Suggestions For Santego Radar/GPS Antenna Mounting

H

hawkeyes01

Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2010
RO Number
31963
Messages
51
Hi everyone,

We are getting ready to add electronics to our 1989 Santego. As of now, there is no radar arch. I'll be purchasing Garmin electronics that will include three antennas that will require mounting:

1. 24" enclosed radome
2. GPS Antenna
3. Sirius/XM Antenna

The boat has a brand new canvas flybridge enclosure on it, so I really want to avoid reworking the canvas if possible to keep costs down, which pretty much eliminates adding a fiberglass arch. Also, due to the layout of the flybridge, I haven't been successful in finding any pole or platform mounts that would work.

So far, all I've come across is adding an Atlantic Towers radar arch (link below). I believe this arch will be able to be bolted on and will extend up and over the existing canvas. Does anyone have any experience with their products, or better yet, any pictures of this type of arch mounted to a Santego?

My only concern is with the aesthetics of using this type of arch. I haven't been able to find a larger boat in our area that has this type of mount to see what it would look like.

http://www.atlantictowers.com/at_sub/products_fr.htm?gclid=CL3Ii9-4_KACFQ8bawodSBYxug

Also, if anyone has any other suggestions for mounting these antennas, feel free to send them my way.

Thanks!
 
Look into Radar Pole Mounts like this:

36177-2.gif


they make add-ons for the GPS etc
 
I had a tubular arch installed on my boat. I'll provide a few photos so you can get a better idea of how they look.

R-arch-Image4.jpg


R-arch-Image2.jpg

Installation day.

R-arch-Image3.jpg

You can see here the installation guy drilling a hole for the cable access inside of the tube, so that no cables show.

carvermain.jpg

With all of the other tubular fittings on the boat, from the bowrail to the dinghy mounts, the tubular arch doesn't look out of place.

carver72a.jpg


The antennas on the arch include a 4kw radome, GPS receiver, Sirius antenna, VHF antenna for AIS, VHF antenna for the radio, Cell phone antenna, Hailer speaker, and two stereo speakers. Its kind of busy, and I probably went overboard a bit with the stuff I attached to the arch.

It was not an Atlantic Tower, but rather a custom shop in the area built one specifically for my boat. Atlantic Tower I think can also build a custom one, but they also have less expensive bolt-together ones. I have seen those bolt-together ones, and I rather think they look a bit like a swing-set. They don't have the graceful curves like can be done with a custom arch, and they have unsightly tube transitions and bolts showing.

Also the wiring in my arch is internal to the tubes all the way into the flybridge sides. I don't think the Atlantic Towers tubes allow that, and you will probably have unsightly cables exiting at the bottom of the tubes.

But an arch is an arch.

Mine cost about $2,600 around 4 years ago, which included delivery and installation.

What you need to be sure of is to get the radome above you so you are not irradiated.

Whatever you do, don't be like this guy:

CB1.jpg
 
Wasn't Atlantic Towers the topic of a previous thread? As I recall, the RO had some serious issues with them. Might want to check into them if your planning a purchase.
 
awboater - thanks for the great pics. I agree, the arch looks great. I think the arch will fit over my flybridge canvas and look very similar to yours.

I actually found a local store that has the Atlantic Towers in stock, I'm going to go take a look at one out of the box to see how many external bolts, etc. there are. I do know that you can run cables inside the tubes. If it seems cheap looking, I'll probably look for a local fabricator to build one for me. I've seen a few comments about making sure the tilt of the radar antenna is correct. Do you typically adjust that on the plate that the antenna is mounted on? Do you just want it level with the horizon when the boat is at rest?

Does anyone know where the prior post on Atlantic Towers is at? I browsed the Carver forum but wasn't able to find it.

Thanks everyone!
 
The elevation adjustment on the radome is typically done with shims. Most pedestals have optional wedge shims you can purchase to change the angle. (they ain't cheap - especially when a couple of washers could accomplish the same thing)

17009_L1.jpg


I have an article on my website that discusses alignment of the radome on an arch:

http://www.boat-project.com/nav/radararch.htm

Also on my website is a discussion of radiation issues:

http://www.boat-project.com/tutorials/10mwCM2.htm

By the way (a little self-promotion), one of the USCG Auxiliary outfits on the east coast has been using those two web pages for training material (with my permission of course).
 
Here's the article on Atlantic Towers. If you're buying a in-stock tower from a vendor, it prolly won't be a concern. With the treatment Atlantic Tower showed one of our RO's, I'd try to not use that company. There's too many good companies that deserve to stay in business. Here's the link:

http://www.boatered.com/FORUM/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=116528
 
Let us know what you decide. I have an 89 Santego 30 foot as well and would love to see one with one on!
 
Thanks for the info everyone! I think I've decided to have a local fabricator create a stainless steel arch, instead of purchasing the Atlantic Towers arch. For everyone's info, the fabricated arch will end up cost about $500 more once it is installed, but I think it will be much more solid and definitely look much better in the long-run.
 
Just wanted to post a quick update to everyone. Ordered my arch yesterday from Tanner Mfg in Bellingham www.radararch.com. They came down and did all the custom measurements. Should arrive in a few weeks, I'll post some pics.

I was very impressed with the time they put into the measurement, they took the time to make sure the curvature of the arch matches the lines of the boat - should look great!
 
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