready for the trip to the marina closest to my home.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The Missus’s Custom V-berth Mattress

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Fuel System Fixes

When I first attempted to start my Cummins 6CTAs in November 2022, both engines seemed like they wanted to run, but something was off. One of the problems I discovered immediately was a leak in the fuel return line on the starboard engine’s injection pump. Another problem I noticed while priming the system was that the on-engine mechanical lift pump on the same side was leaking fuel. If the lift pump leaks fuel under pressure when I manually pump it, it may also be pulling air into the fuel supply on the vacuum stroke. That could contribute to the engine not lighting off.

Cracked fuel return line leaks

The return line is attached to the front of the injection pump

Surprise!

I used a cutoff wheel to cut the fuel line behind the bracket that attaches to the front of the pump, which I also thought I’d have to cut to remove the line. But the bracket was broken and the line fell off when I finished cutting through it.

I planned to reuse the flare fitting

Unfortunately, my tube flaring tools don’t fit in the available space

I don’t want to start taking the injection pump apart to make space for my flaring tool. Even if I cut back the tube so it aligns with the flare bar, there’s not enough room for the yoke.

This injection pump wasn’t designed with easy maintenance in mind

The red arrow points to the broken bracket, which is secured to the pump with a bolt. There’s 1/4″ between that bolt and the gear drive housing on the front of the engine; I would have to pull the pump to access it, which would be a massive chore.

You can also see the banjo fitting where the return line attaches to the pump. The nut for that is ~1/8″ from the intake manifold. So, again, there’s no way to remove it without removing the injection pump. I can loosen the banjo nut, though, which allows me to rotate the return line just a bit. And that gave me an idea…

Swagelok fitting to the rescue!

I used a 5/16″ tube to 3/8″ MPT Swagelok adapter to connect the tube to a stainless 3/8″ elbow, and a 3/8″ MPT to 3/8″ flare adapter for the hose connection.

Nice!

I rotated the return line up until the Swagelok fitting came in contact with the injection pump, then used a stainless hose clamp to lock the two together to make a more rigid assembly. Then I attached the hose to complete the repair.

Next, I got a new lift pump. I thought about ordering two pumps just to have a spare, but only got the one. That would turn out to be a mistake, but more on that in a future post. The new pump housing was bare aluminum, so I decided to prime and paint it before installation.

I brushed self-etching primer on the new fuel pump

First coat of brushed on gloss white looks good

I’ve had an unopened gallon of Blue Water Mega Bright White one-part polyurethane paint for longer than I’ve owned this Roamer. It was leftover from the last repaint I did on my 1967 Chris Craft Constellation 52. One-part polyurethanes don’t hold their shine like AwlGrip, but for the engine room this is fine. I thought it might have hardened over time, but after opening the can and thoroughly mixing the paint, it was like new.

Two coats of white was plenty

Easy installation…ready to test fire again

I was preparing to prime the system again when I noticed wet spots on the diaper I placed under the fuel manifold I installed in August 2022. So rather than fill the system with fuel again, I decided to pull the manifold and see if I could stop those leaks.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Fixing Fuel Supply Manifold Leaks

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Bending & Installing Stainless Fuel Supply Tubing

The fuel system is coming along nicely. I’ll be wrapping it up soon. The fuel filters and on-engine hoses and fittings are installed, as is the fuel supply distribution manifold, and the fuel gauge is working. I also bent and installed 304 stainless return line tubing. Next up is the supply tubing.

The starboard on-engine fuel supply hose connects directly to the distribution manifold, so I only need to make one long tubing section to feed the port engine. I also need to connect the bulkhead supply fittings to the fuel filter inlets for both sides.

The supply tubing is 1/2″ OD 304 stainless

It turns out 1/2″ SS tubing is much harder to work with than 3/8″.

My 1/2″ tubing bender isn’t Swagelok

This 1/2″ tubing bender isn’t bad. But it uses a solid, hardened die to make the bends instead of the hardened steel wheels my 3/8″ Swagelok bender uses. So, obviously, any problems I had bending the 1/2″ tubing was entirely the fault of the tool. 😉

That looks about right

Most bends I’ve had to do involve just two axes. You make a 90° bend from horizontal to vertical, for example. But this section of tubing has a single bend that involved the X, Y, and Z axes…it was very difficult to make. As I said before, doing this has given me great respect for the guys who work with stainless tubing regularly.

