erikgreen
Captain
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2007
- Messages
- 3,105
Guys, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this plan.
As my winter project, I'm going to add a hard top to my boat, a 21 foot Sea Ray cuddy cabin. I'm choosing a hard top over a bimini because of the environment I'll be using the boat in, the great lakes. I need protection from rain more than sun, and the ability to keep some heat in would be good too. The hull is deep V, so I'm looking to avoid a lot of weight up high, since that'll raise my CG up and make me more tippy.
I'm starting the hard top from scratch, and I'm going to design it to fit where the current cuddy windshield is. I'll be buying custom cut safety glass for the new windshield, and I'm planning on fiberglass covered foam for the rest of the structure, which will be enclosed at the front with the windshield, sides with windows that open, and have an open back with a slight overhang.
The materials are my major question at this point. Structural foam from a marine store is too expensive to use on this since I'm not sure I can make this work. I want to use 1 inch thick panels for this, and I'm planning on making through holes every 6 inches or so, to tie the two sides together with solid resin. I'll be using marine epoxy.
I was thinking of using Quik-R board, which is styrofoam board with a layer of fiberglass pre-adhered to one or both sides. I think this would make sure that the glass layers I add would stay laminated to the foam. Alternatively I could use plain pink styro sheets, which has the advantage that I could shape the panels with a hot wire cutter.
I'm basically going to form the shape of the top with the sheets, glass them together with 3-4 layers of 8 oz cloth (what I have) and then glue/screw (polyurethane/sikaflex) the window frames in place. I'll be glassing some hardwood (mahogany or something) mounting pads to the top so I can screw on antennas, lights, etc. I'll attach the whole thing to the boat with bolts - I'll embed aluminum brackets in the top glass for attach points, and use backing plates on the boat.
I have the necessary welding equipment (but not the skill, yet) to add an aluminum frame to the top if needed, but I'm hoping I can skip it to keep weight down. I'm not planning on walking on the top, although I could see resting my weight on it long enough to adjust something.
What do you guys think?
Erik
As my winter project, I'm going to add a hard top to my boat, a 21 foot Sea Ray cuddy cabin. I'm choosing a hard top over a bimini because of the environment I'll be using the boat in, the great lakes. I need protection from rain more than sun, and the ability to keep some heat in would be good too. The hull is deep V, so I'm looking to avoid a lot of weight up high, since that'll raise my CG up and make me more tippy.
I'm starting the hard top from scratch, and I'm going to design it to fit where the current cuddy windshield is. I'll be buying custom cut safety glass for the new windshield, and I'm planning on fiberglass covered foam for the rest of the structure, which will be enclosed at the front with the windshield, sides with windows that open, and have an open back with a slight overhang.
The materials are my major question at this point. Structural foam from a marine store is too expensive to use on this since I'm not sure I can make this work. I want to use 1 inch thick panels for this, and I'm planning on making through holes every 6 inches or so, to tie the two sides together with solid resin. I'll be using marine epoxy.
I was thinking of using Quik-R board, which is styrofoam board with a layer of fiberglass pre-adhered to one or both sides. I think this would make sure that the glass layers I add would stay laminated to the foam. Alternatively I could use plain pink styro sheets, which has the advantage that I could shape the panels with a hot wire cutter.
I'm basically going to form the shape of the top with the sheets, glass them together with 3-4 layers of 8 oz cloth (what I have) and then glue/screw (polyurethane/sikaflex) the window frames in place. I'll be glassing some hardwood (mahogany or something) mounting pads to the top so I can screw on antennas, lights, etc. I'll attach the whole thing to the boat with bolts - I'll embed aluminum brackets in the top glass for attach points, and use backing plates on the boat.
I have the necessary welding equipment (but not the skill, yet) to add an aluminum frame to the top if needed, but I'm hoping I can skip it to keep weight down. I'm not planning on walking on the top, although I could see resting my weight on it long enough to adjust something.
What do you guys think?
Erik