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Moving the mast
Rick Etsell If you are saying that the strength of the cabin top is reinforced with the top edge of the back of the seat then I am in real trouble, It is our plan to remove the seats completely. We plan on installing two captains chairs. I like the look of the mast but to keep it and install a radar arch the mast has to go aft or when it comes down for bridges then it would have to lean forward. Not good. My concern was more that the mast would be to far aft and not as use full as a steadying sail. Which as I understand it is its purpose. We are setting this boat up from the keel up for cruising and adding every modern convenience we can to make it more user friendly. The arch is for the radar 2 vhf antennas 2 garmin gps receivers and 2 ACR remote controlled search lights and some spreader lights. Right now this boat is gutted and we are putting it back together. At present we are installing 1 inch Soundown insulation in both compartment the aft compartment will house the new 5 kw Northern Lights gen set. We have put in 2 new water tanks and to 35 gal each holding tanks for wast and grey water. Thoes actually went into the aft compartment. We moved the water back about 12 inches each and then cut out paft of the shelf that the water tanks were sitting on and then in stalled the two tanks one on each side.
Moving the Mast
The seat part does add a lot of strength there, which helps compensate for the downward force from the mast. It's not only the weight of the mast, but when the sail is up and the rigging is taught, there is an additional downward force component through the mast. The cambered house top helps a lot too, but I wouldn't recommend mounting the mast in the middle of the deck with no other support. But then, I wouldn't recommend keeping the mast at all if you're going to add an arch. It will be way too cluttered. Keep it simple and just do the arch. Most owners don't use their steadying sail anyway, and although I do use it and like it, the effect is not all that great and I wouldn't worry about eliminating it.
Sounds like your plans will pretty much overtake the upper deck, so eliminating the mast is probably a good idea from a weight and stability point of view. Remember she's only 30-feet!
Re position the mast
I have a 30ft Nomad that I am completely re doing . As part of the construction efforts I need to move the mast aft about 30 inches. This will allow for the installation of a radar arch. Has any one done this ? Does any one know if this would cause problems? E-mail aahandyman55@gmail.com Thanks Rick
I don't know of anyone who
I don't know of anyone who has done that. The cabin top is reinforced by the aft vertical edge of the flying bridge seats, so is plenty strong where the mast is. But moving it aft 30" would put it in the middle of the cabin top where it is not so strong. Will it still be used to carry a steadying sail? You'll have to relocate the shrouds as well. All in all I see a lot of trouble and little or no benefit from the change. Why do you want a radar arch -- it doesn't seem like it would go with the style of the boat. Radar scanners can be mounted on the mast quite easily. But if you're going to install an arch I'd say just get rid of the mast and forget about the sail.
-Rick Etsell