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Questions on a liveboard Roamer

Discussion in 'Chris Craft Roamer Yacht' started by Chamberlain41, Dec 12, 2007.

  1. Chamberlain41

    Chamberlain41 New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2007
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    6
    Location:
    Corpus Christi, TX
    I am looking for a Roamer to liveaboard in the near future. I formerly lived aboard a Gibson 50' but want to move up to something that can handle the open sea. I plan on keeping my next boat in the family for many years so I am wondering if aluminum, steel, or fiberglass is the way to go. I understand they all have their drawbacks but aluminum seems to be the best choice, am I wrong? I am looking in the 46-60' range and would like to keep the boat in the Norfolk, VA area. I am used to doing maintenance on boats so I have no qualms about a fixer upper as long as it's structurally sound. There are lots of 50' fiberglass for sale in the 1980's range. Did Chris have good fiberglass hulls back then or were there some bad batches I should know about. I assumed for longevity purposes aluminum is the way to go but I have been known to be wrong before! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Ryan
  2. chriswufgator

    chriswufgator Member

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    Location:
    Jacksonville, Florida
    There is no "miracle material".

    Aluminum has wastage problems, fiberglass blisters and cracks, and steel rusts. You will end up doing something to any of the three hull types eventually, and probably sooner rather than later if it's an all original Chris-Craft, considering the overall age of the fleet.

    If your main concern is maintenance, then just buy fiberglass and be done with it. It's the lowest maintenance material out of the 3 you mentioned, by a decent margin. I know that's blasphemy around these parts, but it's the truth.

    If you have some $$$ to play with, though, then buy the Roamer anyway. They're wonderful. I have never owned or cruised in a better-riding boat, in just about any sea condition.

    Even if you have a nice 4ft chop going, you can set your...."coffee"....ya, right, "coffee"...that's my story and I'm sticking to it....on the helm and it won't even slosh around in the wine glass...I mean coffee cup. You will also notice a lot less bobbing around at the dock when you're relaxing. Not sure if all this is due to the excessive weight of Roamers compared to their fiberglass counterparts, to hull design, or something else, but it's the most stable platform around.
  3. q240z

    q240z New Member

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    zsedr
    Can't comment on the stability of Roamers v. anything else because my project is drydocked and won't be floating for at least a year or so, but if my memory of the specs for 47 Commanders vs 46 Roamers is correct, the fiberglass hulls are 8-10,000 lbs heavier.
  4. chriswufgator

    chriswufgator Member

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    Location:
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    Where in heck did you get that from? The reverse is true.

    Think about it...plastic weighs less than steel. Some of the Aluminum Roamers are probably lighter than their corresponding commander models, depending on the power package, but as a general rule most roamers are heavier by a long shot. The only exception is the 35'/36' sportfish model Commander...that thing is a complete hog, weighing 22,500 lbs. Other than that, though, Roamers are heavier.

    Take a peek for yourself:

    58' Roamer: 60,000 lbs displacement

    http://www.**************/core/listing/boatFullDetails.jsp?boat_id=1715064&ybw=&units=Feet&currency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=75036&url=

    Vs. 55' Commander: 57,800 lbs displacement

    http://www.**************/core/listing/boatFullDetails.jsp?boat_id=1692709&ybw=&units=Feet&currency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=21624&url=

    46' Roamer: 43,000 lbs displacement

    http://www.**************/core/listing/boatFullDetails.jsp?boat_id=1748128&ybw=&units=Feet&currency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=21704&url=

    Vs. 47' Commander: 35,480 lbs displacement

    http://www.**************/core/listing/boatFullDetails.jsp?boat_id=1787729&ybw=&units=Feet&currency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=1750&url=

    As one final example, my boat, a 38' steel Roamer, weighs 20,500 lbs. Compare that to this:

    Vs. 42' Commander: 22,193 lbs displacement

    http://www.**************/core/listing/boatFullDetails.jsp?boat_id=1411524&ybw=&units=Feet&currency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=68151&url=

    4 feet longer, and only a 1,600 lb difference.

    You get the idea...
  5. hat4349

    hat4349 Senior Member

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    Mar 25, 2005
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    Location:
    Tampa, Florida
    Chamberlain41 did you ever find a Roamer or any other boat?
  6. Chamberlain41

    Chamberlain41 New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2007
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    Location:
    Corpus Christi, TX
    I am still looking but won't be in a position to buy for 3-4 months. The ones I have been looking at have been for sale for quite some time so hopefully they are negotiable!
  7. q240z

    q240z New Member

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    zsedr
    Don't know how I missed this one...

    chriswufgator, displacement and net weight are not the same, and yachtworld would not be my first choice for facts.

    Our man alloyed2sea provides this: 1968 Roamer Riviera 46 is 38,200 lbs*
    *Aluminum hulls RAP-46 and RAQ-46 are 6100 lbs lighter. So, until I splash my 46 and have empirical numbers to go off of, let's say a 46 aluminum Roamer runs somewhere around 16 tons.

    Which means that steel Roamers are lots heavier than comparable aluminum ones. But fiberglass Commanders get their strength from LOTS of glass and plastic. A buddy's 1968 47, which has a similar beam, has a hull that's more than an inch thick below the waterline. The aluminum in my Roamer is 1/4" pretty much everywhere. His boat (with 853s, which are lighter and with lighter gears than the 871s that came in most 46s) showed 36,000 pounds or so when he was hauled last, or 18 tons net.

    Bottom line: tanklike fiberglass boats like the Commander weigh more than similar aluminum boats like the Roamer. Which is why the aluminum boats are almost always billed as "lightweight."

    Chamberlain41, did you check out that aluminum 58 on yachtworld for $100k? That looked like quite the deal.
  8. Chamberlain41

    Chamberlain41 New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2007
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    Location:
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    I have checked out that roamer, it needs some work but could be nice with some TLC! I am currently in the Military and waiting to be transferred in 4 months or so. I am not going to buy until I know exactly where I'm going. However I'm trying to get all my ducks in line so hopefully when that time comes, I am ready to buy!