I decided to tackle the short bulkhead tubing next

When I installed the bulkhead fittings a few years ago, I bent some 1/2″ tubing that you can see above. It was long enough to reach the port engine fuel filter inlet, but just barely. And I didn’t like the long 45° angle the tube had to take to go from the bulkhead to the filter inlet.

New tube connects the bulkhead fitting to the port fuel filter inlet

I put TefGel on the threads before locking down the Swagelok tube-to-NPT connector

You can see the Sharpie marks on the Swagelok fitting. They’re offset by 1/4 turn, which tells me I put the nut on hand tight, marked straight across with a Sharpie, then used a wrench to rotate the nut 1-1/4 turns. That’s the recommended procedure for making these fittings liquid-tight.

Next, I installed the engine supply tube

In the pic above you can see it attached to the 90° fitting at the top of the manifold. Then it drops down to the stringer and meets the bulkhead before crossing to the outboard stringer.

I had to do some adjusting to get the tube in just the right spot

I have to say, one thing I really like about this boat is the excellent access I have to the propeller shaft behind the engine and gear. A little pad and you could almost take a nap here!

I drilled and tapped holes to secure the tube using expanded PVC spacers, P-clamps, and stainless screws

Tube and hose barb fittings came next

Getting close

Everything’s connected, and the Swagelok fitting is marked with a Sharpie

1-1/4 turns later, the connection (should be) leak free

The last step was bending the starboard bukhead-to-filter line

I had a real hard time with this last short line. I’m not happy at all with the way it turned out, with all those extra bends. I cut it too long, but the bends on either end were perfect and I couldn’t bring myself to throw it in the recycle box. I’ll give another shot at it later, when the 90° Swagelok fitting I need there comes in.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Fischer Panda Marine 12 Mini DP Genset

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Bending & Installing Main Engine Fuel Return Tubing

The Roamer fuel system is coming along nicely. I consider this to be a priority item in my quest to get the boat out of the tent and launched before November 2022.

There’s a new marina manager, and they’ve significantly jacked up the cost of land storage to match the prices they charge at all of the other marinas in the area that they manage. It stinks of monopoly price fixing, especially given the level of service provided at my particular marina (the yard toilet bowl was literally BLACK and coated with…residue…and I’ve had to contribute soap because they provided none for months), but regardless, just as a practical matter I need to get the boat back in the water and closer to home. So being able to fire up the engines and leave Deale, Maryland, in October is my primary focus right now.

The fuel filters and on-engine hoses and fittings are installed, as is the fuel supply distribution manifold, and the fuel gauge is working. So next I started bending tubes to connect the bulkhead fuel return fittings to the on-engine hoses.

This short section of tubing connects the engine room bulkhead fitting to a small fuel return manifold

A little Tefgel to lubricate the Swagelok fitting threads

The tubing is loosely fitted in place

The fuel return manifold is much simpler than the supply side

Under normal conditions, each engine draws from and returns to its respective tank: stbd to stbd, port to port. But if I get a fuel problem in one tank and need to run both engines off the other, I’ll need to direct the return fuel flow to the tank I’m drawing from.

It would have been tidier to have both manifolds on the same panel, but I chose not to because of space limitations and system efficiency. Putting the return manifold on the supply manifold support panel would have required additional 90° bends, and each one reportedly adds the equivalent of 15′ worth of straight tubing friction. A tidier appearance would have required the equivalent of 60 additional feet worth of friction, and I don’t think it’s worth it.

What else could I do???

Putting the return manifold so close to the bulkhead fittings was one of those “all things considered, this is the best spot” kind of decisions. But the ER floorboard support 6061 aluminum angle was perfectly in the way. I didn’t want to cut cut the floor support and weld in a brace for it somewhere else. So instead I made a relatively big loop in the tubing so it goes under the floorboard support with a 90° bend to the bulkhead fitting.

With the start and end points done, I bent tubing to connect them

As a rank amateur, I’ve developed great respect for professional tubing benders

So, you’ve got to connect A to B, but the tubing has to take a 110° bend to the left, go 11 inches forward before bending precisely 12° to match the bulkhead and then go 17-1/4″ outboard before turning 90° forward for 58″, then 45° up and terminate in 7″…oh, and that’s all in one relatively short run of 304 stainless tubing…easy peasy.

