Arch mounted main sheet conversion?

[Rush2112]

I love sailing but need shelter from the sun, and from weather on the North Sea which can change very quickly. I am wondering if you can add an arch to any sailboat, and just attach the main sheet up there, allowing for a custom windshield and hard top to be added. I especially like the Nicholson 38 with a hard top which is open on the sides, but they are often hard to come by, and I haven't found any other similar boats in the price range, ,so I'm looking to 'fix' another boat with shelter. Is this viable?

[psk125]

Lots of things are possible, but viable is a different question. How high is the boom? Is there space enough below it to have the tackle needed for the boom fit between it and an arch that is high enough to allow you to stand beneath it? You don't want an arch and enclosure to turn you into Quasimodo. A hard top can also keep you from being able to see if the sails are trimmed properly; it and the arch need to be designed carefully so as to allow you to work the boat. Windage is another point to consider when adding permanent structure. For the North Sea it should be built to withstand green water coming aboard. Moving the mainsheet to an arch may call for changing how the sheet is attached to to boom, which can affect the stress on the boom. People bend and break their booms because of this. To do it properly may require a new boom or reinforcing the old one. The answer is that you CAN add arches and hard tops to any boat. Whether it works or not is another question. A lot depends upon the individual boat and how the whole thing is thought out and set up.

[Rush2112]

psk125,
Thanks for the response. With the complexity of considerations involved in adding a hard shell to a sailboat which was not specifically designed to carry it, I think I will look at other options. Many motorsailers have enclosed cockpits and maybe one of those would be a better choice for me.