New Hardtop upgrade

[watertime51]

Recently upgraded from canvas to a hardtop for a comparable price. The beauty of this top is it is guaranteed for 10 years and will last 4-5 times longer than canvas. It is made out of 5/16" poly-carbonate and anodized aluminum and very light compared to fiberglass. When I took it out the first time it was 20 degrees cooler underneath than canvas.

Watertime

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

We need pics!

 

[Nomad Willy]

watertime51
"Polycarbonate" sounds like plastic. Plastic is heavy.

 

[watertime51]

Upgrade to Hardtop

Here are some pics I hope they are helpful. If your interested go to Home | Hard To Top and you can get a free quote and find out all the details. The tops are lightweight and a great value

Watertime51

 

[DavidM]

watertime51
"Polycarbonate" sounds like plastic. Plastic is heavy.

Not necessarily. If you go to the manufacturer's web site, there is a picture of the main material- polycarbonate structured sheet. It is not a solid sheet of plastic, which I agree would be heavy. It is two thin panels separated by spacers, all extruded as one system.

See the following:

 

[tallswede]

I like it!

Kevin

 

[cardude01]

Looks really nice.

 

[Comodave]

Had one on my F32 Trojan, loved it. Just installed on on my 41' President. Am having EZ2CY panels made for the front of the flybridge and back about 2' on each side. I will fabricate the rest of the flybridge enclosure after the front panels arrive in mid January. The 41' hardtop was way more work to install than the 32'. We ended up putting 2X6s up in the rafters of the storage barn and doing some of the installation from on top. But overall, no leaks through the old canvas bimini and you get more light inside the bridge with the Hard to Top.

 

[what_barnacles]

This is an ad right? The first pic has been on their website for some time now.

 

[watertime51]

Thanks for the compliment. Hey if your interested check them out hartotop .com
Watertime51

 

[watertime51]

I like it!

Kevin

cardude01
Thanks for the compliment. The to lets a lot more light in and it is light and very durable

 

[foggysail]

Yes, the hardtop does look nice and maybe something to consider (IMHO) depending on where you store your boat during winters. My latest hardtop covers the helm and is my second purchase from Atlantic Towers. The first covers our rear deck that I installed 10 years ago. Today it looks almost new.

Here in Massachusetts there are times when we get snow....and a lot of it! I would be concerned about the mechanical strength of a hardtop along with the support structure strong enough for 18"+ of heavy wet snow even if shrink wrapped.

 

[koliver]

I have a similar hardtop at home. It is the top cover of a Carport I bought at Costco a few years ago. The polycarbonate is strong enough for its intended use, but the open ends make it hard to keep clean. When I first power washed it to get the accumulated tree droppings and pollen off, some of the wash water entered the open squares and has remained there, somewhat unsightly, ever since. The rest of the structure is way too heavy for any nautical use, but the panels appear to be identical to the ones shown above.

 

[watertime51]

Keith,
The poly-carbonate is 5/16 thick. 8' x 10' weighs approximately 100lbs. As for the staining call Rodney at Hard to Top 888-306-6136 he may be able to help

Greg

 

[watertime51]

Yes, the hardtop does look nice and maybe something to consider (IMHO) depending on where you store your boat during winters. My latest hardtop covers the helm and is my second purchase from Atlantic Towers. The first covers our rear deck that I installed 10 years ago. Today it looks almost new.

Here in Massachusetts there are times when we get snow....and a lot of it! I would be concerned about the mechanical strength of a hardtop along with the support structure strong enough for 18"+ of heavy wet snow even if shrink wrapped.

the poly-carbonate is rated a 25lbs per foot

 

[Comodave]

On our previous boat, we had an Atlantic Towers hardtop over the cockpit and a Hardtotop on the flybridge. Both had advantages. The AT hardtop was beautiful, but in comparison about 5 times more money. The Hardtotop was much more economical and very easy to install. On our current President 41, we have a fiberglass hardtop on the sundeck and we just put a Hardtotop on the flybridge. We are in Michigan but we store the boat inside so snow load is not an issue. If I were going to store it outside with it shrinked, I would build a removable frame to put on top of the Hardtotop and have some slope so that the snow would slide off more easily. Overall, we really like the Hardtotop, but we know and accept the limitations of the top. Being retired, I would rather save the huge amount of money in comparison to the Atlantic Towers hardtop and spend it on something else for the boat...

 

[foggysail]

I have seen a few "home made" hardtops and for the most part, they look it. The OP's hardtop looks just fine!