Trailing the boat home after a long weekend of inshore fishing up in Edisto, my T-top canvas tore off the top. It was secured with a single 1/8 inch rope going thru an eye hole around the post and back thru the same eye hole then on to the next. Seemed to work pretty good but after almost six years of sun and salt the rope just fell apart. The canvas still looks in good shape at least for another year or two. I have heard of using zip ties instead of the sigle rope meathod. Any suggestions out there?
“Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows us that as a government grows, liberty decreases.”
— Thomas Jefferson
I can lace your canvas for you, but I’m up in Columbia. It’s not too hard to do. I was going to try & explain how to do it here, but the more I typed, the more confusing it got. There are a couple ways (that I know of). I’d be happy to show you how.
Zip ties will work, but they won’t last a long as the nylon lacing cord. They get brittle after being in the sun for a while. Great for emergency repair though.
Bob
Bob Van Gundy
Marine Designs,Inc.
Custom Aluminum Fabrication
803-727-4069
The was i did it on mine when i took it off to do some stuff, was i started in the middle on the front of the t-top and you run each end of the rope through each eye on either side of the center point. then toy pull the rope all the way through to make sure you have the center of the rope in the center of the t-top. then you just do a half hitch knott through all of the eyes all the way back until you get to the center on the back of the t-top. while you are laceing it around you dont want to pull it complete tight until you have both ends all the way around and meeting in the middle on the back. after you have gottn all the way around then you go back and tightn all of it up so that the canvas is square and you have the same amount of distance all the way around. You can also go thought and put zip ties in to hold and center it until you get the rope on and tight then go back and cut the zip ties off. After you have made it all the way around and all the half hitch knots are tight you just rap the rope around the t-top and tie it off to each other and then melt the knott alittle so it doesnt come untied later on. Its not really hard it looks like it is but its not at all. its easier and faster if you have 2 people doing it and then it will take about 30 mins.
“Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows us that as a government grows, liberty decreases.”
— Thomas Jefferson
Lacing it on is the right way to do it. It only takes about 20-30 minutes, and will last for many years.
For length, measure around the perimeter of your T-Top. You’ll need about 3-4X that total measurement in nylon braided cord to do the job (depends on gap between top and frame).
When I replaced mine a few years ago I used zip ties to get the canvas positioned and tight , then came back with nylon cord. Every 18 inches or so I added a half hitch around the frame to keep the line tight.
