21/07/2025
Its always nice when customers have their own web page for the journeys and experiences they are doing and leave nice comments from the work you have done for them.
The extract is from the page with the link below
We had been chatting to Ian about a solar arch as well, however, when we got quotes against our specification, from a supplier Ian had found, we were dubious about their costing. The quotes were provided by a South Coast supplier who advertises a lot on Facebook and we thought they were excessively priced.
We eventually found a local engineer, Russ of RSL Welding, who we got to know well and he came to see us about a design. We were trying to alleviate as much weight as possible from the arch, so davits (arms that help hoist a dinghy up) were not specified. We eventually decided we would weld the arch onto the pushpit (the rails that surround the back end of the boat), so this required the pushpit to be removed and a template created so that we could replicate the pushpit configuration in the workshop.
Chris removed the pushpit and took it to Russ’ workshop and Russ set up a jig over the template to establish the structure of the arch and set about creating it.
Whilst we were in the design phase we had a small crane arm that we wanted to fit and we had discussed with Southern Sails, the manufacturer of our sprayhood and bimini, about having a sunshade made in a mesh that could bridge between the bimini and the arch. Russ, took the requirements and incorporated them in to the design.
Before long the arch was manufactured and Russ and his father brought the arch to Port of Poole Marina to fit it. It slid on wonderfully with a couple of cuts and two plates attached for extra stability when connected to the toe rail of Yanula Blue.
Once installed we realised the stability of the arch was a little too flexible, so we set about removing it again. The arch was returned to the workshop for a secondary section to provide transverse stability and after a few days back it came in its final form. It was perfect. Understated and ready for solar panels. We can’t thank or recommend Russ enough. His professionalism, design and general understanding of our requirements was fabulous. Here’s a link to his website.
Yanula Blue’s internal systems run on sustainable energy through solar panels and Victron controlling technology. Find out about the install.