Folding Radar Arch. Questions?

[rabird]

Hi everyone, I have a 2001 300se. The radar arch has hinges on the back side, so one would thing that the arch folds down. We have a lake with a bridge that I can't get under so I would love to be able to fold the arch down. I have looked and looked and can not for the life of me figure out how to fold the arch down. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Seamonkies]

Re: Folding Radar Arch. Questions?

Hi everyone, I have a 2001 300se. The radar arch has hinges on the back side, so one would thing that the arch folds down. We have a lake with a bridge that I can't get under so I would love to be able to fold the arch down. I have looked and looked and can not for the life of me figure out how to fold the arch down. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Not sure about your boat, but mine has a bolt under the "decorative" stainless bolt/cover where it would make sense to bolt the arch down. You have to remove the "decorative" stainless bolt/cover and the bolt that actually hold down the arch is in the hole. Mine is a 9/16th hex bolt, I believe. I've taken mine down a few times. That thing is extremely heavy, I'll warn you. Be carefull not to strip/cross thread the bolt when you re-install it, too. Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[TeamPCBeach]

Re: Folding Radar Arch. Questions?

We have a 1999 300SE and I looked at it yesterday when we were out. I think it is the same as Seamonkies. It is not something designed to be done regularly so you have to remove the decorative cover to get to the fold down hardware. Not sure about all Dorals, but ours has a bead of sealant around the cover.

 

[rabird]

Re: Folding Radar Arch. Questions?

Thanks for your replies. I fugured it would be nothing simple. We will leave the arch alone. Thought if it was simple to fold down we would give it a try. No need to fold down to transport. Just had a bridge that we would like to get under once in a while. Will just stay on our side of the lake.

Thanks again!

 

[Jlee815]

Re: Folding Radar Arch. Questions?

I don't own your model boat but I think you made a good decision to leave that thing alone. I know the water on the other side of the bridge always looks better but I based my recommendation on this topic below from another Doral owner. I know you are on a lake and not out in the Atlantic but still.... I would reserve bringing it down for when it is really needed. The other part of my brain says: Doral usually is of very good quality why would this hinged arch be different? I can reasonably assume Stripping any part of the hinged assembly would cost $$$$ in my humble opinion... BTW I asked the guy in this post below for pics in February but I never got a response.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=325256

 

[Seamonkies]

Re: Folding Radar Arch. Questions?

This arch is a slight problem for me, I've noticed. Even though I have it tightened down good, the darn hinge (opposite end of where the bolt is located) is starting to strip out of the fiberglass and the arch actually bounces up and down when traveling through rough water. It really makes me nervous, needless to say. I'm not sure how to fix this myself, and I'm sure it's expensive to get a professional to fix it, but I've got to address this problem this summer. Not sure if any of you have had this issue, too... but, if you have, what have you done to fix it?

 

[Emancipation]

Re: Folding Radar Arch. Questions?

My wife and I take our arch down nearly every weekend, it's the only way to fit it under our carport. You simply unscrew the decorative bolts 3/4 of the way then wiggle them out of the hole. They are threaded through a black rubber ball that expands to hold them in place when tightened...be very careful not to drop them in the water. Once you've removed them both, one person will stand on the dash and keep upward pressure on the arch while another unscrews the bolts. The bolts are long and the arch is heavy, prepare yourself for a strain. I bought a 3/8" speedhandle and deep socket to speed up the operation because my wife is the one holding the arch...love a strong woman. I own a 2001 250 SE, so your arch will be a little heavier, probably close to 100lbs.

For long term storage, if it applies, I recommend fabricating a support to hold the arch slightly up from it's lowest position to prevent damaging the bimini zipper, if applicable.

 

[Halifax Shipfaced]

Re: Folding Radar Arch. Questions?

We drop the arch down every time we tow the boat. Yes, the arch can be heavy and getting the 2 bolts in without dropping ratchet or cross threading while the other person holds the weight is stressful, but still simple.
Seamonkey, If the hinge is letting go dont use the boat till fixed as the weight will cause more damage ripping out or falling on Capt. or passenger There is a lot of leverage weight working here.
Myself,
I would love to add the hardware to electrically drop the arch but dont know if its a costly part or feasible after production you may want to look into.

 

[Seamonkies]

Re: Folding Radar Arch. Questions?

We drop the arch down every time we tow the boat. Yes, the arch can be heavy and getting the 2 bolts in without dropping ratchet or cross threading while the other person holds the weight is stressful, but still simple.
Seamonkey, If the hinge is letting go dont use the boat till fixed as the weight will cause more damage ripping out or falling on Capt. or passenger There is a lot of leverage weight working here.
Myself,
I would love to add the hardware to electrically drop the arch but dont know if its a costly part or feasible after production you may want to look into.

yea, I really need to get that fixed. Believe it or not, I actually lose sleep over small stuff like that on my boat. An electronic drop-down would be awesome, but expensive, I'm sure. I'll take it to a dude who fixes all my "dings" and see if he can't fix that hinge issue. That damn thing is heavy, that's for sure.

 

[BSAFlash]

Re: Folding Radar Arch. Questions?

G'Day Seamonkies,

While your man is repairing the hinge on your arch check the wiring in the arch. I kept blowing the rear of the 360 light and and 1 of my cockpit lights, when pull apart I discovered some less than professional wiring to the running to the top.
Apart from a hairline crack that was repaired under warranty, I haven't had any issues with my arch and it's seen 5 metre seas a few times too many...

 

[Seamonkies]

Re: Folding Radar Arch. Questions?

G'Day Seamonkies,

While your man is repairing the hinge on your arch check the wiring in the arch. I kept blowing the rear of the 360 light and and 1 of my cockpit lights, when pull apart I discovered some less than professional wiring to the running to the top.
Apart from a hairline crack that was repaired under warranty, I haven't had any issues with my arch and it's seen 5 metre seas a few times too many...

BSAFlash, outstanding advice. I'll get him to take a look at that wiring. 5 meter seas, eh? Where the hell were you headed, Hawaii? We use "feet" instead of meters here in the good ol' USA, but I know a meter is longer than a foot, so that's some good sized waves you were engaged with!

 

[BSAFlash]

Re: Folding Radar Arch. Questions?

Where the hell were you headed, Hawaii?
I try to do a run from Sydney Harbour up to Broken Bay every year, Broken Bay is surrounded by National Park and quite well protected.
It is the return trip that has caught me out a couple of times, if not for work I would have turned around and headed back into paradise until it settled.
By the way, the Doral handled these conditions quite well when on the bow. Not sure I'd like to do the same with a following sea though.

 

[RonCrossman]

Re: Folding Radar Arch. Questions?

I had the same problem. EASY Fix after you here it. There are Bolts at thend of the Radar Arch. Remove the Bolt and then remove the Rubber Plug under the Bolts and you'll find Two more Bolts. These bolts just get loosened and don't come out but when loosened the Arch will easily come down. Be sure to support the Arch while loosening these second bolts or the Arch could fall too fast and you may get hurt or damage the boat. I have a pole I support the Arch with then I loosen the second bolts and then Lower the Arch after removing the pole. The Arch is not very heavy at all and moves easily. Good luck. Ron Crossman

Hi everyone, I have a 2001 300se. The radar arch has hinges on the back side, so one would thing that the arch folds down. We have a lake with a bridge that I can't get under so I would love to be able to fold the arch down. I have looked and looked and can not for the life of me figure out how to fold the arch down. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks