DaleH
FOUNDER of Classic Parker Forum
UPDATE: Tuna Tower Rigging 3 – Installation
If you recall, I bought a tower from Stan from FL and had it shipped up just north of Boston. Much of the install, less controls & steering, is removing the items on the hardtop where the tower will go. This included 2 VHF antennas and the all-around light. But I ran into another problem, as the rear legs of the base wanted to sit right where my brightwork teak handrails do. Drat! Oh well, nothing a saw can’t resolve right :shock: ? For this year, I just cut off the rear handhold loop, but over next Winter, I’ll completely remove the handrail and profile of the ‘new’ rear-most loop to match the one I just cut off.
See Step 1 picture below, after removing all of the roof hardware, I taped off the bottom of the holes with duct tape, then put an extra ‘safety’ layer of blue tape around this, so no epoxy would weep into the cabin interior. This 1st wetting was with thinned epoxy to saturate into the wood core, which when kicked was filled with standard viscosity Raka epoxy. I left a slight dip (due to the meniscus effect) at the top of the hole and the rest will be filled with Formula 27 in case I ever re-gelcoat the rooftop.
From the photo above of my new antenna and All-Round light concept, where these would now be mounted so high, I wanted to put the light off a ratcheting SS mount so it too would fold-down for transport or trespassing under bridges. To attach the mounts to the aluminum tower frame, I didn’t want SS bearing directly upon the aluminum, so I fabricated some plates made from HDPE (the poor man’s version of Starboard) and attached them to the tower using heavy-duty ¼” rivets of 1300# sheer strength. See Step 2 picture below. The picture shows only 2 rivets, but I did add a 3rd one towards the bottom. The moving/whipping moment will be quite a load up there, mounted so high, but if those 3 HD rivets don’t hold … fuggehdaboutit!
See Step 3 picture below. So, how do you attached a light pole to the SS ratchet mount that has the 1”-14tpi (I believe) thread? Well, being the avid DIY scrounger that I am, I once salvaged the lower 3’ off an old VHF antenna someone else threw away. I started loping off the f’glass section until the diameter at the cut made a nice tight fit for my new LED light mast. Then it was simply a matter of epoxying the light mast into the old antenna mount and routing the light wires out the old antenna cable hole. This worked slick
! I will be running the antenna cables and light wiring around the frame, tucked up out of sight, and then INSIDE the left rear downtube leg to enter into the cabin.
Step 4, the actual installation. Now, this tower weighs maybe 60-pounds total, but is ungainly unless you have 1 or 2 others helping you. Being yesterday was Father’s Day, no one else as in or around the boatyard … or else they were already out on the water – haha! (Yes, I know I am … “late” this season). So, what to do, how do I get this tower onto the roof without killing myself :?: ? Again the answer is simple, Roman leverage … meaning think about what the Romans accomplished without mechanical machinery and do likewise. In this case it was surprisingly simple! I lifted the tower with the rear legs up high and hooked the rear cross-wise low bar around the rocket launchers (see antenna photo above).
Then I put a line to the front of the tower, around the SS bowrail up forward, and then back to me on the ladder, taking a few turns on a rocket launcher for a “bite”. I got up on a tall step ladder and would raise the rear of the tower, and take a new bite. Repeat and repeat until the front legs were straight up in the air and then started to lower towards the roof. Once I got close to gravity taking over, I tied a few safety likes of cheap clothesline, to keep it somewhat positioned on the roof … lowered and prestop – here she is 'rough' installed! see Step 4 picture below.
Rot ro’ … decision time! Reference the Step 5 picture below, whereas my rooftop for my ’92 vintage SC is a tad smaller than the newer XL model it came off of … while I could get the tower frame to fit the roofline, I can only get 2 of 3 of the bolts on the front leg pads to through-bolt. My only other option would be to epoxy in place a SS threaded-insert to capture that 3rd bolt hole. Thoughts and :?: any input here :?: ?
Once in position, I attached 1 through-bolt per leg, removed 1 at a time and left the other 3 'loosened', and then wet out the through-holes with epoxy. Note: this tower as received was covered with fiberglass mat on the bottom of the leg footpads where the 3M 5200 that it had been previously installed with literally tore the rooftop from the previous boat! Damn tenacious stuff, no? I still have to route the cables & wires into the leg downtube, but I was able to mount the antennas and All-Round light mast and snap a few pictures. See the Step 6 picture below.
Whaddya think? I’d also appreciate any comments about that "2 of 3 bolt-holes" on the forward tower frame legs. I will be making a custom backing plates out of 1/4" 5052 aluminum for the forward rooftop corners.
FYI, here’s my conceptual plans, to include steering and controls, but alas, those might have to wait until next season:
Part 1:
Tuna Tower Rigging 1 - Antennas & Lights
Part 2:
Tuna Tower Rigging 2 – Controls & Steering
FYI, I wrote this late last night ... so mucho apologies if any typos ... gotta get back to work !