HA! NOT!

In a stunning development, it fit perfectly the first time!

Pro tip: don’t get cocky when amateurs are bending stainless tubing.

The last 45° bend to meet the starboard main engine return line

BOOM!

I used expanded PVC again to stand the return lines off the engine stringer and p-clamps to hold it in place. Stainless screws and their corresponding drilled and tapped holes were coated with TefGel before installation. The starboard side return line is a wrap.

The port side was a slightly longer run

I had to bend it in the salon because there wasn’t enough room in the engine room.

Each additional bend significantly increases the risk that I’ll screw up and turn the whole thing into scrap

Quality tools make the job easier to get some things right

When the Swagelok bender indicates the tube is bent to 90°, you can take it to the bank. But the trick is, you have to over-bend a wee bit so the tubing settles in at 90°. Which only added to my appreciation for professional tubing benders.

Last bend is done…ready to cut the tube from the coil and test fit

In another stunning development, the port side fit perfectly, too!

Pro tip: don’t get cocky.

With the test fit done, I drill holes for the mounting clamps

TefGel goes in each drilled and tapped hole

Nice!

Looking good!

I had to put an impromptu jog in the tubing to get it over a frame

BOOM!

Done

The main engine fuel return circuit is done. This is a major box checked on the way to splashing the boat.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Bending & Installing Stainless Fuel Supply Tubing

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Forward Fuel Tank Supply Line

One of the valves I installed on the fuel supply distribution manifold will allow me to transfer fuel from the aft tanks to the 120 gallon forward fuel tank that I installed waaaay back in 2016. With both the start and end points installed, next I took my awesome Swagelok tubing bender out of retirement and found the rolls of 1/2″ and 3/8″ stainless tubing I bought back in 2012.  Then I got busy connecting the supply manifold valve to the forward tank with a fairly long run of that stainless tubing.

Straighten out some 3/8″ 304 stainless steel tubing from the coil

It’s very challenging getting this tubing to straighten out. I use the floor of the salon and step on the tubing while unrolling it from the coil. Then I slightly over-bend it against the remaining curve by hand. It never ends up being straight. But when I install it with clamps every 12-16 inches it ends up being pretty close to straight.

I wonder how the pros do it?

The forward fuel tank is the cube-shaped one up against the forward bulkhead under the galley

The round tank is for potable water.

I put a couple of bends in the tubing to match the steps I made

Rubber isolated P-clamps and a block of expanded PVC will hold the tubing in place and stand it off of the aluminum step frame

Drill, tap, then apply Tefgel to each hole

The Tefgel will stop corrosion from happening between the aluminum and stainless screws that hold each clamp in place.

Drill, tap, and Tefgel the remaining holes in the step frame and engine stringers

Apply Tefgel to the stainless screws, and install each clamp

I put a nice little bend below the steps, then ran the tubing straight back to the supply manifold valve

The supply line is just below the level of the ER floorboards so they’re readily visible and accessible if necessary, but there’s no way to step on them. It’s also extremely unlikely that something heavy enough to damage the tubing could fall and somehow miss the stringer on one side or the aluminum angle floorboard support on the other.

Clamps every 12″ all the way back to the manifold

That’s a wrap for the forward tank supply tubing. I still have to bend and install the supply and return lines from the forward tank to the Fischer Panda genset, but that comes later. First, I want to connect fuel system tubing to the main engines.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Bending & Installing Main Engine Fuel Return Tubing

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Fuel Filters

I recently learned that the marina my boat is at is once again under new management. The first thing they did was bump yard space rental by 33% with no commensurate increase in services (they haven’t cleaned the yard toilet in at least a year…). So I have even more incentive to get the boat out of the tent and splashed before November. Getting the fuel system done is a high priority that I want completed before the boat splashes.

The fuel gauges, supply manifold, and on-engine hoses are already done. Next I installed the fuel filters.

I went with SMX filter heads from Tony Athens’ Seaboard Marine

Primary filter head casting and finish quality are top notch

I’ll use these for the 20 mil “mud catcher” fuel/water separators, AKA Fleetguard FS19513.

