jasonw

Hi I was just out in the shop looking at my criscraft thinking. After I set up the lower cabin with light system and all the bells and whistles I am shure the left/right ballence will be off and the water line also will be off. Dose anyone know a good way to set this? I under stand I can use small lead weights for the left/right ballence but what about the water line? The boat looks verry good wt the factory water line but there will be a lot of added wieght with the light batterys and lower cabin matireals and then the lead. how to I keep the water line the same? Can I use the spray in foam in all the spots that arnt seen?

FHHuber

First, try to arrange the batteries in a manner to get the boat to float evenly. With all the batteries you are talking about... it should be possible to arrange them to minimize the need for "dead" lead ballast. (not as big a deal with a boat as a plane...)

Yes, you can foam fill any area you want to. Check the foam you plan to use. You want a "Closed Cell" foam, which will add safety floatation. "open cell" acts like a sponge and can accelerate water entry through a crack, due to capilary action.

Most spray foam insulation is open cell.... I used to carve white styro to fit in any open cavities when I was running R/C boats. Don't confuse white florist's foam for styrofoam. The florist's foam (and some other craft store white foams) is open cell.

mahoo

Do not add any aditional weight if at all possible. If the boat is floating level, but not down to the water line, try painting a boot stripe in to fill from the actual water line to the marked water line on the hull. If I remember correctly, Chris Crafts had gold/copper colored bottom paint and a red, white or blue boot stripe.

I will attach a jpeg of a photo of a CC with a white boot stripe.

Mitch

jasonw

My criscraft is way way diferent than the one you showd. it is a cabin cruser if you goto my site www.caltel.com/~jasonw you can see pictures of it. The hull was white with a black waterline stripe and below the water line was red. This is how it was when I got it. I am thinking of painting the while thing white now but I would like the water line to stay were the stock line was. As far as foam. I have that stuf you use in houses to fill in cracks and stuf around pipes you know? I think it is closed cell as if i put some of it in the tub it flotes and dose not take on water.

jasonw

FHHuber

"Gtreat Stuff" spray foam forms an outer skin which is a closed membrane. However, the inner cells are open. Its the inner cells that matter, as a rock punching the boat hull would also punch through the spray foam's outer membrane.

Cut the sample in half, then try it.

jasonw

I will give that a try. Dose anyone know anythign about the boat i left the link for? I sure would like to find out more info about it

mahoo

Here is yacht photo I found similar to your model

mahoo

The above photo is of a Chris Craft 36 ft custom sport fisher. Note the red boot stripe above the white water line stripe.

FHHuber

There's a small safety factor in powering aux items such as lights from a separate power source. I know its not as big a deal in a boat as in an aircraft... but every bit you drain from the motor battery (when running electric power) is that much less time you can zip around the water. (and if from RX on a fuel power boat... who likes to have to retrieve a boat going in circles when the radio quits?)
The lights would most likely draw very little... (and if they are LED's... almost nothing.) but they're likely to be a different voltage than the RX power or the motor power. Its not that much weight difference to carry a couple of AAA cells than it is to put in a voltage conversion circuit. The AAA's and a switch are much cheaper than the circuit.
Thus, there's 2 good reasons to separately power them, and no compelling reason not to...

jasonw

Many what a pretty boat. Come to think of it I think mine is a fishing boat. The rear deck had 3 seat pointed twards the rear as i f to hole fishing pols. hmmm. The resone I want to use diferent batterys to power lights is also I dont want that verry verry unscale afect of hiting the gas and seeing the lights go dim know what i mean and also yes all the bit of power and run time i can suck out of that battery is better.

jasonw

Many what a pretty boat. Come to think of it I think mine is a fishing boat. The rear deck had 3 seat pointed twards the rear as i f to hole fishing pols. hmmm. The resone I want to use diferent batterys to power lights is also I dont want that verry verry unscale afect of hiting the gas and seeing the lights go dim know what i mean and also yes all the bit of power and run time i can suck out of that battery is better.