38 Riviera Restoration

Stop by every couple of days and find a new photo... If you are going to restore a Roamer... do it slowly and do it right.. make sure you are single or you will end up that way We will start with the body.... Please strip it down, not just another coat of paint.

Wonder why your lifeline post screws won't bite?....

Wonder why corrosion sneaks out under your toe rail?
Can we say "Cancer."... Chris Craft did not seal the underside of the wood... To avoid water intrusion and your varnish plugs from popping varnish.. underside of wood must be sealed with epoxy and corrosion must be ground or sandblasted out.

Yummy!

It is mostly surface corrosion, but it does progress and can cause the screw holes to become thin.. BUT collidal silica and West system/and/or Helecoil the metal and the new wood holes does save the day to better than new. Then, go with the Awlgrip 545 system build.. hardly avaialble in the 1960's.. the good ole days back when USA was the USA we knew and loved... what happened?

Suit up and BLAST!

We had enough sand when done to supply a small beach!

We said.. small beach...

Yes, I know, the sand is not enough yet for a beach, but he was promissed a beer after each blast-out so we did get more beer and more sand... Up from Virginia Shipyards... an interesting encounter.

See Gray Fairing...

The aluminum Roamer has some challenges at times near welds particularly when near places water could collect... Hey, older Burgers do it too, so good enough for them, good enough for us The theory is, though Chris did use the best marine grade aluminum 5086, the welds may be different grade that can cause bubbling (elec). Use a strong thick build process and alodine, epoxy.. yada yada. Also, it is best to not leave freshly opened aluminum unprotected for more thn 20 minutes or so... Bow waterline Shot.... one more thing.. Teff Gel, it really does work whenever you have to screw stainless into aluminum.. will stop the bubbling for the most part.. highly recommend it.

No it is not Bondo...

Use good grade fairing compound.. Awlgrips and/or Interlux is good stuff...

Getting tired of it...

Seems like best thing to do is keep the end vision in mind at all times no matter how ongoing it seems at times. Due to the cost of labor and the fact the materials are not on sale, much of this is something anyone can do with a little good application and product info.

In the end, don't skimp and try to spray Awlgrip, Imron, Sterling Alexseal or anything yourself... these guys can apply/mix it in a couple of hours (stage at a time).. so the pros will give you a much better spray than you can do. Sometimes these guys will work on the side so peek around a local yard perhaps?

Ooops...

Think I got these pictures out of order.... actually I did not.. point is... to always have the end vision in mind as you journey thourgh the landmines of prepwork.... Wherever you see the Awlfill/Red... it was blasted to raw aluminum, quickly treated and the Awlgrip epoxy build process begins.

Watch the welds..,

We beleive the main aluminum Roamer issue lies in the welds.. after 40 years... Well, in most cases this is where it can bubble our paint... So, just blast it off and start anew with the latest filler technologies. Most corrosion is surface. Those who have elctrolysis, well, it really is not a big deal if you have a proper epoxy bottom with proper zincs and a meter to read the water arund you. Electroguard makes such a meter. We do not believe in Capoc.. why would you need that if you have made the proper protections? Capoc sucks juice out of your batteries.. epoxy, zinc, isolate your shafts with shaft savers, bond and watch your water.. so what is the bid deal. Wood rots, Fiberglass absorbes water and steel rusts.. but, I am not against steel as long as it is well protected.. in fact steel is the strongest of all.

I am sick of this...

Let's pick her up and take her into the shop for some more prep.... Yes, I am a Preppy.. not a blueblood stiff, rather a roll-up your sleeves and get the job done type. My idea of "Buffy" is a Dewalt polisher to put the final Buff on your new Roamer paint job. And, if you subscribe to another coat of housepaint paint to temporarily hide metal sin.. well, you should depart Roamerville..... "should I use Duron or save a buck and use Home Depot's leading other brand"... Oh Please.

OK... Let's Cheat...

At this point.. you are getting depressed thinking your Romaer will never get done... so we flash ahead to keep in mind the final vision at all times (it will keep you going).. so let's miss a few steps for fun and then flash back to reality of sequence.. the movies do it, so we can too

Nice lines...

Roamerites and Roamer Wannabees... Look at the classis line of the bow sweep.. that's as nice as it gets... oops, do not forget about the 46 foot Sea Ray which probbly has about the same waterline length as a Roamer 38... Now let's not fudge real size.. Chris is commin back.... No Piper, no Murray.

The man behind the magic

This fellow works, shows-up and can really spray Awlgrip.... few spray as well as he can, there are a few, but most can't. Awlgrip is very tricky stuff that has many variables to get right... They are all talking about Alexseal these days so don't rule it out.. it may be better than Awlgrip.. it was made by the same German chemist.

I approached this man one year.. and said: "Would you look at my boat?" He replied, "What's it made of?"... I said: "Aluminum." He replied, "I ain't painten no Aluminum." I walked away bummed because I knew he could shoot. I walked head down about 200 feet and he yelled back... "When you want it done?" Well, he still talks to me anyway.. but really it would have been tough without his help. He is still a bit of a fibergalss woosey but we are working on him... he paints old Burgers too... probably so God will let him into heavan one day.

Aluminum Rocks!!

Electrolysis... Hah....
Excuse me.. we do not understand.... if you are well protected and have a good isolation transformer on board (Charles Industries) This is not an issue.
There is no plating, no corrosion no nothing on this boat inside or out.. all we did was take care of her. She is not rotted, not rusted, not water-logged. What you see here is what it is.. clean. The only leak in this boat is the one you take in the head.

Like a glass boat, of course we wax the bottom Now, if you had to play chicken.. would you rather be in a Roamer or a new glass boat? These machines are grossy under-valued probably why they are hard to find as they scoop them up. If you go to the midwest where most are.. real deals can be found on the Great Lakes. That is where most of the 46 and under ones are hiding.. but not so easy to find.

Gray... ??

What is going on here? It is Awlgrip 545 epoxy.... part of the proper build process. Once you have blasted and faired.. the next step is epoxy... after that, it's highbuild yellow epoxy .. a thicker epoxy than 545.

How about yellow?...

Yuck again... gray does not cut it, yellow does not cut it.. how about speckled yellow next? What this is is when they second epoxy application is done, (Yellow Awlgrip "High-Build") they spray a bit of lacquer over it and we begin the sanding process to find high and low spots to give the Roamer a smooother finish. Now, Chirs Craft Roamers were never that fair, in fact the factory recommended not using high gloss as it shows imperfections... well so what, the shine is worth it IMHO.

Time for some white!

Here we go... Awlgrip Vestal White... it's a nice choice as it is white but has a very subtle hint of blue in it so it merges well with the Royal blue stripes. Striping is tricky... real tricky.. try to avoid the wiggles. Though the factory did not progressively stripe back then, most boats do now and it will give your Roamer a bolder more up to date look. Don't tell me you still have the avacodo shag carpeting in your Roamer.. come on now... the days of polyester double knit leisure suits are not returning. Roamers are great shells to remake if cared for over the years... so please bring her up to date if you can. The exteriors are classic.. time knows no time.

Striping Side View...

Make sure to use 3m Striping tape or you will get a fuzzy line.. tricks of the trade.