Secondary filter heads need off-side ports plugged

I’m using the near-side ports on the filter heads for vacuum gauges and manifold connections

The vacuum gauges will indicate high vacuum if there’s a clogged or waterlogged filter.

I secured the threaded filter adapters with Locktite

The thread pitch is different between the primary and secondary filters. So there’s no chance of putting on the 10 mil secondary filter (Fleetguard FS1000) where the 20 mil mud catcher is supposed to go.

I next applied Gasoila thread sealant on the fitting joining the primary and secondary filter heads

Et voila!

That’s one bullet-proof fuel filter setup.

Starboard filters are attached to the fuel manifold

Primary filter vacuum gauge is installed

Two gauges will help me figure out which filter is clogged when it eventually happens. That’s better than guessing and well worth the investment.

Next I installed a filter priming bulb

Tony Athens recommends using a priming bulb because it’s simple, easy, and it always works. I don’t know if I’ll stick with it in the long term, but for getting the boat splashed it’s the way to go.

Cutting 1/2″ stainless tubing for the port filter-to-manifold connection

Ready for the port filter assembly

Oops

When I pivoted the filters into position, the PVC spacer blocks I made ran into the manifold mounting bolt.

A little router work and the bolt clearance problem was resolved

Perfect!

Locking down all of the Swagelok fittings is a process

First, I lubricate the threads with Gasoila to avoid stainless galling (a kind of cold weld thing that can happen with stainless). Next, I hand-tighten the fittings until they’re snug. Then mark a line across the nut and Swagelok fitting with a Sharpie. Then put a wrench on the nut and another on the fitting. Rotate the 1/2″ fitting nut 1.25 rotations, so one full rotation plus a quarter turn after the Sharpie lines are lined up.

I only apply the Sharpie lines immediately before torquing the fitting nuts, and I leave the lines after I’m done as a tell-tale that each joint is torqued.

Final step is installing port plugs on the far-side of the primary filter heads

Done!

Main propulsion engine filters are installed and ready for service!

This is a huge step. Just a few more and the fuel system will be complete.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Forward Fuel Tank Supply Line

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Fuel Supply Manifold

With the on-engine supply and return fuel hoses installed and fuel gauge at the helm working, next I finished assembling the fuel supply manifold.

I bought all of the stainless fittings, connectors, and valves I thought I’d need more than five years ago. They were sitting in a box in my garage taking up space, so it was nice to finally put them all together.

One challenge I encountered was that all of the fittings, connectors, and valves use 1/2″ NPT threads. The manifold is basically a loop with valves, inlets, and outlets, but it’s impossible to thread fittings together to make a loop. I resolved that problem by making two halves of the manifold, then used Swagelok 1/2″ NPT to tube adapters to slide them together and complete the loop.

Swagelok tube fittings let me assemble the two halves of the manifold

I’ll attach the manifold to some 1/2″ thick PVC backing board I found in my garage. So I made some stainless straps to hold it all together. I bent the stainless around a handy 3/4″ pipe first to put a curve in it.

Bench vise brake makes nice 90° bends in stainless strap

Next I drilled screw holes in each strap

Gasoila seals all the joints and prevents stainless galling

I used 1/2″ full port stainless valves in the manifold to reduce restriction. The up-side of a manifold like this that allows me to feed each engine on separate tanks or all from any of the three tanks onboard. The downside of it is the number of 90° fittings, each one of which adds friction to the system equivalent to ~7′ of 1/2″ straight hose or tubing. In normal service, with each tank fed by its own respective tank (stbd-stbd, port-port), just going through the manifold adds 14-feet worth of straight pipe friction (~.1″ HG/ft).

Nice!

This explains what each port will connect to

The best place for the manifold will be under the big Kidde CO2 tank

Test fitting the SMX fuel filter

Several years ago I bought two SMX filter heads and Fleetguard 19513 “mud filters” from Tony Athens’ Seaboard Marine in anticipation of this day. Good thing I had them on hand! It quickly became obvious that I’d need to mount the filter heads ~1.5 inches away from the plane of the manifold so the valve handles would clear the filter heads.

