Using a Shop Smith Mark V on a Chris Craft Roamer refit

[JPG]

How are you going to 'utilize' the space under the cushion to the left of the drawer and under the long cushion?

Pull up cushions?

[roamer46]

The HVAC ducts will be in those spaces. Also, the long cushion will slide out to turn the whole thing into a bed. I'll use a different approach than Chris Craft, but with either approach it would take too much effort to access that space to consider it useful storage. Should the next owner decide to get into smuggling, let's just say he'll have lots of options. lol

[roamer46]

It's been a while since I posted an update. I can't tell you how nice it is having the boat so close to home. Getting it out of the tent and on the water has done wonders to reduce my boat-related stress level. It's also very nice to be able to fire up the engines and go have lunch with the missus out on the Potomac.

That said, when the boat was still in the tent, I was rebuilding the salon settee. That's a big piece of built-in furniture, and the salon AC system is built into the sofa. So the settee had to be built for me to start using the HVAC system. I'd previously made all of the panels, corner pieces, and panel edge cap moldings. The only thing left to do was take it all apart, then glue and screw it together. I have to say, it turned out pretty nice. The only thing remaining is for me to make the cushion bases and then have a shop make the cushions themselves, but that'll be one of the last things I do on this refit.

Cheers,
Q

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Finishing the Salon Settee Structure

Before


After

[roamer46]

With the salon settee pretty much done, the salon AC unit built into it is ready to turn on. But the aft and forward AC units aren't fully installed yet. Since they're all fed raw water from one pump, I want them all ready to work before I turn them on. So I tackled the aft stateroom AC unit next by plumbing the raw water outlet, building the cabinetry enclosure, and installing the air filter and thermostat. Two down, one to go!

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Wrapping Up the Aft Stateroom AC Installation

Cheers,
Q

Before


After

[nuhobby]

It is beautiful!
I've seen on some guitar forums where they abbreviate "mahogany" to "hog". I don't think that befits this luxe craft though

[roamer46]

Thanks, nuhobby!

With the salon and aft stateroom AC units installed, the last one is in the V-berth. The installation went well and the "fan only" test indicates the system is ready to go. Like the others, the unit is installed in an otherwise airtight box built into the cabinetry, with a single filtered inlet for the fan to pull in room air. This is one beeeautiful HVAC enclosure.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the V-Berth AC Unit

Cheers,
Q

[roamer46]

I've got three AC units on the boat but only one raw water pump. I need a pump controller so if any one of the AC units calls for raw water, the pump will turn on. Fancy pump controllers with proprietary circuit boards start at ~$300. I ended up making one using off-the-shelf components that cost about 100 bucks (part numbers and sources at the link). It works great.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: DIY Marine AC Raw Water Pump Controller

Cheers,
Q

[roamer46]

Back on Splash Day in late June 2023, one of the problems I encountered was a very slight leak from the only OEM seacock left on the boat--the one I rebuilt and intended to use for the air conditioner raw water supply. Rather than messing around with it, I replaced it with a Forespar Marelon valve (no more bronze!) and just ran a hose direct to the pump inlet before re-splashing. I left the valve closed for the inaugural trip from Deale, MD to our new home port, but one of my summer priorities was to get the AC system running. I installed a Vetus strainer so the lid is just above the waterline, for easy screen cleaning. Then I flipped the breakers on and turned the thermostat switches to COOL.

Everything worked perfectly!

And now that autumn has arrived, the heat's nice to have aboard, too.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Major System Test -- Air Conditioners

Cheers,
Q