New Brat needs some ideas (or help) with roof configuration

S

siddfynch

New member
So I posted last August after finally joining the herd, and said at the time that the boat was a little ugly compared to the rest of the jewels here, and would thus remain invisible as I worked on it.

Well, the time has come to share some pics, and the XerxSeas now has a photo album (available at my profile).

Some things done since I first posted: rewired the thing, put Cetol on outside bulkhead, refinished the teak railings, and have started - but by no means finished - filling the many, many screw holes that came with the boat.

Now my next project is to find a way to carry a dinghy on the roof. Biggest problem is my radar dome, which is mounted on a pedestal (see pic in album) in the center of the roof. I can't spring for a radar arch. Given this, what are my options for having both a crossbar rack (for the dinghy) and a functional radar dome that won't get in the way of the dinghy? I've looked thru the topics and can't find a single thread tackling exactly this, except with arches.

Can I mount the radar flush on the roof and place the dinghy over it (upside down)?

Can I get some kind of skinny pedestal/tower that stands off to the side, mounted on my roof?

Can I put the dinghy/kayak rack up OVER the radar pedestal (and, if so, what have people used for such a rack)?

Seems like pretty basic stuff, but I'm a little stumped.

Here's a pic of the rooftop, with the annoying radar pedestal in the center of the roof. Note that the roof on the '83 classic is only ~ 6 ft long and I want a 8'6" dinghy, so simply moving the radar pedestal forward will not help.

Any suggestions would be much welcomed.
 
She's shaping up to be a fine vessel! We love to see the classic anchors of the C-Dory line.

How long is your roof? My suggestion is to move the radar platform forward and tie a small inflatable dinghy (i.e. 6' dinghy) behind it. If it overhangs a bit that is OK.

I use the Mercury 6'6" inflatable on Napoleon in this way and it fits perfectly between my all around light and the radar mount.

Good luck.
 
There has been some discussion on the site about putting a dinghy directly over the radar antenna. The issue is attenuation. As I recall the general conclusion was that an inflatable would not have much effect. Sorry I don't know just how to find that thread. You might look in the site library (go to "forums" and scroll down.) probably under electronics. I too would think of moving the antenna forward if the cabling permits.
 
That roof definitely looks like it needs some TLC. Probably the easiest is to move the radome forward, mount it either flush or on a short radar mount, lose the rodholders and store the dinghy upside down over the radome.

Your cabling should allow the move forward unless the previous owner took some strange wiring route. Radar attenuation is virtually nil considering the height above the water and the practical range of that Furuno on a C-22. The Jenny B had that same radome for the first year and was mounted in the same place the Raymarine is now. I switched from a vertical post mount to the slightly tilted mount first because I liked the rakish look and second because in theory with the bow up attitude most C-22's have, the tilt down puts the main lobe closer to level. In practice, I never noticed a difference....

If you explore the photo albums you'll find a number of Brats with dinghies inverted over their radome. Good spot.

Don
 
colobear":1un4hjl0 said:
There has been some discussion on the site about putting a dinghy directly over the radar antenna. The issue is attenuation. As I recall the general conclusion was that an inflatable would not have much effect. Sorry I don't know just how to find that thread. You might look in the site library (go to "forums" and scroll down.) probably under electronics. I too would think of moving the antenna forward if the cabling permits.
Click to expand...

L@@K HERE

Warren
 
Good comments. I'd actually looked for a couple hrs at different setups, first searching for the topic, then sorting by all C-Dories of my vintage/size that had photo albums. I still haven't found what I'm exactly looking for, which is a shot of a dinghy mounted on crossbars, with the radar dome either under it, or out to the side. My fear was that this doesn't exist for a reason - it can't be done.

Anyways, some answers:

Matt, my roof is 70 inches long at the longest, tapering to 67 inches about where the teak railings go. I'd like a dinghy about 8' 6" long, so I'm already committed to an overhang of 2 to 2.5 ft.

Others: Thanks for the comments on the radar attentuation.

Is there any reason I can't mount the radar off to the side on a tower, even on something that angles out from the roof? Or does it have to be on the centerline of the boat if I'm just using one?
 
I've put a dinghy upside down over the radome and it works fine. Just get rid of that radar mount and install the radar directly to the cabin top.
 
There is no reason that the radar needs to be on the center line--just parallel with it. This is a case where an arch forward might be a good idea--and the dinghy under the arch.

You can also put the radar to one side, and angle a bracket forward.

Another option is a rack over the cockpit--maybe one "bow"--and then the rest of the dinghy over the roof. I would fill all of the holes, and get those cables under the cabin top. Not sure if you want to keep the "rocket launchers" on the top--but they tend to keep you from putting anything up there.
 
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