Category: Engine & Mechanical

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Fitting the Mechanicals on the PB22

With sole pieces in place, it’s easy to check the fit of hoses, battery boxes, etc.
Here’s a look at some of the sole pieces I talked about patterning in an earlier post.

I’m trying to get ready to coat the inside of the boat before I begin construction of the deck.  It’ll be much easier this way with an open boat to work in.  But before I can do the coating (clear coating on the sides and white paint in the bilge), I need to make sure all the pieces that make the boat go will fit.  In the process, I’ll drill some more holes, glue in backing blocks, fabricate platforms, etc.  As usual, what seems like a straightforward process requires many steps. Continue reading “Fitting the Mechanicals on the PB22”

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The Strut, Shaft, and Shaft Log

Getting the engine in the proper position requires a lot of test fitting to establish location of engine beds and all the other items.

When you’re building an inboard boat, getting the engine and propeller shaft in perfect alignment is an interesting process.  It’s a logical process that involves aligning the engine and transmission, shaft, shaft log, and strut.  It starts with the strut (the piece that holds the shaft in place just forward of the propeller).  There is a tube the shaft passes through that gets glued into a hole bored through the keel.  Getting that tube, called the shaft log, glued in line with the shaft and engine is the aim of this process. Continue reading “The Strut, Shaft, and Shaft Log”

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Adding a Fresh Water Cooling System

Canadian Runabout
A 1957 Greavette, a Canadian built runabout.

Boat motors use the water they’re floating in to cool them.  Some, like most outboards, have what’s called a “raw water” system.  The water the boat is floating in circulates through the engine block, then exits with the exhaust.  Most modern inboards have a “fresh water” or “indirect” cooling system.  In this system, coolant like that in your automobile is pumped through a heat exchanger.  The coolant is circulated through the engine block rather than the raw water itself. Continue reading “Adding a Fresh Water Cooling System”

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Sea trials of the 1949 Chris Craft Deluxe Runabout

1949 Chris Craft Deluxe Runabout floats level and true
Dereck helped with driving the boat. He was the fastest, reaching 31 mph.

Finally! Sea trials are here!

Click here to see a short video of the sea trial.

Eventually, a boat ends up in the water.  There are lots of things to check when that happens.  Does it float?  Does it float level?  Does it float anywhere near the design waterline?  Does the engine run?  Does it steer properly? etc. etc. Continue reading “Sea trials of the 1949 Chris Craft Deluxe Runabout”

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Connecting the Exhaust Pipe

The exhaust pipe to exhaust elbow can be problematic because of heat and water.
The exhaust pipe to exhaust elbow can be problematic because of heat and water.

Connecting the exhaust pipe to the exhaust elbow can be problematic for a couple of reasons:  it gets hot and it gets wet.  Oh yeah, and it needs to be air tight so you don’t end up leaking exhaust into the boat. Continue reading “Connecting the Exhaust Pipe”

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Installing the K Engine

Here's the engine ready to be lowered away to its new home.
Here’s the engine ready to be lowered away to its new home.

It was finally time to put the engine back in to this boat.  Check out the post on rebuilding it and running it.  Also, Chris Craft didn’t install oil filters on these engines.  Can you believe it?  Well we did, and here’s our discussion of it. Continue reading “Installing the K Engine”