MacGregorSailors.com

Using a used piece of surplus 4"x1"x20' aluminum channel I fabricated a new transom arch. Not only did it need the four upper bends, but it needed just a slight bend in at the bottom on each side to match the transom angle perfectly. Once I had it cut, bent, and braced my neighbor welded it up. I then ground down and polished all the welds and exterior. The whole structure is very light weight, much less that stainless tube arch would be. It has a used look as the channel had some pitting and grooves that could not be removed but it has turned out to be very functional if not perfect cosmeticaly. All in all hard to beat for free.

I already had an access panel on the starboard side that I cut in to install my dinghy motor bracket. I added a matching access panel on the port side. The channel is bolted to the transom with three 3/8 bolts per side and has a full aluminum backing plate on the inside of the transom behind the bolts. The plates are cut from the same channel. I mounted it at a slightly raked back angle to match up well with the angle of the aft panel in my enclosure.

The number one purpose of the arch was to serve as a rear mast carrier that would support the mast in the trailering position above my folded back bimini in it's boot. I didn't want to mess with folding the bimini down for mast lowering and trailering. The old mast crutch was poorly designed and it bound up on the mast when rolling it forward and backward. The old one also sagged and required an extra pipe to support it securely and limit the bouncing. I used the same rubber roller that was in the old factory crutch. The new arch is super strong and allows the mast to roll smoothly back and forth.

It also provides great mounting locations for a bunch of stuff. I moved the lifesling and the life ring to it's outside surfaces. I used the stock ring bracket and attached a cross wise piece of 3/4 tube to strap the lifesling velcro to. This gets them both more inboard than where they were on the aft pulpits so they don't hang out past the boat width and hit things. It also let's me leave them in place during trailering.

The arch now also mounts the VHF antenna, the GPS antenna and the LED anchor light. All these are mounted so they fold down to allow the mast to roll above them.

On the inside of the arch the BBQ grill and the bracket to hold our rod holder mount BBQ table are attached. This puts the BBQ area in a great place to use out the back window of our enclosure. You no longer have to step out onto the transom to grill.

The same stainless rod holder that holds the table also mounts our 400' poly shore tie spool. I just pull the table and drop in the poly spool mounted on it's 1-1/2" dowel. With both the table and the spool removed the rod holder makes a nice handle when boarding from the stern. The rod holder itself can be pulled right out of the bracket to clear the way for loading gear.

Off the back of the arch I installed a mini gin pole. It is a simple 3/4" aluminum tube that slips over a protruding 3" bolt. The outer end has eye straps for the top and the bottom that are through bolted. By attaching the main sheet to the bottom of this I can easily lift the dinghy motor off it's bracket and lower it onto the dinghy transom. The gin pole slides off easily and is stored inside the arch channel. The line does not need to be untied.

In the future, more uses of the arch may include solar panels, TV antenna, Radar antenna, and Kayak carrier (when the sailing mast is left home).

Great Job! How much to make me one for my 26

..

Nice arch. What is the distance from the motor deck to the top of the arch minus the roller? Please.

From the motor deck to the top of the arch excluding the vertical aluminum ears welded on to mount the roller is 7' - 2-1/2". The channel is 1" thick so this gives well over 7' of headroom clearance when going in and out the back. The first 45 degree bend is at 5' - 11" up from the motor deck.

What may confuse those looking at the pictures is the height of my Dowsar bimini. It is not a low under the boom bimini like the factory one or those sold by other dealers. From the motor deck the bimini has 6' - 10" headroom under the bows (6' - 4" standing up the step at the helm).

When the bimini is folded back the front bow sits about 2" higher than the back bow. I sized the arch to carry the mast just above this height by a few inches. This lets me unzip the connector from the dodger, flip it back on top of the bimini, then fold the bimini back with the connector captured inside. I then zip the boot over it and I am ready to lower the mast.

Duane,
Which LED stern light fixture did you get or did you simply replace with an LED bulb?. I am discovering that LED fixtures for stern lights come at a steep price. Nice job on that arch. You have done what we talked about 2 years ago.
Jeff.

My LED light on the arch is an all around light used primarily as an anchor light.

You can see it above the roller in this picture. It folds to the side when the mast is lowered onto the roller.



I originally used it as an all around navigation light and anchor light when I went out without any mast. It used to be mounted on my factory 96' mast crutch before I had the arch. This met the powerboat under way lighting requirements in combination with the red and green bow lights. I would cover the stock white light on the transom. Now that I have a short motoring mast to use with a navigation light of it's own, the LED all around on the arch is only used as an anchor light. It has a low current draw and is very bright. It also could be used for underway navigation if the light on the sailing mast or the motoring mast were to fail.

This is the light,
LED All Around Light



On our trip last week at one point we were in Fox Cove on Sucia Island and we had gone to shore to have a fire and make smoores. I had the LED anchor light on as a marker even though we were on a mooring buoy. It was just as bright as the other anchor lights showing on the boats in the cove and because it's an LED, it had a much whiter color which made it easy to pick out and even more visible.