Hard top full length of the flybridge

The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
V

ValhowellPower

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2024
Messages
58
Location
Socal
We are thinking of putting a hard top the full length of the fly bridge on a 49. We would like to drop side curtains for a complete entertaining enclosure. That’s 11.5 ft wide and about 21’ long. I’m wondering if others have done anything near this ambitious. Would love to hear about others and see photos. Thanks.
 
If you haven't actually bought the boat yet... might be easier/faster/less expensive to find a boat you like that already has a hardtop fitted.

??

FWIW, hardtop and full enclosure are on our "must have" list, if the candidate boat doesn't have a good lower helm. Another FWIW, I'd guess ours might weigh in the neighborhood of 750-lbs or more (very much a WAG), counting support structure.

-Chris
 
This is what we had constructed. Stainless Steel with a Starboard top.




IMG_4572.jpeg


IMG_4573.jpeg


IMG_4579.jpeg


IMG_4578.jpeg


IMG_4577.jpeg


IMG_4580.jpeg
IMG_4575.jpeg



IMG_4576.jpeg
 
I wanted to do the same on my Defever 49, contacted the yard in Taiwan about it and they advised.....against it because of the weight and subsequent stability issues. So my advise would be to calculate the total weight and then contact Grand Banks to ask their advice.
The boat is not going to flip over instantly, but remembering the accident in Australia, you could be in for a nasty surprise in bad weather.
If they do allow it then I would opt for an all solar panel hard top, you will be very happy with the result. Solar panels give you so much electricity for free and you never can have enough of that. With the space you have available 11 x 21' you could actually add 5 Kwp of solar in that space. But I guess that would come at a cost of about 1000 lbs in total (panels, frame etc). If you would go for flexible panels that would be a bit less, but still the hard top weighs a lot.
 
Half inch thick Starboard XL weighs 2lbs/sq.ft. That is probably a workable choice.
The full desired 240 sq.ft. would thus weigh 480 lbs for the plastic alone.
Another 200 lbs for the frame makes it 680 lbs, or the weight of four 170 lb guests.
 
Last edited:
ValhowellPower said:
How did you attach side curtains? How thick was Starboard?
Click to expand...
I went with 1/2" starboard. Strong enough to have some working up on the roof.

i had the stainless steel structure built with two tubes seperated by a plate of SS. That is where the side curtains attach using the kind of snaps that twist to secure them.
 
KnotYet said:
Half inch thick Starboard XL weighs 2lbs/sq.ft. That is probably a workable choice.
The full desired 240 sq.ft. would thus weigh 480 lbs for the plastic alone.
Another 200 lbs for the frame makes it 680 lbs, or the weight of four 170 lb guests.
Click to expand...
Thats about right. Our top is about 100 SQFT, since we left the aft open for use of the crane.
 
I'm currently building a hardtop for a 42 using 1/2" fiberglass honeycomb with fiberglassed foam core for the curved edges. About 25lbs for each 4'x8' panel. Add 25lbs for each for six 200w panels above the hardtop.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20241214_151107078.jpg
    IMG_20241214_151107078.jpg
    67.6 KB · Views: 32
  • IMG_20250223_152738200.jpg
    IMG_20250223_152738200.jpg
    61.8 KB · Views: 28
GB42-424 said:
I'm currently building a hardtop for a 42 using 1/2" fiberglass honeycomb with fiberglassed foam core for the curved edges. About 25lbs for each 4'x8' panel. Add 25lbs for each for six 200w panels above the hardtop.
Click to expand...
How flexible are the honeycomb panels? I've thought about using pre-made honeycomb panels, but I'm not sure if they can be bent to enough of an arch shape for what I'd want.
 
I had a fiberglass hard top installed on my Willard 36 (actually koosaboard core so fairly light). It's around 65sf so a bit over a quarter the size you're considering. Weight aloft is a concern and I can indeed feel it despite having over 6000 lbs ballast in the keel.

Knowing what I now know, I would figure out a separate place for radar and various antenna vs on the top (a separate mast perhaps). A big driver for me was to mount solar panels and they do need regular cleaning to keep solar production so would design around that access. I would probably go with aluminum frame as that is used regularly on center consoles. Powder coated sure looks slick.

One thing I did that I like is designed a fairly pronounced camber in the top and kept it fairly low. Adds to strength and keeps the weight a bit lower - about 6'6" in the middle, around 6' at the edges.

Good luck.

Peter
 

Attachments

  • 20230204_110515.jpg
    20230204_110515.jpg
    143.9 KB · Views: 35
I made three relief cuts on the underside, filled with epoxy, and bent against a wood template until cured. If I were to do it again, I would do the same for the edges instead of heating foam core to allow a bend and covering with cloth and resin. That was very labor intensive. Many builders go even more simple and use a tube as the edge. I wanted to recreate the cloth bimini lines.
 
Don't forget windage, we have a Carver Voyager 530 pilot house with an enclosed flybridge, getting back into my slip can be a nightmare when the wind is up, which is almost every afternoon in San Diego.
 
