Marine Fabricator January/February 2023 - 39

making your home 50% bigger! Who
wouldn't want that, right? The difference
most appreciated by clients is the lack of
clunky hardware and tubing on the stern
of the boat (Photo 2). The clean lines
of the horizontal frame system are eye
candy for a boat owner. Although this
design is most appealing on a large sport
yacht, smaller boats are not excluded.
Almost every boat owner can benefi t
from a horizontal-framed aft enclosure.
Various lengths and widths
There are three lengths typically
offered to clients: half, three-quarters
and full-meaning the distance from
the arch, hardtop or forward-frame to
the transom. There are three additional
versions offered in terms of width:
sport, tapered or full. When designing
the length, simply have clients sit on
the transom bench seat and lean back
with their arms on the backrest like
they sit when relaxing at their dock.
Then determine how far the frame
would need to extend toward the rear
of the boat so that the aft curtains
(aft windows) clear their heads.
The smaller the boat, the farther
rearward the frame must extend, as in
a three-quarter or full-length frame,
because the frame is typically lower in
height. A large boat, such as the Sea
Ray 460DA, can accept a three-quarter
length frame and still offer plenty of
space for rear-seat lounging. Most
clients ask for a shorter frame than what
they will actually need.
We will build the frame longer than
desired and mount it temporarily.
Then, we have the boat owners come
to the boat and sit on the back seat.
Using masking tape, we run a strip
from the transom to the frame at
various points until it nearly touches
their heads. Once the boat owners
can visually see where the frame must
extend to, you can reach an agreement
and cut the frame accordingly.
Wither the width?
The legs of the sport frame remain
the same width from the mounts to
the radius. This style typically matches
the width of the arch and allows the
side windows to have a cant or tilt
to them, which keeps the enclosure
from looking boxy. A tapered frame
has legs that gradually get wider as the
frame extends rearward toward the
radius. This allows more entry space
for boats that have transom doorways
located in the extreme corners of the
hull. A full frame design has legs that
immediately become as wide as the
hull, once clearing the arch or hardtop,
and remain full width to the radius.
Photo 2
The clean lines of the horizontal frame
system are eye-candy to a boat owner.
Although this system is most appealing on
large sport yachts, smaller boats can also
benefi t from this design.
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Marine Fabricator January/February 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Marine Fabricator January/February 2023
