Mounting radar arch

C

C-Dawg

New member
I've got a brand new shiny radar arch sitting in my garage that I want to get installed this weekend, but I'm worried about doing it with the current weather forecast.

Will 5200 cure okay if it showers a little? How about if I cover it all with a tarp, will it still cure okay if the temp is between 35 - 55F?

Thanks.
 
build a tarp over it and place a small heater inside while it dries. This is why I dont get anything done on my boat. Every day I have time to work its raining and cold. I need a shop for the winter. When it gets sunny and hot I will be on the water and won't get any thing done then either. I could build a shop but just dont have the space at the house for it. I have to buy another house with land to get a shop. I know, whine whine whine.. oh look its raining agian. :sad
 
I'll pass on a couple of tips since I went through this two years ago. Hopefully you won't repeat my mistakes.

When I installed it two years ago on Memorial Day Weekend, I was very ambitious and tried to complete too many projects. The result is I rushed the job of installing the radar arch. Even though I used 5200, I didn't use enough of it to bed the feet of the arch to the roof. Translation: I had a leaky roof for the whole season.

Last year, I was afraid the arch would not come off because I used 5200 but it turns out I hardly used any in the first installation and the arch came off easily. When I rebedded, I used a product called Sikaflex which was recommended by the arch manufacture and liberally applied it to ensure proper bedding. SUCCESS-NO LEAKS!! :teeth

So take it from me, take your time, use the right materials, and do it right the first time because I wasn't very happy about having to do it over and I especially hated seeing the rain leak through the roof that summer. It made me feel very inept, plus I was worried that the core in the roof would be ruined. Luckily, no problems there. Needless to say, I also followed Dr. Bob's method of undercutting the core and spreading epoxy in the hole to protect against damage to the core.

Also, I agree with Rob about using the fast cure 4200 rather than the 5200. You might never know if you need to remove the arch for any reason.

Good luck with your project!
 
Peter --

Since you have installed an arch I have a few questions. I have an arch enroute and will be installing it once I remove the cover on the boat and get to that part of my rebuild. In the factory arches, do the wires for the electronics run inside the arch tubes? Do they penetrate the roof through the center of the arch base? How does one keep water out of the tubes so that it does not penetrate the roof if the wires run through the center of the base? And description of this and any trick would be most appreciated.

Jim
 
The factory arches are made with a hole in the aft bases so wires can run through the tubes. One of the things I like is that the boats we aorder with arches have the hole drilled for the arch access.

Be sure to apply sealant around the mounting base (around the hole) before installation, and at each bolt hole.
 
Hi Jim,

Yes, the wires run through the tubes, through the center of the arch bases and through the roof. That's why I undercut and expoxied the hole in the roof so that I wouldn't have any issues with the roof core getting wet and eventually rotting. I routed the wires for the radar and the GPS antenna on the portside, rear arch base so therefore I only have one hole in the roof for the wires. That's as much cutting I wanted to do through the roof. :cry

There are openings in the arch tubing where you pull the wires through, I think one on each side and one in the middle, however if I can recall, most of the openings are downward facing so that rain and water won't drain into the arch tubes. I also put some duck tape over the openings to keep the openings covered. As much rain as we get in the PNW, it hasn't been a problem.

One more thing. Since you have a 2004 CD22, your roof is probably similar to mine, which is cored. There are other owners who say that their roof is not cored or at least part of the roof is not cored. I guess you'll find out after you drill the hole. :wink

I hope this helps.

Peter

Below is a pic of the radar arch project. There's a bigger pic in my album.
Boat_Mods_006.highlight.jpg
 
Peter & Matt --

Thanks for the answers. That gives me what I need to think about how I am goimg to install the arch and how I will run the wiring. Always good to think of this stuff first because by the time you are ready to actually do the work, you have worked the bugs and kinks out of the installation. Thanks again.

Jim
 
Got the arch mounted with only minor mishaps. The original bolts I bought were too long for the acron nuts I wanted to use, so I had to make another quick run to the hardware store. I used fast cure Sikaflex for bedding. I put down masking tape around the base mounts to catch the bedding that oozed out to make cleanup easier. The rest went easy. My roof is cored, and the entire thickness is right about 1/2"

Now I'm ready for the radome, antenna mount, GPS puck extension... I love boat jewelry.
 
I have always filled the holes on the underside of the tubes, where the wires go into the SS tubing, with silicone seal. I also make sure that any wire which is going into the tube goes below the tube, to make a drip loop, and not allow the water to wick along the several bundles of wires.
 
Quick question, the snow is finally starting to melt up here so I am getting ready to do a bunch of installs and wanted to know what type of hole saw is best to cut through fiberglass...even as specific as a brand if you could. I've been told bi-metal is fine but the teeth look like they would eat up the surrounding fiberglass even with tape down. Thanks.

Byron
 
I just cut about a 2" hole in the TC255 cabin top for Radar cables with a bi-metal saw. Very clean. In order to fill with epoxy, I just drilled until the pilot drill came through the top but not the bigger hole saw part. Then cleaned the balsa out with an allen wrench chucked in a slow speed drill and, after taping the pilot hole (1/4") inside the cabin, filled with thickened West System Epoxy. It dried overnight just fine. I then drilled the size hole I wanted (about 1 1/2") up from the bottom using the pilot hole as a guide. Worked great...

Charlie
 
Charlie it looks awesome, I had the same type of mount fabricated for our GoLite to minimize holes through the cabin roof. Thank you for the tip...off to Home Depot I go.

Byron
 
Does anyone know where I should start looking for a radar arch for '84 C-Dory? There's a guy in town that'll make one for me, but I'm getting to the point where I'm more interested in buying something and bolting it on. Shipping charges might change my mind but I'd like to explore my options.

Thanks,

Tom Herrick
 
Tom, howdy, long time no see...lol....
here is some info for you
I bought my arch from Bolton Stainless.
phone # is 250/545-6226
they are up in Canada on the Eastern side of the mountains of British Columbia
 
Roger,

Well, I did say I prefer to buy and "bolt on" nowadays didn't I. Couldn't have found a better supplier. I'll call Bolton Stainless tomorrow.

Thanks,

T
 
Captains Cat":6osa1s4h said:
I just cut about a 2" hole in the TC255 cabin top for Radar cables with a bi-metal saw. Very clean. In order to fill with epoxy, I just drilled until the pilot drill came through the top but not the bigger hole saw part. Then cleaned the balsa out with an allen wrench chucked in a slow speed drill and, after taping the pilot hole (1/4") inside the cabin, filled with thickened West System Epoxy. It dried overnight just fine. I then drilled the size hole I wanted (about 1 1/2") up from the bottom using the pilot hole as a guide. Worked great...

Charlie
Click to expand...

I need to do a similar thing...will be my first time drilling in hull/roof.

This post gave me some good ideas. But, why fill with epoxy before cutting the larger hole?

Also, about how far in did you cut with the Allen wrench (e.g., the long side inserted into the chuck, or the short side inserted)?

Thanks!
 
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