When the time came to replace my Bimini top five years ago I realised that solar panels were cheaper than Sunbrella so I designed and had fabricated a "solar hardtop" for the flybridge.

The original Bimini top was quite small and only covered the back-to-back bench seating at the very front of the flybridge:
1743281996955.png


The new solar hardtop was longer, reaching all the way to the mast and covering about a third of the large fly-bridge:
1743282139631.png

1743280904501.png


The aluminum structure supporting the solar panels is attached to the railing around the fly-bridge, and to the mast at the back:
1743280925376.png


The front of the superstructure in Grand Banks is quite angular, reflecting their wooden heritage. The front and the back of the new solar hardtop intends to echo that shape. And this angularity facilitated the fabrication as the hardtop is welded aluminum rectangular tubes and bent welded sheet for the front and back.

Acid etching the aluminum frame before painting. (If I were to do it again I would probably leave the aluminum bare. It just doesn't like to be painted.):
1743281032243.png


Primed and ready for two-part polyurethane paint:
1743281117649.png
 

Attachments

  • 1743280950612.png
    1743280950612.png
    788.2 KB · Views: 20
Last edited:
Up and away:
1743281702402.png


Thin panels hide the cabling. I added strips of LED lighting inside the lower lips of the solar panels for lighting the seating area:
1743281736032.png


Extending the roof further back facilitated enlarging the sitting and entertaining area of the fly-bridge. I removed the faux chimney and added a table and a third bench seat. Eight can dine confortably up there now, and ten at a pinch.

Of course, the six solar panels with a combined nominal capacity of 2 kW is a huge additional benefit. And cheaper than fitted Sunbrella.
 
Last edited:
@Xlantic - really nice job. You're absolutely correct about capturing the angular bonnel lines of the GB. Looks great.

A few questions.

Are the joints between the solar panels relatively rain right?

Are the panel sizes predictable enough that if you need to replace one (or all) they will fit?

What did you do with your radar and antennae?

Peter
 
Thank you for the compliment, Peter.

The joints will leak a bit when it rains. I tried to seal the joints with roofing tape (aluminum backed butyl) but the cheap Chinese stuff I bought on Amazon curled-up and became un-stuck rather quickly. Not a big a deal as we cruise in the summer when it doesn't rain much in the Med. If I were to do it again I would consider installing the panels from below, with a gasket strip at the top.

My panels are a bit less than 1x2 metres. According to ChatGPT this size is "common in commercial & off-grid setups" so I would think they would be easy to replace.

I removed the radar which was ancient and had recently stopped working. My plan was to install the Furuno Wi-Fi radar at the very top of the mast. I installed a stainless steel plate and wiring there to accommodate it but, having read not too complimentary reviews on that radar, I will probably install another one there.

The VHF antennae is not in the mast but on the starboard side of the upper helm, although it was not installed when the shots were taken.
 
Last edited:
A friend in Costa Rica had a covered walkway built in solar panels. He used gaskets to join the panels to prevent water. He's had several heavy downpours and it seems to work well.

Here's one example.

www.ebay.com

Dense EPDM rubber Gasket Solar Panel Gap Seal Water&UV Resistant Sealing strip | eBay

EPDM Rubber Seal, perfect for solar panel installations. We like that it is durable, easy to install, flexible and lightweight so the panels have low resistance when they need to expand from sun heat.
www.ebay.com

Very nice work.

Peter
 
Peter, I have seen these solar panel gaskets but they are quite wide as they are designed to go in between panels where the gap is fairly wide because off there mounting hardware. In my case they need to seal in between the panel and the aluminum framing where the gap is quite narrow.

Having said that, this one is interesting:
1743287692169.png
 
Last edited:
Dave, Eternabond looks interesting as well.

The issue with any solution is: how do I get on top of the roof to install it??
 
Xlantic said:
Dave, Eternabond looks interesting as well.

The issue with any solution is: how do I get on top of the roof to install it??
Click to expand...
A pair of sturdy ladders and a 16-20' plank would do, or rent some basic scaffolding.
Safety harness from the top of the mast.
 
I used it to seal the individual panels on the hardtop of a previous boat. It was not a structural top so I couldn’t walk on it. We had the boat in the barn for winter storage. We put some 16’ 2x6s up in the rafters and installed the tape from there. Pretty easy and the tape was looking brand new when we sold the boat about 3+ years later. Eternabond is much more well known in the RV industry. It has an excellent reputation for longevity. Once you stick it down good luck getting it off.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mvweebles
Waiting for Weather in Panama (Lots of Pictures)
2 3 4
Replies
101
Views
4K
ksanders
ksanders
V
Moving from sail to power. Choosing the right boat
Replies
19
Views
2K
SailorGreg
S
D
Wakespeed WS500 Regulator monitoring app
Replies
18
Views
3K
RWestermann
R
thead
Kadey Krogen 42PH
Replies
5
Views
5K
thead
thead
S
Liveaboard Recommendations?
Replies
26
Views
8K
ranger58sb
ranger58sb

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom