Hit some rough weather in the Gulf Friday and broke loose the starboard side arch. Found the wood stringer rotted and bolts pulled out. I am planning to replace with square aluminum tubing and re bolting. Does anybody have any better suggestions for a permanent repair? Forgot to mention, this is a 1989 3888 :sorrow: thanks
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Here is what we did for our arch on our 4550. Same arch will fit your boat:
~~1987 Bayliner 4550 Pilothouse & 17' Boston Whaler Dauntless~~ -
Same thing happened to me last year, I had to redo the arch, basically cut some new pieces of wood, glassed them in, drilled holes and bolted her back on. Also installed some LED lights at the top and some new wiring for the speakers along with putting all new starboard panels. I would assume your arch will be a lot heavier then mine, so becareful when removing it. I dont know how you would secure the aluminum pieces onto the arch.
My boat is a 1989 like yours, I figured if the terrible quality wood "looked like cedar what was left of it" they built it with back in 1989 held up 20+ years, then IMHO the oak I installed should hold up for 30+
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We installed the Atlantic Towers arch in 2009.
This is the right way to go. Pay extra to get the hinged versions like Woodsong did. You will reduce your air draft to 14.5' and you will also be able to haul or get inside storage for the boat with much less hassle.
Seawise you are correct about the wood that was used in the arches. On our boat the wooden frames for the arch were made of yellow cedar. Yellow cedar has always been one of my favourite wood because of it special smell. This BC born boater still misses the smell of yellow cedar, especially near Sunbury Cedar mill on the Fraser river just under the Alex Fraser bridge. Yellow cedar is great for totem poles and canoes but not strong enough for arches.
The attached photo shows what the arch looks like on our 3818
Call me at 202 378 4868 or 416 570-4947 between the 12th and the 17th of July if you want more info. I can give you exact dimensions of where to locate the mounting hardware. Pay close attention to our bimini. It is attached to the arch and can be easily retracted and folded back against the arch if you want full sun on the bridge.
Ken Jennings on our TARDIS; presently tied up at Bennett Brothers Yachts in Wilmington North Carolina
Attached files [img]/media/kunena/attachments/vb/702270=29503-Best broadside.jpg[/img]
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