My homemade radar arch

1 5/8 aluminum tubing 32 feet total - 50.00
Had local muffler shop make the bends, 4 total - 10.00
Stainless bolts to mount to roof of boat - 10.00
Total: 70.00


All the cutting of the parts were done with my chopsaw and the welding was done using my lincoln mig welder. Very easy to make. Hardest part is the measuring. If someone can't weld, the whole thing could be bolted together.
I would avoid that as it would just rattle after a while.
 
Thanks for the compliments. Especially from Tyboo. If I could get a few people to make some orders I would think about making a batch of them and selling them at a fair price. Only catch is you have to live in Alaska so they could be picked up or delivered. Everyone can take a look at it in person at the Naked gathering on the 4th.
 
and they shoulda to :? bein' I went through the boarder and i can not tell a lie :D I didn't get to bring Bertha the 45/70 :| bummer, and glad I didn't need it. Saw plenty of fuzzys but their all too busy munchin on grass to notice my skinny butt :moon

FYI: I'm doin them big-tube racks for 500 flat. I think that's plenty :disgust

I lied though; (rack won't be done this week :smileo ) I can't stands it any longer (stayin in town with a knock-out forecast and weather for the sound) I'm goin fishin for a few days tomorrow :smilep :love

TTFN.... :bat
 
I have a friend that is going to fabricate a Radar Arch for me. Stainless is my preference but he doesn't want me to rule out anodized aluminum.

He has the ability to chrome and or powder finish as well?
 
I think the show stopper is cost. The real question is it worth the cost to go with stainless. It also must be harder to work with. Thanks for your insight.

I am believer in pay me now rather than pay me later.

Tough call.
 
The other thing is what Stainless is it? Get the wrong stuff and you are no better than gavanized steel. I would just go with a good marine grade of aluminum. Polish it up and put Sharkhide on it and it'll look great for years!
 
Very good points Dan, and thanks for the correction! I'm in no way experienced enough with the different metals to know what to use. I just know what has happened to some "Stainless" pliers I purchased for use on the boat when fishing. After 2 months use they were worse than my nicely chromed non stainless pliers I had been using for years.
 
Yeah Danners :shock: good post :!: but are ya sure. I ask cuz I still have a couple weeks before I decide for my customers which material is "best". All my aluminum and stainless has held up excellent, and it's all "non-marine grade" to :!: course I don't keep baby in harbor, and don't let it sit collect rain and dust neither :shock:
That "food-grade" stainless I used for all my "Alaska Size Railings" has been almost as good as the stock stainless bow-railing, for lookin good over the years. Don't know about you, but I sort of prefer the 'hideous' (non-polished brushed surface) of the cheap 'food-grade' hand rails on old RedFox :shock: Then again; it matches her better than all that fancy polished stuff :wink hey it don't have that awful glare that the bow railing has in the sun :idea

My "vision" for putting any kind of weight-bearing rack, whether it be just a "radar-arch" or a carrier, is going to be anchored-into the cabin walls :shock: :!: :!: (tubes inserted through the thin cabin roof and into the cabin walls itself) I got that idea steamin' from imagining how easy that cabin-top will come peelin'off if ya ever hit anything... or if anything ever hits you :idea

Huh.... come on :o :o Sides, I think it will look better that way to :) just wait till I get to it :xtongue I'll show yas :x

OK.. I'm out. goin-fishin for a few days. Radio silence and invisible RedFox out... poof :bat
 
Greg,
I shouldn't have used that term "marine grade". If your using stuff made for food processing it is probably same stuff which is most likely 316ss. Food industry needs the same thing as boats, NO RUST. Also I assumed most folks like stuff shiny which ain't so neither.

For aluminum, anodized is better but not necessary. Like you said if the boat doesn't live in a slip and gets babied the way mine does, bare aluminum works fine. If you saw my pics of the brackets I used for my fuel tank cover boards it is just plain old 60xx aluminum bought at the Home Depot. That's why I said we all have to do our own cost/benefit analysis to figure out where we spend our bucks.

Gary,
In addition to rusty "stainless" pliers, have you ever had a stainless steel knife blade that didn't rust if you left it dirty? Reason being is that the most rust resistant stainless are the 300 series, most commonly 316. Problem is that it is pretty soft so not so good for plier jaws, knife blades, etc. Makes a pretty knife but won't hold an edge. So 400 series stainless is usually used for tools. So what makes stainless stainless? 316 stainless is (nominally) 16% chromium, 12% nickel, and the rest regular steel stuff. 403 (which is pretty common) is 12% chromium and no nickel. The nickel is what keeps the 316 from rusting but also makes it soft. 403 is still pretty rust resistant (not rust proof) and way harder.

It's all good as long as you know what you're getting and what its limitations are.
 
Well this is an old thread, but credit to me for searching before posting, but I'm looking for a radar arch, AND I live in Alaska. The question now, almost ten years later, is can I still get one of these made for me?

I'm guessing materials have gone up some since 2005.

So, Catdogcat, you ready to fab?
 
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