A Frames

[Noddy]

I want to fit an A Frame to my Avon 4 metre Searider. The only place I can see to fit one is on the transom by bolting two stainless steel sockets to fit the frame into. The cost of A Frames seem to be very high for what they are. I have a mate who reckons he can make one from 1" stainless steel tubing which seems Ideal. The cost will be peanuts compared to buying one ready made. Just worried why others haven't done it before or are you all better off than me??

[seaskimmer]

hi noddy, just to let you know i am in the same boat(literally). i to am fitting an a frame to my searider , i was looking at a stainless steel on and the costs are prohibitive, so i got a friend to make me one from 20mm mild steel, it measures 4ft high by 3ft wide and is very light. i will have to give it numerous coats of red lead paint and a top coat of silver hammerite, but once this is done it should look the business, all i am really using it for is to fly a flag from it, there will be no ariels or any thing like that. what i was thinking of doing, instead of drilling all the way through the transom, i thought 3 sets of pipe clips on each leg, with self tappers would do, then in future if you change your mind then you don't have 2 big holes in the transom, i will take a photy tomorrow and post it on this forum for you to see.


regards

[gavin]

This is the way to go but try make it out of 2" rather than 1" and get him to weld on some flat plates for gps antenna vhf and nav lights

[Mark Halliday]

Are you sure pipe clips will be strong enough? In my experience anything that sticks up in the air on a boat will be grabbed by anyone one within reach, usually when loosing their balance.
Have a look at stansion bases in the local chandlerey. You can get some that are side fitting and will take 1" tube. You might get away with saddle clamps, which would be cheaper.

[Daniel]

Originally posted by seaskimmer
i will have to give it numerous coats of red lead paint and a top coat of silver hammerite,

Why not get it powder coated? Look for your local people in the yellow pages. Should cost about £20-30 i would say. It'll look the nuts then, a very durable and minimal time input from yourself - quite probably the same cost as the paint.

[Noddy]

Thanks everyone advice is just what I wanted - will look forward to your pic Seaskimmer

[Bilge Rat]

If you can find someone willing and able to make you one to size and spec its worth spending a little money and having a much better job done, i had mine made by a local friend of a friend who made a double A frame to fit and to my exact spec, this has allowed me to fit all the bits onto it and it still roles into my garage, unfortunately boat manufacturers have jumped on "lets screw the leisure boaters" market and charge you £500 plus for £40 worth of tube and 3 hours work.

[Daniel]

Originally posted by Bilge Rat
charge you £500 plus for £40 worth of tube and 3 hours work.

Prepaired to stand corrected here, but stainless welding is a seriously hard thing to do and spending 5 years or whatever learning to do that deserves financial reward. Once welded it needs to be polished i beleive and that's very time consuming as well. I'm not justifying £500 for an A-frame but a double one with mounting points, often pre-drilled (ever tried drilling stainless?) is certianly a couple of hundred quids worth of materials and labour.

[nugent]

spent many an hour fabricating ali and s/steel bits with a tig welder not the easyest of tasks and daniel is right many more hrs cleaning polishing your welded areas up, after the initial fabricating is dun.. hence the cost + materials aint cheap not a decent grade stainless any how..

[Bilge Rat]

Ok guys so i stand corrected and no offence meant to anyone who specialises in stainless welding, i do know its a specialist skill though, however i paid £150 for a double stainless steel A frame designed to my spec and correct sizes, i had a number of fittings to make sure it all fitted correctly during the fabrication process and the guy that made it came and fitted it with me, i even took the liberty of changing my mind on some of the spec while it was being made as i'd originally plummed for a single instead of a double and changed my mind on a few things at the last minute.
When the frame was fitted and tested i drilled all the holes in for the lights and arials myself with a normal metal drill bit with no real difficulty, i even drilled into the frame to run the cables inside with no real problems. Most people who have seen it say it looks the dogs, i know if i'd had gone and bought direct from a manufacturer i'd have paid £500 - £600 and to have something made to measure would have been expensive.

Now the guy that made it is a friend of a friend but he didn't do it for nothing and still had to buy the stainless and put the work in, so trying to say if you can find a welder willing to give it a go and make something to your spec then you will not only get something that looks good but also is not a compromise on what you want.

