Roamer Corrosion nightmare

We have a 1974 Roamer 68. It started out as a 60 house boat design (forward pilot house and portuguese bridge) and our information is that it was taken back to the Chris/Roamer yard and had a cockpit added. We bought it last year and I personally accompanied the surveyor around the boat sounding the hull. I was very concerned that the hull could not be sounded behind the exhaust channels that run 2/3 of the hull length. We had the bottom painted this summer and the hull appeared in good shape. After a couple of weeks back in the water we began to notice water in the bilges and after some demolition found corroded areas and one became a hole when we touched it. My worst fears. The corrosion is at a number of places on both port and starboard on the bulkhead behind the exhaust channels/tubes that run along the outside of the boat just below the water line. I have been pulling out what little hair I have left exploring repair options. It is a fine boat. Handles rough seas very well and built like a tank so I would rather repair than sell. Does any one have any ideas about repair solutions, other than cutting off the exhaust channels and welding new plates into the hull?

Wow. Man I really appreciate your help. To have someone who actually worked on one of these vessels weighing in my problem is sincerely appreciated.

I do realize that the correct repair is to pull the exhaust channels and repair the hull as needed. The hard part it taking the channels off and putting them back on. The repair will be easy. We just did a bottom job and had new paint up to the rub rail and knew that cutting the exhaust channels off would require a lot of new paint in addition to the welding.

We are going to take Mr. rcrapps advice and have the welder patch the spots that appear to need it since we have already ripped out the hull liner in the staterooms and mater head. It does have a factory tub so I still have not figured out if there is a bad spot behind it. I figure that she will need a new bottom job in about 2 years and that will give me the time to budget the correct repair to be done when she is hauled. I have an excellent welder and have seen his work. I will be talking to him this week about fixing it right.

We bought the boat in March of last year in Stuart FL. She was in need of a lot of love, but besides these leaks, nothing shattering. She still has good bones. We took it across Fl in the Okeechobee and up the ditch to Tarpon Springs. From there to Apalachicola across the Gulf and then to Pcola where she is birthed now. The Gulf is not very friendly in March and April and we met some heavy seas that night but this old gal took it all in stride. It was then I realize this was truly sea cruising machine.

I have had all the through hull fittings, valves and hoses replaced and the bilge is clean. When we were replacing the through hull stuff I capped off several transducer fittings. It seemed like they were everywhere. When we got it back in the water I realized that one or two of them may have been the Capac system. I do not know if it is an active system or just a monitor system. I don not even know how to tell.


We will be hauling the boat next week or two to make these repairs. I have read a lot of pros and cons for Impressed Current Cathotic Protection and quite frankly I am confused. Do I need to fix the old one or install a new one while she is hauled again or just keep the boat zinced up. Do you have any thoughts on a cathotic protection system?


I am a little dissatisfied with the steering. It has a Hynautic System with 3 helms. But they are all 14.5 turns hard over to hard over. I suspect the cylinder may be mismatched but do not know how to tell. Do you have any thoughts on this?


My wife and I are in love with the layout of this boat. Her lines are not that fancy but she is very comfortable and stable. Every one is impressed by the width of the main Salon and that the galley is up. For me, I like stand up engine rooms with a work bench on port and starboard.( A must for an old boat) At the sea trial we got her up to 24 knots and the engines turned up to spec RPM. I am an old sailor and had never been that fast in a big boat. It was so fast it scared me. I will be cruising at 11 knots and below.

The broker told us that the cockpit was added by the Chris Craft Roamer yard. I have heard that it may have been done at the Derecktor yard since Derecktor was the supposedly original designer at Roamer at the time. He also told us that after adding the cockpit, Chris Craft made a few 60 and 74 foot house boats with cockpits from the factory turning them into 68 and even 82 foot vessels.

I saw a picture of Spellbound on YF and it is the same hull, with the same layout on the maid deck except the one I have does not have a fully enclosed aftdeck and the cockpit is substantially larger. The lower deck has a hall way down the middle from under the pilot house to the aft staterooms with an engine room on each side.

He also told us that F. Lee had a boat just like it. You have now confirmed that!

I am not sure what the original name of the boat was. At one time it was the Field Trip and then became the Dreamchaser.

Double Wow. While I was proof reading this I found a post that said you worked on the Dreamchaser!

Again I appreciate your comments and will really appreciate any information you can share about this type of vessel or aluminum Roamers.