Hard top or canvas Bimini for fly bridge?

[bowball]

What’s the general preference for sun and rain coverage in the PNW for the upper helm and seating area on a trawler? Antennas etc are handled by an arch so that’s not an issue. Future solar panels could be a factor. Enclosure is nit contemplated. .

I prefer perhaps the lock of the canvas but fiberglass is more durable.

Any strong preferences and reasons either way?

 

[koliver]

What’s the general preference for sun and rain coverage in the PNW for the upper helm and seating area on a trawler? Antennas etc are handled by an arch so that’s not an issue. Future solar panels could be a factor. Enclosure is nit contemplated. .

I prefer perhaps the lock of the canvas but fiberglass is more durable.

Any strong preferences and reasons either way?

I strongly prefer a hard top, but I have a soft top. My shelter would need to be raised to accommodate a hard top, and I would need to build one. My soft top folds back when not in use, out of the way, allowing use of the flybridge in a breeze without being in a wind tunnel. A hard top would retain the tunnel effect at all times.
My soft top came to me with the boat in 1994. Last year, since the stitching was failing and there were places I thought I could see through the sunbrella, at 27 years, I replaced the sunbrella. I expect the replacement will last as long. My usage case is up to 6 months deployed and moored outside, the rest of the year, sheltered, folded away.
Solar panels are elsewhere, see my photos here: https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s31/my-new-solar-system-44588.html
I could satisfy my desire for a hardtop, but I can't justify the expense. The soft top just works so well and isn't costing anything to retain. Replacing the sunbrella was part of a colour change, costing in total about $1000, including all of the canvas on the boat: Bimini, Tonneau, side and rear panels below the upper rails, dinghy cover, 3 hatch covers, leftover sunbrella for later projects. All DIY, using our Reliable industrial sewing machine.

 

[TrawlerJoe]

Do you have a lower helm as well? I have never understood the desire for two enclosed helms. For me, I want the flybridge almost completely open, maybe just a bimini for shade. If I want to be enclosed, I go below.

 

[bowball]

Do you have a lower helm as well? I have never understood the desire for two enclosed helms. For me, I want the flybridge almost completely open, maybe just a bimini for shade. If I want to be enclosed, I go below.

Yes, enclosed lower helm.

I’m still trying to figure out why the hard tops are so popular.

 

[bowball]

I strongly prefer a hard top, but I have a soft top. My shelter would need to be raised to accommodate a hard top, and I would need to build one. My soft top folds back when not in use, out of the way, allowing use of the flybridge in a breeze without being in a wind tunnel. A hard top would retain the tunnel effect at all times.
My soft top came to me with the boat in 1994. Last year, since the stitching was failing and there were places I thought I could see through the sunbrella, at 27 years, I replaced the sunbrella. I expect the replacement will last as long. My usage case is up to 6 months deployed and moored outside, the rest of the year, sheltered, folded away.
Solar panels are elsewhere, see my photos here: https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s31/my-new-solar-system-44588.html
I could satisfy my desire for a hardtop, but I can't justify the expense. The soft top just works so well and isn't costing anything to retain. Replacing the sunbrella was part of a colour change, costing in total about $1000, including all of the canvas on the boat: Bimini, Tonneau, side and rear panels below the upper rails, dinghy cover, 3 hatch covers, leftover sunbrella for later projects. All DIY, using our Reliable industrial sewing machine.

Reading all your conclusions it’s hard to understand why you would “strongly prefer the hardtop.”

Looks? Durability? Better coverage?

 

[rslifkin]

In my mind, if you want to be able to take it down either for more open air or for bridge clearance, you need a bimini. Otherwise, if you'd never take it down anyway, a hard top makes more sense. It's more durable, and you can mount stuff to it. Nothing requires you to fully enclose the flybridge just because it has a hard top. The sides can still be open.