Uh…Houston…we have another problem

With the manifold backing board clamped to the best spot under the CO2 tank, there’s not enough clearance to remove and install the fuel filters. Good thing I had lots of that 1/2″ PVC backing board laying around…

Trace the SMX fuel filter head base on the 1/2″ PVC

ShopSmith bandsaw makes quick work of the PVC

Same ShopSmith machine also has a 12″ disk sander that comes in very handy

I rounded off the sharp edges to match the SMX filter head base

Then I screwed three of the 1/2″ PVC pieces together to make 1-1/2″ filter head spacers

I also made PVC spacers that will allow me to locate the manifold outward and higher up on the Kidde CO2 tank support frame.

These spacers on the back of the manifold backing board will give me the clearance I need

1.5″ inboard and 6″ higher…final test fit looks good!

Tefgel protects the aluminum frame from the stainless bolts that attach to the PVC backer board

I use a touch of Tefgel to lubricate threads and isolate the aluminum AN fittings from the stainless ones

Looks good!

Starboard engine diesel supply hose is attached to the supply manifold!

It’s not so consequential, connecting the on-engine fuel supply hose to the fuel distribution manifold. But there are only so many connections between the tank pickups and the engines. Each one that I complete gets me substantially closer to being able to fire these Cummins 6CTAs up!

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Engine Room Ventilation Fan

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: On-Engine Fuel Hoses

With the fuel senders and gauge working properly, I started work on more complicated parts of the fuel system.

I’ve mentioned before that the only areas where my aluminum hull had any pitting was in the vicinity of copper and bronze, including the original fuel and water lines. There were actual lines of shallow pits directly under the copper fuel lines in the engine room, and I believe those were caused by copper oxide falling off the tubing and attacking the aluminum below. So I’m doing my best to avoid using copper or bronze on the refit. I don’t care what the American Boat and Yacht Council says. Hulls are expensive, so I will not use copper fuel lines.

ABYC standards also say you can use Type A1 fuel hose, but I was on a Pacemaker that had Type A1 fuel lines from the tank fittings all the way to the Detroit Diesel mains, and the hose failed, filling the bilge with diesel. I’ll use short sections of type A1 hose to isolate vibration, but I won’t go straight hose even though that would be by far the easiest way to get fuel from the tanks to the engines.

So my fuel plumbing material of choice is 1/2″ 304 annealed stainless tubing for the mains and 3/8″ for the returns and genset supply. This stuff is used in sanitary factory service (i.e. food and beverage manufacturing) all over, so I think it will be fine for my boat.

For connectors, I’m primarily using Swagelok 316 SS, though I do have some hose barb AN flare swivels in anodized aluminum.

And I’m making supply and return manifolds with valves so I can run the engines off of any of the three fuel tanks onboard. Normally, each engine will run on its corresponding tank (starboard to starboard, port to port, fwd tank to genset). But I’ve had bad fuel events happen, and the ability to choose which tanks you run on is well worth the added cost and complexity of manifolds.

Swapped out Cummins’ 5/16″ return fitting for 6AN (3/8″) flare

New Type A1 3/8″ hose will connect to 3/8″ return line tubing I’ll be bending

Cummins OE main lift pumps used 45° SAE flare, which I swapped out for 37° AN

NEW 8AN (1/2″) elbow attaches to 8AN swivel and 1/2″ Type A1 hose on the supply side

New main supply and return hoses are attached.

I repeated these steps on the port engine, so now (for the first time in ten years!) the engines have fuel hoses attached and ready to connect to supply tubing.

Now that I’m spending so much time in the engine room, I have to admit I’m a bit embarrassed by how filthy the engines are. Dust is one thing, but there’s oily residue, too, which is very odd considering that the engines haven’t run in nine years.

Look how bright and shiny they were in 2013!

I understand its something like an industry standard to paint everything white, but painting hoses and black plastic wire loom only looks good until you touch them. Then the paint flakes off because no paint sticks very well to rubber or plastic that flexes. You end up with an ugly loom like mine and paint flakes in your bilges.

But that still doesn’t explain where the oily residue is coming from… Or could it be that the seller spray painted over oily residue on the engines, and what I’m seeing now is just the oil that’s bled through the pretty white paint???

Anyway, for now my priority is to get the boat out of the tent and splashed. I can worry about aesthetics later.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Fuel Supply Manifold