fabricator of radar arches in Tampa Bay needed

faithab · #1 (**permalink**) 02-22-2006

Anyone know of a good fabricator of SS or aluminum radar arches in the St. Pete area? Thanks.

Woosh told me about JTR in Gulfport but I thought I would post this question here as well to see if anyone else has any other recommendations.

sailingfool · #2 (**permalink**) 02-22-2006

FaithAB,

What do you have in mind with an arch? Will it conflict with a bimini? Does the boat already have a bimini - can't go to Florida without a good bimini...

For watever free advice is worth, by the time you have your boat moored somewhere nearby, ready to use, you will have spent 20%-30% more than whatever today's estimate total is on your current work list. (Add in FL taxes - see my othe rpost...). I suggst you don't try to do everyting right away, use the boat some before you get into over-improving it. An aluminum radar mast bolted to the stern can simply (and relatively cheaply) solve the radar dilemma....

Good luck, have fun, save some money for later...

faithab · #3 (**permalink**) 02-23-2006

You are quite right on waiting a bit. We'll sail the boat all summer in New England before bringing her down here and contemplating what sort of thing to use to act as dinghy davits, radar and solar panel holder. The arch would seem to funtion as all three. The boat already has a radar post but my perfectionist husband feels it is ugly and want something that could function as a three-in-one.

sailingfool · #4 (**permalink**) 02-23-2006

FaithAB,

Sounds like a great plan - you'll be in one of the country's best curising areas. Have you worked out a seasonal mooring? If you are not too tied to RI, I can suggest the following as a womderful location on Buzzartds bay, I often take get a temp mooring there for a few weeks int he summer: http://www.kingmanyachtcenter.com/ They are two hours to Cuttyhunk, three hours to Martha's Vineyard, six or so to Nantucket.

If you want area cruising advice later on, let me know. You might get a copy of The Cruising Guide to the New England Coast and start reading - there's a lot of choices. Remember the bimini!

knothead · #5 (**permalink**) 02-23-2006

Both Embree Welding and JTR Enterprises are excellent machine shops. They are located near each other.
Embree Welding 727 321 8771
JTR Enterprises 727 321 6321

WHOOSH · #6 (**permalink**) 02-24-2006

I meant to add that I'd recommend you stay away from aluminum arches; the material tears easily and is all but unrepairable.

Jack

faithab · #7 (**permalink**) 02-24-2006

Jack, That is an interesting comment on aluminum. One fellow will no longer work in SS, said it is not strong enough at the elbows. Hmmmm. I've looked at a few arches now and the aluminum certain looks strong but I will have to research this some more. Do you have any articles on the web on ss vs aluminum I might read? Thank you.

WHOOSH · #8 (**permalink**) 02-25-2006

Faithab:

My opinion stems from seeing torn aluminum arches and watching cruising couples struggle with what to do as a result. The typical scenario is that an arch is constructed across the full width of the boat's stern, which makes it vulnerable anytime you bring the boat near large physical structures. Cruising boats often find themselves in all kinds of interesting close order drills: small basins, basically immobile dolphins and pilings, uncooperative winds and/or an errant dock line perhaps fouled around the arch. At some point, contact is made and the momentum of a 10+ ton boat is going to be absorbed somehow, which usually means something has to give, and it's going to be the aluminum because nothing else is even remotely as weak. This is a very different dynamic than the static load that you can impart when e.g. pushing/pulling on an arch or climbing up on it to work on the radome or solar panel; in those cases you are feeling the stability of the structure's form. With the maneuvering drills, it's a straight tensile/sheer strength physics experiment - what will give since something must.

Your metal worker, if s/he's concerned about elbows formed from stainless tubing, should know enough to add a gusset in the areas that worry him - essentially, a triangular flat place welded onto the full interior turn of the elbow. Simple, cheap, strong.

Jack

faithab · #9 (**permalink**) 02-27-2006

Thank you Jack, for that good, and vivid description of the dangers of aluminum. We shall certainly keep that in mind. We've sent photos of our new boat to several people and hope to get some good estimates in the near future. It certainly is good to have the advice and recommondations of such people as you.

Sincerely, Faith