In discussing sailing Ariel Spirt, one of the possibilities was the idea of sailing her to Puerto Rico. As I considered what I would want to do before undertaking such a journey, the thing that came to mind first was to address the strong back.
I like the idea of the stainless plate sandwich, but getting the stainless bar and having it polished before getting underway was not going to work. I like the earlier post about using large aluminum angle, but hate hitting my head on the doorframe.
Add to that Ariel Spirit has the original bright work trim around the door, which I would not want to mess with that.
Used 5, 5/16" stainless carriage bolts with the smooth sides and stainless fender washers on the cabin side. Not a bad look, and very strong.
I like the angle because the extra angle will prevent the bar from trying to twist. The difference in what I did was that I put the "extra" bit on top. I a very pleased with the way it came out, will post a couple pictures later.
Just learned the person in NC that was buying the boat is going in another direction, so I am getting underway in a bit to sail the ~140 nm across the big bend... Glad to have addressed this before heading off shore.
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