 

[Comodave]

We have put hardtops on previous boats and loved them. No leaks, no sun exposure for those of us who have had countless surgeries for skin cancer. They last forever. You can mount things on them. We try to never be in the sun for more than a few minutes so they are great for that.

 

[mvweebles]

For me, depends on where you plan to cruise. For San Francisco Bay Area, an open flybridge on Weebles was fine. Easier to see fireworks' displays. In bad weather, head below or put on a foulie. In converting Weebles to be more comfortable in the tropics, I added a fiberglass hardtop. Nothing to blow away, nothing to sun-rot, plenty to mount solar panels on. If I were to do it over, I might see about a lighter weight system with polycarbonate panels like the one Comodave advocated for a long time until the company went out of business.

Peter

 

[RedRascal]

My perspective is mainly based on summer time experiences in the Pacific Northwest. If the sun is out it's usually nice to be in the open if you are on the bigger bodies of water. I think it is a rare day that you want shade in the middle of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It's usually cold if you are sitting in the shade. There have been numerous times that we've moved to the lower helm on a nice day because it's too cold to be in the shade underway and we didn't want to bundle up on a summer day to sit on the flybridge. However if you're in lower Puget Sound on a hot day then the shade can be welcome underway. Once anchored then shade is nice on a hot day. However on a mild day any snippet of sun is welcome so no shade. I'd vote for a soft top that you could make go away when you wanted sun. That may not be so easy to achieve on a larger flybridge. You could also consider a hardtop with a large cutout in the middle for a "sunroof" as a hybrid approach. Here is an example, look at pics in post #2 https://www.baylinerownersclub.org/...38727-4788-hardtop-install-and-selling-bimini

 

[koliver]

Reading all your conclusions it’s hard to understand why you would “strongly prefer the hardtop.”

Looks? Durability? Better coverage?

 

[Boost230]

We are in the PNW and have a fully enclosed flybridge. We are in it anytime the boat is underway due to the visibility over the bow. Lower helm visibility is not very good due to bow design (49’ Ponderosa). We have a glass front window with wipers (best thing about the upper helm in the rain!) and eisinglass panels all the way around. We have small windows in the panels on both sides and front and back that roll up if we need/want a breeze. No heat up there, but the hot house effect keeps us pretty warm. We are thinking of replacing the old sunbrella too with a fiberglass hard top that would allow us to keep the front window and all the panels. Anyone have any experience with an afterrmarket hard top?

 

[BandB]

What’s the general preference for sun and rain coverage in the PNW for the upper helm and seating area on a trawler? Antennas etc are handled by an arch so that’s not an issue. Future solar panels could be a factor. Enclosure is nit contemplated. .

I prefer perhaps the lock of the canvas but fiberglass is more durable.

Any strong preferences and reasons either way?

Wifey B: Simple. Do you intend to boat with the top down if you have a canvas bimini?

In my opinion, the only reason to go canvas is the ability to remove it and enjoy the open area, but I'm not going to do that. I don't want that much sun or rain. So hardtop and reduce the maintenance.

I would love to get all the sun and live in the land of the sun, but whether here or the PNW, the risk of skin cancer is too much for me.

 

[sbu22]

Canvas for me for most of the "pro" reasons stated above. Another plus for me is the abilty to remove it and lash the framework in a stable fashion. Applies to hurricane country.

 

[Vanrove]

We have put hardtops on previous boats and loved them. No leaks, no sun exposure for those of us who have had countless surgeries for skin cancer. They last forever. You can mount things on them. We try to never be in the sun for more than a few minutes so they are great for that.

Whats the ballpark cost of adding a cockpit hardtop that extends the fly bridge?

 

[mvweebles]

Whats the ballpark cost of adding a cockpit hardtop that extends the fly bridge?

Depends on size and design. At the low end would he a salvaged Bimini frame and polycarbonate panels from Home Depot. At the high end would be a custom stainless structure and hardtop with lighting. Could easily surpass $15k-$20k.

Peter