What's on your Arch or Stern?

[Siberian Sea]

Guess I’m guilty of an over cluttered stern. Have Monitor wind vane, wind turbine, dinghy engine hanging on bracket, BBQ, solar on top of Bimini , 3 gps antenna, one Satellite radio antenna, two commercial tuna reels, propane tank. Not the sleekest back deck setup for sure.

[michaelratinter]

Center cockpit ketch has an aft fishing cockpit with hydrovane steering, mizzen sheet block, and fish cleaning table (until it was removed by a big wave).

There is a DA400 wind generator near the top of the mizzen and soon an antenna tuner will be mounted there to drive an SSB antenna on the triatic stay.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by Wander4Wonder

Neophyte here but on a lot of boats I see there is more electronics and clutter on arches or sterns than an Aircraft carrier antenna array.

Curious what people have equipped and how they manage the various tradeoffs in space, management, cost, comfort, and safety.

For instance, given "most" boats seem to have Mast mounted radars (though I see those on arches or stern posts too) and often solar panels are on arches most often. What else do people prioritize for those? (AIS, Irdium, Cell/wifi boosters, satellite, wind vanes, SSB antennas, etc). Obviously it makes a huge deal depending on if you are a offshore vs coastal vs marina cocktail barge/floating mobile home) but I'm curious as to opinions and thought process out there.

This article discusses its a bit and he brings up some good points but given the ubiquity of solar these days and the technical options available for safety and convenience what are your thoughts/experiences? How do you keep clutter to a minimum on the arch (and the stern overall) to include windvanes and water generators.

https://www.morganscloud.com/2011/02...ks-for-action/

I have a s.s arch with 2x140W solar panels plus a Skymate Satellite Communicator antenna between them. Also 2x140W solar panels above the dodger and a Monitor windvane on the stern.

Don't see a need for putting GPS antenna back there as they (3) all work great in the cabin.

[ItDepends]

A light weight AL arch with two solar panels. Nothing else, except occasionally some fishing gear when we are underway.

So many boats have a ton (sometimes almost literally!) of crap on the stern. I have seen boats down on their lines by 4 inches at the stern. That just kills the handling and performance, not to mention the balance and comfort in a chop. It's extra windage. And it is DAMN ugly.

We promised ourselves that would would never have the kind of crap-piled decks that caused everybody who looked at the boat to say, "Cruisers!"

[Don C L]

I have an arch built by the previous owner to hold the mainsheet blocks up off the deck so I have clearer access to the stern (for the outboard in my case.) it works well for that, and I have an extra VHF antenna mounted there, but I am surprised how handy the arch comes in for things, not the least of which is something to hold or grab if you are moving around the stern. I probably never would have thought to add it, but I am glad I have it now.

[Cliffhanger]

The single most important thing IMHO is a spare VHF antenna mounted on the arch. The main antenna is at the top of the mast of course. But if you lose the mast over the side, then you also lose vital communication just when you might need it the most. The arch-mounted antenna is also used for AIS but can be swapped to the radio easily. The only other things on the arch are solar panels and a small (backup) GPS antenna.

[MicHughV]

I keep two dinks on the arch, 10 solar panels, 15 antenna's of various description, all the boat's fenders, various anchors and rode, several fishing rods, fish cleaning station, hang my clothes to dry there, horseshoe man overboard gear, strobe lights, gaff, several buckets tied to the side.

Hmmm...did I miss anything...probably....

[Discovery 15797]

IMHO, unless you are a dock queen, and unless your solar panels sit higher than your mast...you're going to get shadows, and less than optimum performance from solar, esp. if they are mounted flat. With that in mind, I don't worry too much about shadows and compensate by installing additional panels.

On my Targa I have 2 150 watt panels. A radar antenna, a Superwind 350 wind generator, an AIS VHF antenna, an AIS GPS antenna, an Iridium Go antenna, davits, an EPIRB, and my stern light.

Along with four 80w panels mounted on my hard bimini, and two 40 w panels mounted on hard dodger I have no problem with energy shortage at sea.

The purpose of the targa is to uncluttered the rails and deck...use it for it's intended purpose. One other note...I see a lot of targa's that extend way way past the stern. In most cases this is inevitable, but many marinas charge by LOA which includes any extension past the stern of the boat.

[JohnHolland]

Have 2 X 250W panels, wind gen, radar, OB motor crane, davits on taffrail, lift up Aries on stern

[wingssail]

We have no arch.

Because we value good sailing performance (as well as good looks) we've kept clutter and structures above deck to a minimum. The arch, as convenient as it is, is heavy and makes the boat heavy in the stern, top heavy, and adds windage, (also ruins the looks). It is also hard to make it strong enough to withstand extreme motions in a seaway in heavy weather; the loads on the structure of 500lbs stuck 6 feet in the air are immense. Weight in the ends of the boat are the worst because it adds to hobby horsing.

What about all the "stuff" you want to take with you?

Our dingy is fully inflatable, (no hard bottom) which isn't the best type of boat but it can be deflated and rolled up and stuck below. On short passages we lie it on the foredeck upside down. At sea it is off the deck. The motor is also stored below and a bracket. We move both the dingy and the motor with halyards. it is much easier and faster than davits on the stern. Every night at anchor the dingy is hoisted on a spin halyard, it takes about 1.5 minutes to hook it up and hoist it.

Our solar panels are mounted on the stern railings. They are aft of the boom and get good sunlight on most days.

Our GPS antennas and BBQ are also on the stern railing.

The fenders are are also below, not dangling off the stern railing.

We carry no jerry cans of fuel and water.

Actually, nothing is on deck except our dodger and ourselves.

We'd like the convenience of more solar and more space to put things, but for us this is about sailing, not carrying everything we can think of on our boat. We've focused on good sailing, safety in heavy weather, and efficiency, and compromised on the supposedly convenience side of things.


This has worked for us for several decades.

In this photo the awning can be seen on the side deck by the dodger. It is also normally below deck on passages. Same for the BBQ. There are many more things we've done (or not done) which make our boat easier to sail and safer, but at a cost of convenience. We prefer it that way than to be part of the Beverly Hillbilly clan with everything but Granny piled on top.

[goboatingnow]

2x solar , NAVTEX , gps ( backup ) , Wi-Fi repeater , about to add GSM antenna . Looking to install my sat compass ( two gos antennas there as well in the autumn )

[Rumrace]

I am working on my 3D printers to come up with a don’t burn the canvas system to hold my panels on the Bimini.
It’s just a two piece screw on clamp which retains a nut. Then I have two 3 meter bands of stainless with a slight curve 40mm above my canvas. Previous tie wrapped to the canvas. Still burning brain cells to make it easy to zip on side curtains. So far so good though. I use flexible panels and watched them wobble a bit in yesterday’s wind gusts. It keeps the weight down to min. In a regatta I stayed ahead of the pack all with tons of stuff. One had a Dinghy and bike rack which was cool but never catch me. I think I bought the boat cause it look sleek and aggressive. Don’t want to mess that up

[Orion Jim]

I can easily adjust the windvane from this open-air head.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Orion Jim

I can easily adjust the windvane from this open-air head.

There’s my next boat project sorted.

[hpeer]

Poop Deck?