Richard

[Suzuki416]

Can you give me his details as I'm after an A Frame but Humber have said £375 for a single hoop!!! Dream on!

[thewavehumper]

mmmm Seariders, best boats ever made, That is a purely emotive statement and not based on any fact other than the Tingle factor they produce.

First I was a long time sea rider owner (sea rider 4,7 70 yammie) and I think you should stick as much power on them as you can.

Secondly I wouldn'/t block off the holes, i think it's a fundamental part of the design and is a real bonus in heavy weather / winds. It also has a great effect under hard acceleration (almost like turbo lag waaaheyyyy!)

Having got that out of my system then moveing on to A frames the do not consider screwing the frame to the Transom Bolt it through and make some steel plates. If you boat has a couple of steel braces running from the deck area to the transom then use these fixing points if not make up a couple of plates to secure the frame on bothe sides of the transom.

If you are looking for a good design the take a good look at the fusion frames fitted to small Scorpions. They are a clever design anf it only on the transom

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Noddy

I want to fit an A Frame to my Avon 4 metre Searider. The only place I can see to fit one is on the transom by bolting two stainless steel sockets to fit the frame into. The cost of A Frames seem to be very high for what they are. I have a mate who reckons he can make one from 1" stainless steel tubing which seems Ideal. The cost will be peanuts compared to buying one ready made. Just worried why others haven't done it before or are you all better off than me??

Try scafolding Noddy. You don't have to worry about bending or welding, it all just clips together. It comes ready galvanised to keep the rust at bay. You can have hours of fun with design ideas. I know some guys in Hayling Island that'll do you a good deal.

[Noddy]

should I buy it or do you know someone who can steal it for me?

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Noddy

should I buy it or do you know someone who can steal it for me?

Derrr, that's the joke! Nuff said.
Ahhh, I think I've sussed you Nodders. You're not a copper at all are you? You're one of those people who pretends to be a policeman, I bet you wander around your local area wearing an ice-cream salesmans hat and a flourescent jacket wishing everyone a "Good morning" and checking their tax. Do you get a little Tranny radio out of your pocket and pretend to talk to people on it occasionally? You don't really own a Rib either, do you Noddy? Don't worry, "mums" the word.

[seawolfribs]

Originally Posted by Suzuki416

Can you give me his details as I'm after an A Frame but Humber have said £375 for a single hoop!!! Dream on!

i have mine made in london it cost appox £125 for a single hoop made of 50mm S/S if this is any help pm me and i will give you the details

[Rogue Wave]

Originally Posted by thewavehumper

mmmm Seariders, best boats ever made, That is a purely emotive statement and not based on any fact other than the Tingle factor they produce.

First I was a long time sea rider owner (sea rider 4,7 70 yammie) and I think you should stick as much power on them as you can.

Secondly I wouldn'/t block off the holes, i think it's a fundamental part of the design and is a real bonus in heavy weather / winds. It also has a great effect under hard acceleration (almost like turbo lag waaaheyyyy!)

Having got that out of my system then moveing on to A frames the do not consider screwing the frame to the Transom Bolt it through and make some steel plates. If you boat has a couple of steel braces running from the deck area to the transom then use these fixing points if not make up a couple of plates to secure the frame on bothe sides of the transom.

If you are looking for a good design the take a good look at the fusion frames fitted to small Scorpions. They are a clever design anf it only on the transom

This guy makes sense whatever happened to him!

[Hightower]

Stu, you're tooo modest

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

This guy makes sense whatever happened to him!

[hard1]

Originally Posted by Mollulnan

Derrr, that's the joke! Nuff said.
Ahhh, I think I've sussed you Nodders. You're not a copper at all are you? You're one of those people who pretends to be a policeman, I bet you wander around your local area wearing an ice-cream salesmans hat and a flourescent jacket wishing everyone a "Good morning" and checking their tax. Do you get a little Tranny radio out of your pocket and pretend to talk to people on it occasionally? You don't really own a Rib either, do you Noddy? Don't worry, "mums" the word.

I hope you never have to call the cops in Oxfordshire anytime soon mate!

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by hard1

I hope you never have to call the cops in Oxfordshire anytime soon mate!

Or stop for an ice cream!