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hard top

dcso

dcso
in This Old Boat

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  • 2 weeks later...
big easy

big easy

Posted
Posted

Well,how accomplished are you at laying up fiberglass?You could fabricate one out of one of the marine foam boards, such as Divinycell.

You'd have to shape the foam to your desired contour or shape,and lay up some cloth like 1708 over it.You'd have to do both the top and bottom sides of the foam.You would also have to put in solid blocking into the areas where you would be attaching any structural things,as the foam would not hold screws,and thru bolting would collapse the glass.

The other way would be to fabricate a female mold of the top you'd like to make.You'd have to apply a mold release to it,then roll on some gelcoat,and lay up glass on it,and apply a core material like foam board or balsa core,then finish up with a layer of glass on that side.

That would be similar to the way a glass boat is made,and would give you a nicer finish.

It all depends on how nice you want it to look.If you want a factory look,then be prepared to spend some money and lots of time to achieve good results.I wouldn't recommend attempting it if you have no experience working with, or laying up glass.

If you only want a utilitarian top to keep you dry,and out of the sun,and aren't particular on looks,you could make one out of some plywood,covered with some 1-1/2oz glass mat.You could use some aluminum pipe or (eek)conduit placed into some Hollander Railing fittings to hold it up .It wouldn't look great,but may suit you just fine.

It all depends on how nice you want it.

I work in the fiberglass and marine supply business,so if i can help feel free to ask.

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Billy V

Billy V

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John,

I missed that thread somehow over on GLA....GREAT JOB!!! Can't wait to see that beauty in the water next year....you should be VERY proud, that's quite an accomplishment.

20 years ago my Dad and I re-built my first Penn Yan (a 1972 19' Imperial as I recall) from the hull up and it came out fairly nice, but nowhere near that!

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big easy

big easy

Posted
Posted

Aw,Shucks,thanks guys.

Billy,we haven't met,but I'm looking foward to seeing that nice Penn Yann of yours, on the western end of the lake next season.They sure are a nice looking boat. It will be helpful to have your reports during the season.

Tim ,Jimmy mentioned that he saw you the other day.Did he ever give you a price on the bottom paint?.That's the one thing i really don't want to do myself.I keep saying that I'm just going to leave it the way it is,but deep down i know it should be done.I'm just tired of the nasty, dirty, itchy,

work that fiberglass requires.

I swear this is the last boat project for me,besides,I'm running out of time age wise.All you young guys,enjoy it while you can,because fifty and sixty arrive quicker than you think.

The mind says yes,but the body says no.

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Tim Bromund

Tim Bromund

Posted
Posted
Aw,Shucks,thanks guys.

Billy,we haven't met,but I'm looking foward to seeing that nice Penn Yann of yours, on the western end of the lake next season.They sure are a nice looking boat. It will be helpful to have your reports during the season.

Tim ,Jimmy mentioned that he saw you the other day.Did he ever give you a price on the bottom paint?.That's the one thing i really don't want to do myself.I keep saying that I'm just going to leave it the way it is,but deep down i know it should be done.I'm just tired of the nasty, dirty, itchy,

work that fiberglass requires.

I swear this is the last boat project for me,besides,I'm running out of time age wise.All you young guys,enjoy it while you can,because fifty and sixty arrive quicker than you think.

The mind says yes,but the body says no.

John,

Yeah I stopped in on Saturday to pay the bill for winterizing, shrink wrap and storage. While I was there I asked him for at least a ball park on the bottom work, so I would know how much to set aside. He looked up the materials in a couple catalogs and told me he would call me after he worked up a price. Haven't heard from him yet. When and if I do, I'll let you know.

Tim

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dcso

dcso

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it would be my first time with fiberglass. i thougt about using some of the new pvc board with a thin layer of fiberglass over it for the top. the stuff is very easy to work with and put that on top of an aluminum frame

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  • 2 weeks later...
big easy

big easy

Posted
Posted

dsco,

A friend of mine made a beautiful top out of aluminum,for his Islander. It looked almost factory made.He basically took some 1/16"aluminum sheet,and bent the edges in a brake,made an alum. frame for it and supported it with some stainless tube that he had laying around.

This was much easier than messing with glass and resin.This might be another option for you.

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big easy

big easy

Posted
Posted

Thanks Gambler.

I gave a lot of thought about making a custom hardtop for it.I do some part time work for a friend in the marine fiberglass supply business,so all the materials are easily available from him.He has also been a huge help with the technical side of fiberglass,and how to laminate and work with it.So,i gave it serious thought,knowing that He could help me.

But,in the end,I decided to go with a canvas top.I did quite a bit of research on other boats like this with hardtops,and if they are made too heavy,it has a tendency to cause the boat to roll a little in a beam sea,which is common in very deep v hulls,although these SeaCrafts are.much more stable,because of the variable degree deadrise hull design,so,it's not really an issue.

I could build a hardtop for probably much less than having a canvas top made,but i gotta be honest,I'm beat from working on this project.I'm tired of wearing Tyvek suits, I'm tired of inhaling Styrene fumes,and I'm tired of grinding,sanding, fairing,and painting.I just don't want to lay up any more glass.

The canvas work will be semi permanent,as it will always be up,and only taken down when it's put away for the winter.Back home in western Ma,we have local guy,who is sort of a friend who does very nice canvas work,so he's going to fabricate something that's a little more rugged than a standard canvas top.It will be attached to the tower that i installed.

I was hoping to get it done this fall,but i ran out of weather,(and money),so that will be the last thing to do in the spring,before we tow it up to Olcott.

Here's a picture of the installation of the Tower placement, my buddy's in the boat moving it to where we think it's going to work and look the best.The canvas top will maybe be attached to the smaller tubing on the tower somehow,I'm not sure yet.We made the Tower high enough so that we could easily walk under it,but low enough to get rods out of the rocket launchers.

IMG_1588.jpg

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