Solar Arch - what material

[nfbr]

I want to install a LARGE solar arch to hold ~2KW of solar on a catamaran

Approx 2m x 5M

I'm debating material choice

• Custom Fibreglass & Foam
• Fibreglass Pre-Fab Tube / Pipe ~4"
• Stainless Pipe (marine style - ~1-1.5")
• Stainless 316 Exhaust Pipe ~3-4"
• Aluminium Tube Painted

Most boats seem to go common stainless tube, and some go custom fibreglass arches.

Panels attachment not yet decided.

Opinions / ideas please?

Thanks
Paul

[chrisr]

our arch is stainless steel tube...abt 40mm dia. not as neat as some of the fiberglass arches but i'm sure if was cheaper...and it has the (for me) major advantage that it's relatively easy to modify

we wish to add to our panels and it's going to be fairly simple to weld on another piece. not possible with other construction

nb : would not go aluminium if you plan to have the dink hanging off it

cheers,

[RickG]

Our buddy put an aluminum arch from Atlantic Towers on his Lipari 41. Another benefit is that it gets the dinghy up higher.

Cheers, RickG

[Andreas W]

Stainless (316 or 316L) tube 40 - 50 mm should do the job.

[Stevens 47]

I built an arch with davits out of carbon and foam weight came in at 40lbs not including the panels, material cost was around $1500. My labor hours to construct and paint was around 50 hours. One of the pics shows a mockup of how I stabilized the foam to construct the arch.

[Stevens 47]

Missed attaching pictures.

[tkeithlu]

Hmmm. Two contrasting posts, one saying don't use aluminum if you want to hang the dinghy, the other saying it facilitates doing so.

Either is a quite reasonable construction material. The tube diameters and wall thicknesses to achieve the same strength are going to be different, given that stainless steel has about twice the tensile strength of aluminum. That does not mean that the dimensions of tubing have to be doubled. Aluminum costs more, and both take some skill to weld. Aluminum is easier to bend, and then, bends more easily.

You could use either one. Which would you rather work with?

[flyingfin]

Powder coated marine aluminum - just like the ones that put on center console fishing boats. If they can withstand running offshore at 50mph, they can hang onto your sailboat.
Lots of shops in Florida & Carolinas that can fabricate one for you

[barnakiel]

Depends on what is available locally. If there is a good garage, they can make you an awesome anodized alloy arch (look at anodized rigs on sport tuna trawlers ...).


SS can be had anywehere these days.


Good lamination in glass or carbon is not easy to get, unless close to a good boatbuilder / production boatyard. etc.


I would place anodized alloy job tops - light, stiff, pretty and strong.



b.

[warrior 90]

Originally Posted by Stevens 47

I built an arch with davits out of carbon and foam weight came in at 40lbs not including the panels, material cost was around $1500. My labor hours to construct and paint was around 50 hours. One of the pics shows a mockup of how I stabilized the foam to construct the arch.

Nice design. Guess that saves a lot of weight. Is it all one laminate or did You preconstruct the stringers and after that laminate all the parts together ?
How did You attach the arch to the boat. Please, could You show some more details ?

[jas]

Here's our new arch with swim platform and ladder up. S/S316L in various diameters. Arch was of 2" and some of platform 2 1/2" with 1" for ladder.

[j.g.evans]

I had a custom arch made for me by Atlantic Towers. It may have been the first arch they made for a mono-hull sailboat. They said to not make it from stainless steel because it will be too heavy. They made it from aluminum. I had it made high so it was easy to board the boat from aft. There were 2 tubes going aft with blocks on the ends to hoist the dinghy. I hoisted it low at anchor and to see over for the Inter Coastal Waterway and high for off shore. It supported 4 solar panels, but since you are wider you can have more. I had a sail slot tube attached to the front and a zipper added to my Bimini. This allowed for a panel of sunbrella. This provided a lot of sun and rain protection back to the aft end of the solar panels. The cost was about $6K ten years ago. It was a good investment for cruising pleasure.

[Stevens 47]

Originally Posted by warrior 90

Nice design. Guess that saves a lot of weight. Is it all one laminate or did You preconstruct the stringers and after that laminate all the parts together ?
How did You attach the arch to the boat. Please, could You show some more details ?

Made the foam sections with the carbon inside stringers out of 1" foam glued them together on the boat with a large gust in the corners to take the radius. removed to the shop, then shaped the corners and routed the edges and the slot for conduit for cables. Laid up the to arch sections and premade the connecting pieces. Bolted the arch sections to the boat then taped the connecting pieces. Removed the glued together arch then faired and painted. Then installed

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by nfbr

I want to install a LARGE solar arch to hold ~2KW of solar on a catamaran

Approx 2m x 5M

I'm debating material choice

• Custom Fibreglass & Foam
• Fibreglass Pre-Fab Tube / Pipe ~4"
• Stainless Pipe (marine style - ~1-1.5")
• Stainless 316 Exhaust Pipe ~3-4"
• Aluminium Tube Painted

Most boats seem to go common stainless tube, and some go custom fibreglass arches.

Panels attachment not yet decided.

Opinions / ideas please?

Thanks
Paul

Seems like the Tasman 40's have a fairly large hard bimini which ordinarily is perfect for mounting solar panels. Maybe you just need to upgrade the panels that are there (assuming you have any) A lot of people seem to still be buying 100 watt panels where they could have three times that capacity with the same real estate. I'd opt for whatever will hold your dinghy and be as light as possible (aluminum).

[chowdan]

Originally Posted by Stevens 47

Made the foam sections with the carbon inside stringers out of 1" foam glued them together on the boat with a large gust in the corners to take the radius. removed to the shop, then shaped the corners and routed the edges and the slot for conduit for cables. Laid up the to arch sections and premade the connecting pieces. Bolted the arch sections to the boat then taped the connecting pieces. Removed the glued together arch then faired and painted. Then installed

Have any more photos to share of the building and installation?