How close a cousin is the Roamer to the Commander? Well, my 1966 fiberglass Commander was built at the Roamer plant, and as a result the serial number is FXA 38 3004 R (the "R" stands for Roamer) Therefore there's a little bit of Roamer in every Commander, and I dare say some of the boats that still exist out there today share wood from the same sheet of plywood.

The Roamer guys have a nice web site, it can be found here http://www.geocities.com/alloyed2sea/
( the link to The CHRIS CRAFT ROAMER CLUB )

Here's their Roamer of the Month

There are most certainly some strong family resemblences here, assuming a certain Mr. Dick Avery had a hand in these boats as well. Anyone out there with info about the Roamer, please feel free to post it here and/or at the Roamer site. We would like to think of these guys as our extended family members, and we know some of our Commander owners of years past, Mark Young being an example, have traded in his nice Commander in favor of a Roamer.

I'm showing a few photos here to wet your interest, but there's a lot of good info about the Roamer boats there, and some information that is common to the Commander series too.





Welcome Roamer owners!

Regards, Paul
forum moderator

That's the same gen set I have in my 1966 Commander, that I'm going to ship to Curt Hill in pieces, lol !

Paul

http://www.network54.com/Forum/503931/thread/1149538038/last-1149538038



Paul

I've given them their due TLC, converted the points, tended to the various issues and they continue to run almost perfectly. Seeing the thread from Germany sure warms my heart, and my wallet.

Dave

The Commander has that curved semi keel looking design and I can't see how the Roamer works just yet, but the frontal and side views are remarkably similar to the 38.

Ernie Hamilton

Actually, the 38' Commander has a most unique, and seaworthy "sea-gulled" shaped bottom - an attempt to have it both ways: deep-V (wave-cutting) and flat-bottom (faster).
Roamers, on the other hand, started off rather flat-bottomed, and evolved to as much as 11 or 12 degrees deadrise w/hard chines.
A fair compromise (what isnt) that allowed for some wave-cutting capability, and didnt hurt so bad at the gas pump (read wetted surface area). Ask any Bertram owner what if feels like to power/pay for their famed 24 degrees of deadrise (measured at the transom/and dont think that the "lifting strakes" helped much either).

Here's a photo of that "sea gulled" hull shape you noted, and yes it's an interesting design, with fairly flat aft sections. I totally agree about the deep-V hulls being slower due to increased wetted area, good solid physics.

Depending upon where you live and boat, I'm sure someone with a flat bottom would gladly trade for a deep-V, and vice versa too. Running a deep-V on the inland waterways would be a recipie for fuel consumption most people wouldn't want, but out on the chop that Bertram is right at home.

Paul

thanks for posting the links and similar construction issues between the Commander and Roamer boat series. I guess I never realized these boats had so much in common, and were literally pulling engines off the floor for one or another depending on the production of the day, etc.

It's amazing what you can find on a boat forum these days! Interesting history, now 40+ years old!

BRayson

Here are some great photos Eric has shared with us in the past, and one of the tips that intrigues me is this "Roamer Dance" they do. I'm wondering if I should be doing this for the 2008 commissioning of TRADITION? Anyone else do this at the onset of the season, or at launching?

Here is a link with a lot of great photos of Eric's Roamer (and kids too).
http://www.network54.com/Forum/424840/message/1166806846

The Roamer Dance being performed at launching !



Regards,

Paul