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Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

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

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Originally Posted by henry42

I assure you that our kids are saying the exact same thing about us.

As for current marinas restrictive practices, when I bought my current boat I got one with a single engine (fuel efficient) and keep it on a trailer on the side of my house (no marina cost) and fill it up any way I choose. It takes me 30 minutes from leaving my home to being under way from the launch ramp.

Actually, I made sure my kids know the history of the 20th Century beyond what's taught in schools, so they understand the connections between what previous generations allowed to happen and where we are today.

Long-time readers of this thread and my blog know my boat was to be a liveaboard/vacation cruiser, so comparisons with little trailer boats aren't really relevant. YMMV.

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Originally Posted by q240z

Gas Buddy is a good source of info about fuel prices everywhere. Cash is irrelevant today. Off-road diesel (AKA home heating oil) is only slightly less expensive today than fully taxed diesel. Also, many marinas prohibit fuel oil trucks from filling boat tanks because the marinas sell the same product at $5 or more per gallon and they can prohibit entry to people selling for less. In my marina, you can't even lug jerry cans full of diesel or gasoline on the docks. Fueling is only permitted via the marina's pumps and at their prices.

Your dad and his generation had it good. Too bad he and his generation didn't conserve what they had for today's generation and their posterity.

And I should make it clear, I'm equally critical of my parents and their generation. They gave away so much for nothing....

I assure you that our kids are saying the exact same thing about us.

As for current marinas restrictive practices, when I bought my current boat I got one with a single engine (fuel efficient) and keep it on a trailer on the side of my house (no marina cost) and fill it up any way I choose. It takes me 30 minutes from leaving my home to being under way from the launch ramp.

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Originally Posted by henry42

My dad had a 65' Roamer and took it from NY to Florida every year. When he stopped along the way he'd fill her up with home heating oil. There's no requirement for boats to pay road taxes and the fuel oil trucks had a much faster pump.

He also paid cash for the fuel and got a big discount.

Gas Buddy is a good source of info about fuel prices everywhere. Cash is irrelevant today. Off-road diesel (AKA home heating oil) is only slightly less expensive today than fully taxed diesel. Also, many marinas prohibit fuel oil trucks from filling boat tanks because the marinas sell the same product at $5 or more per gallon and they can prohibit entry to people selling for less. In my marina, you can't even lug jerry cans full of diesel or gasoline on the docks. Fueling is only permitted via the marina's pumps and at their prices.

Your dad and his generation had it good. Too bad he and his generation didn't conserve what they had for today's generation and their posterity.

And I should make it clear, I'm equally critical of my parents and their generation. They gave away so much for nothing....

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Originally Posted by henry42

My dad had a 65' Roamer and took it from NY to Florida every year. When he stopped along the way he'd fill her up with home heating oil. There's no requirement for boats to pay road taxes and the fuel oil trucks had a much faster pump.

He also paid cash for the fuel and got a big discount.

He ran in the ocean much of the trip in displacement mode with three on board doing 4 hr shifts round the clock on autopilot.

#2 Fuel Oil... our family sold it for over 100 years. Closed up shop not too long ago.

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Originally Posted by q240z

No runs down the coast for us. At least, not anytime in the foreseeable future. I like the snowbird idea, but it makes no economic sense in the era of $4/gal diesel. Plus, I'm not done with the refit yet, so the boat's basically a floating cabinet shop that gets taken out weekly for short blasts on plane to try and keep the bottom from fouling too badly. I'll have it hauled in December and keep working on the interior over the winter on the hard.

My dad had a 65' Roamer and took it from NY to Florida every year. When he stopped along the way he'd fill her up with home heating oil. There's no requirement for boats to pay road taxes and the fuel oil trucks had a much faster pump.

He also paid cash for the fuel and got a big discount.

He ran in the ocean much of the trip in displacement mode with three on board doing 4 hr shifts round the clock on autopilot.

