One of the features we were looking for when up-sizing to our 1998 Sea Ray 370 Sundancer was the higher radar arch so that I could stand up comfortably at the helm. This model ticked that box nicely and I'm very happy with how it feels, but that extra height presented an issue that we hadn't considered - safely climbing onto the side decks when underway.
As this first photo shows, there were a couple of factory installed grab rails on both port and starboard sides of the boat. The one mounted to the side glass adds security when walking alongside, and the larger one on the radar arch is very handy. However, as we travel through many locks each season - we did that 100 times in the 2022 boating season - we felt that climbing in and out of the boat when it is moving would be made much more comfortable by adding another grab rail to the inside of the radar arch.
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| Factory installed grab rail on radar arch. |
A somewhat of an easy fix, as we ordered a pair of 16" stainless steel grab rails (*paid link) off of Amazon. They came with studs already installed, as well as nuts for fastening.
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| New 16" grab rail. |
First step to install was to mark where I wanted them mounted. The two important considerations here were having it placed where it would be most comfortable to reach, as well as access to the inside of the arch so that I could put the nuts on the studs.
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| Using tape to mark the mounting holes. |
Once I had that figured out, it was time to once gain drill holes in my boat ;-) Note the speaker has been removed to access the hollow part of the radar arch.
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| Just start drilling! |
When drilling into the boat's gelcoat, it's always a good idea to countersink the hole to avoid surface cracks. This is especially true when installing wood screws into the fibreglass.
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| Countersink the holes in the gelcoat. |
Tada! Looks good. The most difficult part of this job was reaching the underside through the radar arch. Ours is only about 2-3" wide on the inside and working in a contorted way was a bit of a struggle.
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| Looking good! |
Testing out the systems ;-) As this project was done prior to our summer cruise, we had lots of time to test it while underway and I'm happy to say that it worked out perfectly.
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| Safety first. . . |
An extra benefit of this location was that we could coil up the aft dock line while it wasn't in use. Perfect!
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| Dock line storage. |
As this kit came as a pair, I had intended to install the second grab rail on the starboard side of the radar arch. However, the hollow part of the arch on that side is considerably tighter, with virtually no access to where the uppermost stud/nut would be located, so I didn't install that one yet.
My current workaround idea might be to epoxy that top one in place, only using the lower stud with the provided nut. I'm thinking that the lower one would take most of the stress anyway, so the epoxy on the top stud should work fine . . .? I'll let you know how that works out when the time comes.
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