New Roamer owner! 38' Regal...

Hey gentlemen, just wanted to thank you for all of your informative banter over the years, which I have followed closely.

I finally took the plunge and decided to replace my restored 30' Constellation with a 38' Roamer. She's a steelie with twin 427s in great overall condition. Best of all, she has the REAL mahogany interior.

The specs from BoatTrader are at this link:

http://adcache.boattraderonline.com/6/1/8/88329518.htm

The owner of many years bought a 42' Carver and finally came to down to a price I considered *very* reasonable, so I pounced. I had been eyeing the boat for over a year.

She surveyed out well, and the compression tests on the engines found 135+ on all cylinders, and 115+ for the genset.

The boat has only two major issues and one minor one: The first is that the aft cockpit decking has soft spots. To correct this, I have the marina replacing the plywood and framing underneath before it ships. They are charging $2k, which I thought was a bit high, but still better than I can get down here in FL. I will figure out what covering to put down when it gets here. I am leaning towards a teak-substitute, but may go back to the original nautilex. Haven't decided, and your opinions are welcome!

The second is that two of the exhaust manifolds have minor spider cracks. The boat is from Iowa, which gets a bit chilly (to say the least), and I figure the boat was winterized late, or not winterized properly, at some stage which resulted in the cracking. The rest of that engine, and the other one, have been xrayed and the cracked manifolds are the extent of the damage. The previous owner knew about it for years and never had it fixed...I guess it didn't bother him, but it sure bothers me. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to find new replacement 427 manifolds to save my life! I have made probably 40 calls, and everyone suggests either heating them in an oven and then welding them, or modifying the engine to accept Barr manifolds or something similar as a replacement. Neither option is really that appealing to me. Any suggestions?

The minor issue is that the boat has not yet been converted to electronic ignition/points, which I understant from reading the CommanderClub forum to be a 'must' from a reliability standpoint. I intend to do this when the boat arrives, and it appears that the consensus is that Pertronix is the brand to go with. Suggestions are appreciated!

As to the hull, it was sandblasted and audio-guaged in 2003. Plating was then done in all the normal "wear" spots (near thru-hulls, the keel towards the bow, etc.), after which it was treated with multiple coats of epoxy and sealants, I think the marina said it was interlux. The boat has always been in freshwater, however, and so for salt I intend to have bolts for several zincs welded to points along the keel as well as the transom, in addition to just attaching them to the running gear. I have no idea how many zincs I should add to the hull, or where I should put them, though. If I have to, I will guess, but your suggestions would be very helpful! I also would very much appreciate suggestions on what bottom paint you recommend for salt water.

So I guess that's that! Thank you in advance for all your help!

-Chris

Thanks for the compliments! She is a beauty, and I am very pleased so far. I will dig up the hull number for you tomorrow morning and post it here.

As to the manifolds, the difficulty in finding them has definitely been a surprise. I have 327s in my Connie, which proved to be very easy to find inexpensive new or new-old-stock parts for. I assumed (wrongly) that parts for the 427s would be as easily available, but I am quickly finding out that they are not. At least not the manifolds, anyway. I guess in the end I may have to give in and get them welded.

As to a name, I have it narrowed down to two...either "Dominatrix" or "Hydrocephalus". The latter is latin for "water on the brain". My Connie is "Invincible", the name she had since birth (couldn't bring myself to change it). After the 5th other "Invincible" I ran into, I swore my next name would be unique, if nothing else. Lol. The boat's current name is the "S.S. Lin", which is a play on the previous owners' name.

I will ask around about bottom paint. I just wasn't sure whether any of the different brands works better with steel or not. I have had wood and fiberglass boats, but this is my first steel hull...I am still mildly scared I will do something wrong and screw it up. Electrolosis is simple to understand on paper, but always mystifies me in reality.

After reading some of your posts Alloyed, I notice that you use aluminum strips? Are these useful only for aluminum hulls in fresh water, or is that something I should consider as well?

Lol. And 'chriswufgator' was supposed to be ChriswUFgator, but somehow it didn't work out.

I have updates!

First off, the hull number is RDA382004R.

Secondly (and most importantly!) I found manifolds! I don't mean used, welded, or rigged-up ones....I'm talking about new-old-stock, baby!

Been sitting on a shelf 35 years! I couldn't believe my ears when the lady on the phone said "Yes, we have them in stock...but we only have 10 left". I have already ordered the two I needed, and at $300 +/-, I'm considering ordering two more sets of spares.

I will update again and post pictures when they arrive, just to make sure this isn't too good to be true. It seems legit so far, though...I asked a million questions like "We're talking about a FORD, right? Not a chevy?" "This is for a 1971 model year, right? Not the new ones they just started building again?" "These are NEW, right?" "These are original chris-craft parts, right?". It all checked out, and they're on their way!

That leaves me with only general tune-ups, conversion to Pertronix, and the aft cockpit decking (which is being worked on as we speak), on my short-list. I am sure I will think of more projects, though. I am already considering repainting...the current paint job is more than passable, but there is just something about a midnight blue hull with gold stripes...yummy. I may just decide to repaint the blue accent stripes, which have lightened up a bit due to sun-fading.

Also, I had another idea for a name..."Sua Sponte", meaning essentially to act spontaneously of one's own accord. Thoughts?



. That is my favorite so far.

I lucked out. They started making the switch away from the old-style chris craft mechanical guages in 72, and even though mine's a 71 it somehow got furnished with the new style. So, I can swap out whatever I want without having to worry about the guages. The newer ones don't need rebuilding like the older ones do, either, and they seem to hold up better. I will say, though, the newer style chris craft guages are definitely not as pretty as the old ones.

I will seriously consider your suggestion at my next annual engine maintenance. I already had the Pertronix put in, and boy was that a difference. I used to have to pump the throttles a jillion times and the engine would turn over maybe 8 or 10 times before starting to fire. Not anymore. Fires right up now.

Other than starting, I haven't noticed any real difference with the Pertronix. Seems the old dual-point system is adequate once the engine is already running, but that it doesn't quite put out as much juice as it needs to on start-up.

In any event, thanks for your suggestion!