Shopsmith Forums

I just finished reading this entire thread. Astounding persistence and craftsmanship! Bless this boat and all who sail in her!

Thanks, PhilSC! Everybody's gotta have a hobby. I just picked a particularly big and complicated one! ;-)

I got the plywood panels for the port-side aft stateroom ceiling cut and fitted. The corner piece was the most complicated, but my little Bosch router made the job much easier. It's not especially glamorous, but it's progress. The headliner installer will hopefully start working on it next weekend!

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Aft Stateroom Headliner Prep III

Cheers,
Q

Before


After

It's been almost six years in the making, but I finally started wrapping up reassembling my portholes. I'm using a bunch of different approaches than the OEM did, mostly with materials that weren't available in 1969. There's also the matter of the level of care in assembly. A mass production OEM supplier isn't likely to apply Tef-Gel to every machine screw before installing it. I also used Slick Strips to protect the paint where the latch dogs clamp the window frame closed. And those silicone gaskets I'm making turn out really nice. Fully assembled, they're much better than the OEM. One down, eleven more to go!

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Porthole Upgrade Success!

Cheers
Q



Done

I got the short panels installed between the frames in the aft stateroom. That's good timing since the Whisper Wall installer is coming out this weekend to assess the situation and let me know when he wants to start.

Booya.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Aft Stateroom Headliner Prep IV

Cheers,
Q

I got the ceiling corner pieces installed at the transom. Now there's a continuous surface for the Whisper Wall headliner track to mount to around most of the aft stateroom. It's not terribly exciting but it's progress. And just in time, too. The headliner installer showed up over the weekend to check things out. He pointed out a couple of places I need to finish up but said he's ready to start anytime.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Aft Stateroom Headliner Prep V

Cheers
Q

For a change of scenery, I left the aft stateroom alone for a bit and started prepping the salon ceiling for the headliner tracks. I've mentioned before a few times that I think something heavy was dropped on the cabintop back when the boat was repowered in the 1972...and I believe that something was one of the original engines. Turns out that incident threw a bunch of the salon ceiling frames out of alignment. So I had to make filler pieces that will allow the perimeter headliner track to align with the tracks that will attach to the ceiling framing. I think it turned out OK, and since I glued and screwed it all together, it's more robust now than it was just having the frames screwed together.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Salon Headliner Prep

Cheers,
Q

Seriously out of alignment


Everything nicely aligned and ready for headliner track

The headliner will butt up against finished walls and fascia panels all around each room on the boat, so I need to get all the fascias installed. Unfortunately, one of the original mahogany boards at the entryway to the salon was cracked badly. It snapped in half when we removed it. I thought about gluing it back together, but it had some chunks missing from previous abuse. Instead, I used the old board as a pattern and made a new one. It turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself!

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Salon Entryway Panel
Cheers
Q

The old, busted board.


The new board next to the old.

There's a screen at the salon entryway that slides back into the ceiling, behind the headliner. So I need to get that installed before the headliner can go in. I had been looking for replacement tracks for the screens for several years, but I could never find a dual track that fit 5/16" wide screen frames. I finally decided to use commonly available 1/4" cabinet panel tracks. I just had to machine away 1/32" of material from each side of each track. After a couple of failed attempts, I made a jig that worked with my ShopSmith in router mode. I probably have 25 hours into searching and then R&D, but I finally have a method that works. Booyah.

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Salon Entryway Sliding Screen Tracks

Cheers,
Q

The problem


The solution


Concept proved...ready to make the track

I got the entryway sliding screen tracks machined and I'm in the process of refurbing the screens themselves. But I had to take a bit of a break from the Roamer to take my other boat to the boatyard and refresh the bottom paint. There was a wild-looking boat out in purgatory row in the boatyard...planked in aluminum!

1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Salon Entryway Sliding Screen Tracks II

Cheers
Q

Screen tracks are almost ready to install


My Commander 42 coming out of the river


The Gryphon is a planked boat


But it's not wood...it's aluminum!