I need to replace the canvas on my tee-top soon. The sun, wind, salt and time have taken it’s toll. I have toyed with the idea of marine canvas, sunbrella and having one made of fiberglass. That being said, I recently was pitched the chance to put an aluminum diamond plate top on it. Paint the bottom and leave the top shiny to reflect heat. I have never owned a boat witha tee-top before this one, having always been a freshwater bass fisherman (I had Ranger boats). Are there advantages and or disadvantages to a hard t-top cover? I figured that an aluminum top would require some upkeep, but should last forever. Thoughts/comments? Thanks in advance.
“There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.”
Ernest Hemingway
Skiing and riding then no. Fishing then I would consider it. EASY way to tell. Take a piece of plywood, temp bolt it to the top then add whatever you need to on TOP of it to add up to the right wieght. Drive the boat. You can find the wieght of the checker plate lots of places, figure it up and test it. Little more work but I think it would tell you alot. BTW: A gallon of water wieghts 8.5 lbs. Tie a couple of 2 liter bottle on top and you can add alot of wieght fast!
The top will support no weight other than the top itself and my GPS and VHF antennas and the anchor light. 1/8" aluminum shouldn’t add a whole lot more weight than a canvas top. Maybe 10 additional pounds. 99% of the time we will use the boat for fishing and maybe 1 or two trips per year pulling a tube or skis. The thinnest diamond plate will suffice as a cover. I don’t need anything thick as the top will not need to support any weight.
“There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.”
Ernest Hemingway
I wonder how some 1/4" King Starboard XL would work. You could drill holes in the edges and mount it same as a canvas top. Or maybe those stainless p-clips with the rubber chafe protection. The closed end could go around the t-top tubing and the open end could sandwich the starboard with a through bolt. I think using the traditional method with line would be more secure and a lot cheaper.
1/8" aluminum shouldn’t add a whole lot more weight than a canvas top. Maybe 10 additional pounds.
1/8" (.125) aluminum sheet weighs approx. 1.763 lbs. per sq. ft.(according to Wilkinson Steel and metals)
That means if you have t-top that measures 5ft. X 7ft.(35 sq. ft) 1/8" sheet plate for that area will weigh about 61.7 lbs.
I don’t think 1/4" starboard would be much lighter, if any.
Canvas that size is what, 2-3 lbs?
Just my 2 cents worth.
Bob
Bob Van Gundy
Marine Designs,Inc.
Custom Aluminum Fabrication
803-727-4069
Aluminum deck plate may reflect heat but that Chit gets HOT! Just lay a piece in the yard and go touch it after about 15 minutes, cook eggs on that stuff. And it will be reflecting sun into your anchor light antenna or whatever else you have mounted, quickly “cooking” it.
Also, that stuff rattles and makes a lot of noise. You would have to shock mount it at every fastener.
The only hard top I would consider is something non metallic and white in color.
There is a reason that RV’s are painted white on top.
Fishing on the bottom is like having sex with the lights turned off. It feels good… but I wanna see it.
Lights On!
With Bob’s calculation on the weight I would be concerned. The top was designed for canvas, adding that weight may cause the top to snap in rough seas. I have seen many a good top break loose offshore with just canvas, outriggers, and antennas. Also would be hard to find diamond plate big enough to cover the whole top w/o having to piece it. I believe most plate is sold in 4X8 sheets, and most tops are closer to 5X7 as
Bob mentioned. I just replaced my Sunbrella canvas top w/ more canvas. Thought about the starboard alot, but did not think the white would look right on a offwhite and green boat, plus was worried about the weight. Got 13-years out of the previous sunbrella, it sits in the sun and salt year round and to be honest it was only faded a little. If I had the money and really wanted a hard top, I would take the top to a builder and have them beef it up, then go w/ the honeycomb covered w/ gelcoat like most hard tops are made Just my 4-cents
I just want to clarify, all though I did calculate the weight for a 5’ X 7’ top, the actual weight per sq.ft. was provided to me from Wilkinson Steel and Metals web site. Actual weight could vary.
Aluminum can pe painted white (or whatever color) to help dissipate(sp?)the heat, but it would still absorb heat, making it hot underneath.
I personally would stay with the canvas top.
Bob
Bob Van Gundy
Marine Designs,Inc.
Custom Aluminum Fabrication
803-727-4069
You definately wouldnt need 1/4 if its not supporting any weight. I would look for 8 or even 16 ga if they make it. I too would be curious as to the cost of a fiberglass top that could bolt or screw over your old ttop.
You know the radiated heat is something I hadn’t thought of. I was seriously thinking of having the whole thing powder coated in white and then paint over the welds with white paint. The shop built a custom t-top and powder coated it to match the guy’s boat. It looked bad-azzed and wasn’t exceptionally heavy. But they built the whole thing from scratch to the owner’s specifications. I guess I will stick with a sunbrella type stuff or marine grade canvas. Getting hotter, from radiated heat, on the boat in the middle of the water would not be a good thing. Thanks for all of your valuable input. You guys are great.
“There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.”
Ernest Hemingway