If you recall, I bought a tower from Stan from FL and had it shipped up just north of Boston. Much of the install, less controls & steering, is removing the items on the hardtop where the tower will go. This included 2 VHF antennas and the all-around light. But I ran into another problem, as the rear legs of the base wanted to sit right where my brightwork teak handrails do. Drat! Oh well, nothing a saw can’t resolve right :shock: ? For this year, I just cut off the rear handhold loop, but over next Winter, I’ll completely remove the handrail and profile of the ‘new’ rear-most loop to match the one I just cut off.
See Step 1 picture below, after removing all of the roof hardware, I taped off the bottom of the holes with duct tape, then put an extra ‘safety’ layer of blue tape around this, so no epoxy would weep into the cabin interior. This 1st wetting was with thinned epoxy to saturate into the wood core, which when kicked was filled with standard viscosity Raka epoxy. I left a slight dip (due to the meniscus effect) at the top of the hole and the rest will be filled with Formula 27 in case I ever re-gelcoat the rooftop.
From the photo above of my new antenna and All-Round light concept, where these would now be mounted so high, I wanted to put the light off a ratcheting SS mount so it too would fold-down for transport or trespassing under bridges. To attach the mounts to the aluminum tower frame, I didn’t want SS bearing directly upon the aluminum, so I fabricated some plates made from HDPE (the poor man’s version of Starboard) and attached them to the tower using heavy-duty ¼” rivets of 1300# sheer strength. See Step 2 picture below. The picture shows only 2 rivets, but I did add a 3rd one towards the bottom. The moving/whipping moment will be quite a load up there, mounted so high, but if those 3 HD rivets don’t hold … fuggehdaboutit!
See Step 3 picture below. So, how do you attached a light pole to the SS ratchet mount that has the 1”-14tpi (I believe) thread? Well, being the avid DIY scrounger that I am, I once salvaged the lower 3’ off an old VHF antenna someone else threw away. I started loping off the f’glass section until the diameter at the cut made a nice tight fit for my new LED light mast. Then it was simply a matter of epoxying the light mast into the old antenna mount and routing the light wires out the old antenna cable hole. This worked slick
! I will be running the antenna cables and light wiring around the frame, tucked up out of sight, and then INSIDE the left rear downtube leg to enter into the cabin.Step 4, the actual installation. Now, this tower weighs maybe 60-pounds total, but is ungainly unless you have 1 or 2 others helping you. Being yesterday was Father’s Day, no one else as in or around the boatyard … or else they were already out on the water – haha! (Yes, I know I am … “late” this season). So, what to do, how do I get this tower onto the roof without killing myself :?: ? Again the answer is simple, Roman leverage … meaning think about what the Romans accomplished without mechanical machinery and do likewise. In this case it was surprisingly simple! I lifted the tower with the rear legs up high and hooked the rear cross-wise low bar around the rocket launchers (see antenna photo above).
Then I put a line to the front of the tower, around the SS bowrail up forward, and then back to me on the ladder, taking a few turns on a rocket launcher for a “bite”. I got up on a tall step ladder and would raise the rear of the tower, and take a new bite. Repeat and repeat until the front legs were straight up in the air and then started to lower towards the roof. Once I got close to gravity taking over, I tied a few safety likes of cheap clothesline, to keep it somewhat positioned on the roof … lowered and prestop – here she is 'rough' installed! see Step 4 picture below.
Rot ro’ … decision time! Reference the Step 5 picture below, whereas my rooftop for my ’92 vintage SC is a tad smaller than the newer XL model it came off of … while I could get the tower frame to fit the roofline, I can only get 2 of 3 of the bolts on the front leg pads to through-bolt. My only other option would be to epoxy in place a SS threaded-insert to capture that 3rd bolt hole. Thoughts and :?: any input here :?: ?
Once in position, I attached 1 through-bolt per leg, removed 1 at a time and left the other 3 'loosened', and then wet out the through-holes with epoxy. Note: this tower as received was covered with fiberglass mat on the bottom of the leg footpads where the 3M 5200 that it had been previously installed with literally tore the rooftop from the previous boat! Damn tenacious stuff, no? I still have to route the cables & wires into the leg downtube, but I was able to mount the antennas and All-Round light mast and snap a few pictures. See the Step 6 picture below.
Whaddya think? I’d also appreciate any comments about that "2 of 3 bolt-holes" on the forward tower frame legs. I will be making a custom backing plates out of 1/4" 5052 aluminum for the forward rooftop corners.
FYI, here’s my conceptual plans, to include steering and controls, but alas, those might have to wait
until next season:Part 1:
Tuna Tower Rigging 1 - Antennas & Lights
Part 2:
Tuna Tower Rigging 2 – Controls & Steering
FYI, I wrote this late last night ... so mucho apologies if any typos ... gotta get back to work
!
