Last month we took the plunge so to speak and purchased the stainless steel needed to build the solar arch for the Omarsea. The arch is quite big measuring some ten feet wide and seven feet high. Here I am fitting one of the cross members to the arch bows. I have designed it to hold 2 solar panels, our wind generator and support a davit that will lift and house the dinghy. Today I will finish cutting and fitting the cross members, some 13 of them. The next step is to begin welding the seams together. I will be using a dc power inverted TIG device we purchased last year for this purpose. In addition the solar arch I am constructing  new bow and stern rails. The existing bow rail was damaged during a collision with a drifting boat in St Lucia some years ago. It has a big dent in it. I have wanted to replace it with a heavier rail that will have a seat over the bow with a safety belt so that we can view and film dolphin as they ride our bow wave. The new stern rail is intended to seamlessly meld into the solar arch and provide us with a little more room in the cockpit as well as support the outboard motor when not on the dinghy. It has been a challenge so far this summer with the heat in being able to work outside in the sun. This is very detailed  work and difficult enough without sweat running down your face and hundreds of minute gnats biting all the time. I am nearly immune to the gnats about now but the heat of the day can really sap ones energy and patience. I plan to have the arch finished by the end of June and have the other items completed by the end of August.
I will post more pictures as the work progresses.

Fair Winds and Seas

Scott