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

No runs down the coast for us. At least, not anytime in the foreseeable future. I like the snowbird idea, but it makes no economic sense in the era of $4/gal diesel. Plus, I'm not done with the refit yet, so the boat's basically a floating cabinet shop that gets taken out weekly for short blasts on plane to try and keep the bottom from fouling too badly. I'll have it hauled in December and keep working on the interior over the winter on the hard.

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

You about ready to make a run down the coast

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Yes, the heat exchanger (condenser) has raw water running through the outer tube and refrigerant running through the inner tube.

It's all magic to me, but that's how I'd explain the magic in the normal lexicon.

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

I know nothing about marine HVAC. So, I take it there's a heat exchanger with raw water on one "side" and refrigerant on the other? Or is it raw water to coolant then coolant to refrigerant? Or...? Maybe I'm completely off base?

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Yes, the pump output exceeds the requirements of the three units.

The rule of thumb is 180-250gph for every ton of AC. I've got just over 3 tons, so my boat conservatively (i.e. on the high end) needs 770gph. My pump output is 840gph.

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

can your pump handle 3 units or are u thinking only use one ac at a time. ac unit should spec flow @ water temp.

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

I ended up making one using off-the-shelf components that cost about 100 bucks

And no doubt it'll last longer as well. I like staying away from proprietary parts whenever possible.
Case in point, I've got a Firman generator and one of the tandem DPDT microswitches went south, only place you can get it other than one listing on Ebay is Firman:
Attachment 1770647

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

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

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

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

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Originally Posted by henry42

Don't you need a tray and a drain to catch the condensate? Beautiful work! I'd hate to see water damage.

Also that shelf is going to vibrate with that fan on it. It needs to be built much more substantially imho.

All marine AC units come with trays and drains built in. Flagship Marine brand, which is what I have, are perhaps the best of the bunch. Unlike many other brands, Flagship only puts the tray under the evaporator, and tilts the bottom so very little condensate accumulates in the tray. A hose simply drops the condensate into the bilge, so there's no chance of water damage. I posted about all of this in a blog article back in 2018. You can see a picture from that article below showing the condensate tray with tilted bottom.

As for the shelf, 3/4" mahogany plywood that's glued with epoxy and screwed to 1" square mahogany cleats that are, in turn, glued and screwed to 3/4" mahogany plywood walls are plenty substantial. Most boat manufacturers don't even bother with glue; they just screw plywood to cleats and mount the AC units on that.

Normally, it's the compressor that causes vibration rather than the fan. The original AC units on my other boats had piston compressors, and they'd rattle the windows on startup. Flagship used scroll compressors on my AC units, which are inherently quiet already. But they also mount their compressors on rubber mounts. I went a step further and mounted all of my AC units on rubber isolated, epoxy coated 1/4" aluminum plates. The article I linked to today has a link to the article last year where I showed my approach. Check it out: https://1969chriscraftroamer46.wordp...eroom-ac-unit/

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Originally Posted by q240z

Thanks, mrmikey!

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

Don't you need a tray and a drain to catch the condensate? Beautiful work! I'd hate to see water damage.

Also that shelf is going to vibrate with that fan on it. It needs to be built much more substantially imho.

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Thanks, mrmikey!

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

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Nice work Q, not a surprise as I was expecting nothing but. :-)

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

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

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Insurance company requires it to be pulled.

Plus, we kept our previous boat in over the winter in 2020-21. When we hauled at the end of the 2021 season, there was 3-4" of beard hanging off the bottom. I don't know what's in the water here, but this brackish soup does wonders for bottom growth, and I don't mean in a good way.

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

You going to pull her out over the winter or leave her floating?

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

I laughed when I saw this: "Great project boat"


On the CAPAC, I replaced the bad diode, which got voltage to resistor 14. It still isn't working 100% though, so I'll replace all of the components on the board over the winter.

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Hey, Q! Ready for another project? https://richmond.craigslist.org/boa/...655041838.html

Well that's just cruel LOL, nice looking rig tho.
Q, did you ever get the corrosion system repaired or did I miss it?

Re: Aluminum Chris Craft Roamer refit project

Hey, Q! Ready for another project? https://richmond.craigslist.org/boa/...655041838.html

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