And so it begins. Got the screen off today. Down to Alfab one day this week with any luck to confirm suitability of the new screen. Not sure at this stage whether I will glass up a trim to take the hook out of the coaming or not for the sliders - it will also make for a better match to the screen curve as it's slightly different to the original.
Victory screen off - Copy.jpg
Awesome project man! looking forward to seeing how it all turns out D:
Me too. Interesting to see which way it goes.
What could go wrong.......................
Awesome project
Alfab are pretty good, takes awhile as they are the main guys for cruise craft etc and not cheap but they did a good job on my kevlacat 4 piece that I destroyed trying to get off because of seized screws and would imagine they can fab anything you ask of them!Originally Posted by scottar
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Mercury 115ct going strong😁
Yep - have already been out there twice to annoy Owen. More than helpful. They aren't cheap as you say but the product is top notch. The hard part is the glass - there are only a couple of curve formats to work with. The sliders are easy and are all custom - about 6 weeks from measure.
What are you doing for a roof?
What could go wrong.......................
Fibreglass Chimo. Was initially thinking about glass over foam strip plank to save requiring a mold but an old industry contact has offered the use of one if it suits, which at a quick glance it might. I need to get the screen on as a start and get the targa cut and plated so I have some firm measurements before I get too far into it. The main concern with the screen is that the full height one that best fits is too wide to allow a centre window. It looks like it can go in as a two piece provided the angles play the game - should know more tomorrow with any luck. The more I look at it the more I think I am going to level out the side coamings with a 50mm trim as well but all revolves around the screen. I have specific storage height requirements and had hoped to avoid the extra cost of fabricating a totally new targa.
As you can see in my pic I went with the original screen and kept the clears above that can be opened for breeze of closed to keep moisture at bay. Seems to work well enough.
The weakness in my set up is the side to side stability especially with big chop or boat wakes even in the Broadwater when traveling at speed. The guy who did my stainless steel originally and then did this upgrade did not build in adequate side way stability and unfortunately he has since passed. The targa was cut and plated and the original rocket launcher sits on top of the FRP in connection with the original. The front SS is were we didnt go far enough re side stability at speed and in rough water.
My frp top has good forward reach for a good eyebrow and similar side cover as well but not so much as to limit passage to the bow via the sides. We extended the frp top to the rear over the top of the rear sunbrella and we have no leaks between the intersection of "new" frp and old sunbrella.
Side to side stability is worth being careful about IMHO..
Cheers
Chimo
What could go wrong.......................
I hear you Chimo. When I originally broached this project - 2 plus years ago I was going to do the same thing - keep the clears. I have since decided I really f*&^%%g hate zippers and press studs and the corrosion issues and leaks they provide. The stainless guys I approached initially basically said -"just don't - the stainless will crack because of side to side motion. Not a case of if so much as when." This was primarily caused by my not wanting 45 degree cross bracing across the helm's vision like you see so often. With that in mind coupled with a big downturn in income, the project got shelved until now where further discussion more or less lead to the full wrap around screen. If that doesn't work it will be the full fibreglass wheelhouse but I'm a lot less partial to that than wrap around glass - the big curves in the corners cause a bit of a visibility issue IMO.
There is a lot of forward overhang and as a result almost no spray etc gets past the clears and vis is good when needed and the breeze is also appreciated in summer etc
What could go wrong.......................
Ive had the nose dip a couple of times while trolling.....once with the clears down. Full height screen it is. Hopefully the ventilation from the sliders is sufficient. If not a roof hatch should sort it. The last hardtop I spent time in was alloy with just a carpet underlining and I found it ok so with glass being a better insulator it should be all good.
If you think a trolling nose dip is exciting you haven't lived until you experience the Broadwater junction with the Coomera with a fleet of big mothers to add to the short chop.
After experiencing that once and watching the water run up to 4/5th the height of the screen one learns about trimming for slow speed mixed with accompanying Rivs and similar./
I don't think my front stainless support is at any risk of fatigue cracking, for the most part the clears do add almost enough side stability except when the driver is almost hooning.
What could go wrong.......................
If you have a close look at the hardtops on the US boats, you can see how they angle the struts to add side to side stability, I have a similar issue with the stainless T top on my boat, because it is fixed to the floor, there is about 2m of metal to wobble around, I temporarily put a stainless hose clamp on both sides to the grab rail, that was 2 years ago! I must get around to getting some "bits" made to weld to the console grab rail, but you know how these things go, the crap hose clamp fix up works, so I just keep forgetting about it.
Mine is rock solid, sandwich construction , rated for walking on, and attached to the screen at the front and a stainless brace at the back. this will be stronger and more stable than having the whole thing potentially wobble about on stainless tubing. I reckon a zipped section at the front is always going to leak. It "can" have the advantage of giving you clear view over the screen at night , when looking through glass is always fraught and reduces your vision--usually the first thing blokes complain about when they upgrade to the long awaited hardtop and find there are drawbacks. My ventilation is taken care of by overhead 300mm Bomar hatches, good wind scoops. I don't have side glass, just clears over the triangular window. can you fit wipers with the curved glass? wouldn't be without mine.
After I had fitted the Rupp Revolution uotrigger bases--expensive but so incredibly easy to work with and don't interfere with walking around the side.
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