tracksaw « 1969chriscraftroamer46

My main plan for 2018 is to keep working on weather-proofing the boat, which means rebuilding the toe rail-to-bilge vent ducts. Until those are done, any water that ends up going down the vent holes in the toe rail will end up landing on interior wood that isn’t intended for water exposure. I finished up the salon port side ducts and associated nearby plywood panels in March. But then I realized that I’m moving a lot of 1/8″ mahogany plywood around, and the big pile of useful scraps are getting in the way. I’m going to get this stuff out of the way by using it to make the OEM cabinet interiors pretty.

The OEM salon cabinets are really ugly on the inside

I’ve had a Chris Craft Constellation 52 (a 1967 wooden boat), a 1968 Commander 42 (FRP hull), and this 1969 Roamer, and every one of them had really ugly cabinet interiors. Even if the cabinets are made of mahogany plywood, Chris Craft painted them white on the inside and the paint just doesn’t weather well. The missus has made it clear that she wants pretty cabinet interiors, so this is a good place to put the last of the 1/8″ plywood to good use.

Cleared of tools and materials

The pile of 1/8″ mahogany plywood scraps

My EZ-One track saw makes panel cutting super easy

The really big benefit of the track saw over a table saw is that the panel doesn’t move, the saw does. So breaking down panels in limited spaces like mine is easy, even when ripping full-length 8-foot panels. Another huge benefit–especially when working on an old boat where nothing is cut square–is that it’s no more difficult to cut a panel at a 91° angle (or whatever) than any other. You simply mark the near and far side of the panel where you want the cut, drop the track bridge, align the track to the marks, fire up the dust collector, and make the cut.

Pulling the last full 1/8th” mahogany sheet from the stack

Marking off the cut lines

Breaking down the panel one cut at a time

The upper back panel is done

That looks better!

MUCH BETTER!

I need to relocate tools that are in the lower cabinet, and then cut those panels. I’ll take them back to the house and varnish them with Minwax Quick Dry Urethane before top coating with Minwax Urethane Spar Varnish

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Making the Ugly Galley Cabinet Pretty

My painter’s schedule still isn’t aligning with mine, so the stack of mahogany plywood panels that need to be clear coated keeps growing–the V-berth bulkhead, the aft stateroom head and closet/locker porthole surround panels. This boat also has porthole openings on the transom, but Chris Craft used fixed panes of glass there. I want to do things differently, by installing the same Bomar portholes as Chris Craft used on the ones that open. Chris Craft also painted the aft stateroom white on these boats, but we’re going with clear coated Mahogany everywhere outside of the bathroom.

Port transom porthole opening

The remains of two original panels can still be seen on the left side of the pic above. I used a sawsall here during the demolition phase years ago, so the cut edges aren’t straight. But the vertical panel will make a good pattern and the horizontal panel can still be used, I just need to remove it and square up the cut. In the linked demolition page, you can see that Chris Craft left the original fuel pipes exposed. I plan to box in the fuel inlets I made behind African mahogany panels, and provide a removable panel for maintenance access to the hose.

Remove the overhead horizontal panel

And remove the vertical panel

The porthole flange is wider than the original fixed window frame

Because the porthole flange is wider than the available space, I’m going to make more space by using 1/2″ plywood here instead of the 3/4″ that Chris Craft used. I’ll add 1/4″ spacer to all of the attachment points so the side of the new panel that faces the flange is inboard of where the original panel was. If that doesn’t make sense, hopefully the pix will tell the story.

A pretty piece of 1/2″ African mahogany plywood is just the right size

Tracing the filthy old pattern piece

The EZ-One tracksaw really shines on angled cuts

There’s only one 90° corner on this piece. All the rest are different angles. I have no idea how you could easily make these cuts on a traditional table saw, but with the tracksaw it’s a breeze. You put the panel on the wooden raised top. Drop the track bridge onto the panel, line up the marks on either end, turn on the vacuum and make the cut. Rotate the panel and repeat. The panel doesn’t move, the saw does, so it’s great in tight spaces like my boat salon. And even a complex panel like this is cut with perfectly straight lines in ~5 minutes.

BTW, I don’t get a commission for my tool reviews. When something works (or doesn’t) I like to share my experience.

The final 4′ cut

A jigsaw finishes the stringer cutouts

Plenty of room for the flange and for the porthole to swing open

Pre-drill the panel mounting holes, then use Tefgel with self-tapping screws

On the fuel inlet side, a leftover scrap of plywood is just the right size

It’s always a difficult decision when to keep or throw away wood scraps. Turns out the decision to keep this one was a good choice. There was enough to split it into two panels, one for each side of the boat.

Spray foam insulation is in the way

Cut back the spray foam insulation with a razor

After cutting to fit, drill pocket screw holes with my Kreg jig

Next, cut the 1/4″ porthole surround panel

Not too bad

I clamped a square to the overhead beam then clamped the long leg of the square to the inboard panel to keep it in place. If I do all of the fitting right, all of the other panels that are attached to that panel will be square, too.