Boat radar arch design...

[zurk]

I drew a rough sketch of what i wanted in a radar tower as shown.
Any comments - good/bad/negative/positive/ideas welcomed.
Looking to fit a Halo 20+ radar, 2 collapsible crab traps, 4 fishing rods and one searchlight. i might put a upside down mounted FLIR on it as well and CCTV camera for the rear as well, which will likely be below the searchlight mount and/or LED light bar if i need to.
i already have a place for the VHF antenna so not looking to put that on.
View media item 701

 

[donnie d]

Is this on a KF 2025? I’m no expert but my only comment would be not wanting to reduce the dance floor from overhead with mesh net extension off the tower.

I have a 2025 and if money was no issue I’d be shopping with Who Dat towers as they build some beautiful towers with everything you need.

 

[bryce]

I’d go flush with soft top along sides

 

[zurk]

this is a kingfisher 1825. wanted to actual reduce the open to the sky area from the boat so i didnt want to go along the canvas soft top.reason for that is we find the open area more of a pain than any use. we do crabbing more than fishing so a large open fishdeck is not much use and the arch might allow us to extend the soft top further back towards the outboard side so we can use it more in the rain. The soft top is up 100% of the time anyway to avoid either sun or rain.
i am going with riptide marine since they (or at least their parent corp - express custom mfg) built my custom cargo trailer which turned out excellent.
View media item 702

 

[Oly1]

I would consider bringing your rear support forward, on the same angle as the front one. When all welded up it will be plenty strong, and it will be easier getting into the boat from the sides. You can still have all the other things you want on there with a smaller footprint mounted to the boat.

Oly

 

[ericl]

All that weight up high will have a negative affect on stability - it may be nothing to worry about but a check with the boat mfgr is in order. Most arches have horizontal braces between the forward/aft vertical sections on each side.

 

[zurk]

yep i will let them do what they want with front/rear supports moved forward/backward etc.
the arch will be 60-75 lbs with around 35 lbs of equipment on top. will check with KF anyways but i think it should be ok ? there are other KFs running around with arches.
e.g.

 

[Brent Doornenbal]

I went through the same thought process on the same boat and was advised to not put any flat storage up top. This was not due to weight but for wind drag. Also as mentioned above anything that comes out much past the curtain would limit the fishing significantly. So my feedback would be if your set on storage have it out the front so you would access it from the nose or remove it completely. I have also attached pics of the plates I had build (top and bottom) to install my arch on top of.

I have attached the pics of mine on a 2025 KF and I have even wished I moved mine forward another few inches to minimize rod issues while landing fish.

And my arch is a FISH On arch, my choice was based on value alone. The Fish-on arch was about 50% cheaper than a custom.

 

[zurk]

how much did you pay for your fish on ? it looks like $1200usd which is $1600cad + taxes + cost of mounting plates etc ?
im getting it for $2500 cad with powder coating and custom build which is $600-700 more than yours i guess.
its folding crab traps so i dont think they will have significant wind drag. cross sectional maybe 2ft by 2 inches high ?

 

[Brent Doornenbal]

how much did you pay for your fish on ? it looks like $1200usd which is $1600cad + taxes + cost of mounting plates etc ?
im getting it for $2500 cad with powder coating and custom build which is $600-700 more than yours i guess.
its folding crab traps so i dont think they will have significant wind drag. cross sectional maybe 2ft by 2 inches high ?

Most builders also will charge extra 400-500 for removable feet which was included with the fish on. I’m just providing my findings, your price seems pretty good, the cheapest quote I could get was 3000 in Canada for a custom arch, and another 500 if I wanted the arch to come off easy.

I agree on your thought process about the traps, I was talked out of it by the guys at whodAt towers.

 

[Salmonhunter71]

Just another thought.

Roddog in Anacortes builds a very nice arch, and his prices are really competitive.

Mine was around $1,650.00 US.
Came with L and R light mounts, radar mount, forward facing grab bars, 8 upper rod holders, 2 lower rod holders, and 2 net holders facing forward.
He adds $200.00 to install the arch, I installed mine.
Fitted for a 21' Northriver offshore.