Flybridge hard top

[ksanders]

Where did you source? I'm seeing 80lbs for 1/2" 4x8 Starboard - pretty heavy for a non-structural sheet.

Great thread - thanks for starting @ksanders - please keep us posted on your progress!

I bought the starboard out of San diego and it's being trucked to me in La Paz.

240 pounds or a bit less total.

The weight of one adult man.

My flybridge seats 8 comfortably, and we've had 26 guests on board for a party.

The boat is big, and heavy. It's been weighed multiple times on multiple slings at 47,000 pounds as is.

that little bit of weight is not a problem.

Imagine I make a fiberglass top, and save what a hundred pounds. Again thats nothing.

For example i removed a 700 pound skiff from the fly bridge deck and added a 130 pound skiff.

Here are photos of a friends boat, same model with a very similar hard top.

 

[SteveK]

Kevin, will you be adding solar and is that weight another 2-300 lbs.
what about the weight of the framework? Seems like you are adding 2-3 grown men. I recall you did or were going to do a roll test after the fins were installed, maybe a before/after.

 

[ksanders]

Agree, Starboard is too heavy in this application. Figure at least 3 sheets, that is a lot of weight up high. I patrolled Americas Cup the first year it was in San Diego aboard a 4588. It certainly knew how to roll. One crew member was sitting in a chair on the starboard side and in the blink of an eye was suddenly on the port side with the chair on top of her. It wasn’t a bad day out in the Pacific. I would want the lightest hardtop I could find up high on a 4788.

Dave, the 4788/4588 shares a rolling characteristic where if the waves, even seemingly small waves, match the natural roll period, the boat can set up a ever increasing roll.

I've seen it happen to my boat, and I've seen it happen to others. Sailboats at anchor suffer greatly from this phenonomon.

The 4788 is a soft chined hull and acts in the water differently than a square chined power boat. It acts more like a displacement hull.

This is not unsafe, it's just a characteristic of the hull shape.

My boat also has a very effective stabilization system, that dramatically reduces that tendancy.

 

[ksanders]

Kevin, will you be adding solar and is that weight another 2-300 lbs.
what about the weight of the framework? Seems like you are adding 2-3 grown men. I recall you did or were going to do a roll test after the fins were installed, maybe a before/after.

Steve, lots of folks have added hard tops to the 4788, including full on command bridges.

Never heard of one turning turtle or having problems, and I'll guarantee that the weight, of the combined structure is far less than the weight of the gigantic zodiac I removed form the fly bridge, that every 4788 owner seems to love.

I do not know the exact weight of the stainless structure. I could guess at 100 pounds, but that's just a guess. Maybe it's double that. Yes I'm going to also add renology flex solar panels at maybe 10 pounds each.

I do not know the manufacturer rating of the fly bridge, but somewhere i remember 10 people. At a industry standard 170 pound person that's 1700 pounds.

 

[SteveK]

no worries, just making sure you were adding it up. Yes I am aware and have seen cabins built with glass enclosure. Not having riden in one I do not know if there is a difference.

 

[ksanders]

no worries, just making sure you were adding it up. Yes I am aware and have seen cabins built with glass enclosure. Not having riden in one I do not know if there is a difference.

Thanks Steve. Keeping me thinking is good, that way there are no suprises down the road

 

[GB42-424]

Carbon core sells direct from their factory in South Carolina and can provide a shipping quote.

 

[ksanders]

I know folks for some reason do not envision starboard as a hard top material, and i am not sure why.

Except for weight starboard is the perfect marine hard top material if properly supported.

It is impervious to water
It will not stain
Nothing sticks to it, so it's easially washable
it requires no finishing, no painting, even on the edges, ever.
It is meant for outdoors UV rich environments.
It is easy to shape, and drill
it bends similar to plywood
It even accepts screws

I cannot think of a more perfect material.

Here is a friends or my boat with his starboard top over stainless.

 

[socalrider]

I know folks for some reason do not envision starboard as a hard top material, and i am not sure why.

Except for weight starboard is the perfect marine hard top material if properly supported.

It is impervious to water
It will not stain
Nothing sticks to it, so it's easially washable
it requires no finishing, no painting, even on the edges, ever.
It is meant for outdoors UV rich environments.
It is easy to shape, and drill
it bends similar to plywood
It even accepts screws

I cannot think of a more perfect material.

Here is a friends or my boat with his starboard top over stainless.

That does look very good - it seems like a good fit for your vessel. For me at least it's mainly the weight, which is amplified by the lack of rigidity, which means more structure is needed. I understand that you're not concerned about it for your vessel, but for mine putting 300lbs of starboard plus maybe another 100lbs of support 6.5' over the flybridge would be a significant impact to stability - not to mention if I were to stick rigid solar up there like I've always wanted to.

To me a perfect material would be something like the carbon core mentioned before. 24lbs for a 4x8 sheet, also pre-finished, so less than 1/3 the weight and much stronger. Ideally I'd fasten it to the existing bimini frame like the now-defunct HardToTop product & the resulting structure would be only marginally heavier than what I've got but vastly stronger. Lots of details that'd need attending to with a cored composite vs the StarBoard though so I totally appreciate your approach.

 

[ksanders]

Here are some photos of the construction as it is progressing.

The final measurements came out to be two pieces of 1/2" starboard, with about 18" cut off of the ends, so something around 140 pounds, plus the stainless steel weight.

 

[Mac2]

Looking good!

 

[ksanders]

I really like the fabricators attention to detail. He could have easially make the first traverse bar straight, and let the toip overhang the 6" or so to the Radar Arch. But instead he bent pieces to make it fit the shape perfectly.

I would have never known the difference.

 

[GoneFarrell]

Good to see the old shop dog is still laying around there. Img 5812.
Those guys are master craftsmen in sst.
They built an awesome davit frame for Paula's boat.

 

[ksanders]

Good to see the old shop dog is still laying around there. Img 5812.
Those guys are master craftsmen in sst.
They built an awesome davit frame for Paula's boat.

Yep, everyone loves Sergio's work!

Are you up in Mulege?
Where is Paula??? Last I heard she was in the South Pacific?

 

[GoneFarrell]

Yep, everyone loves Sergio's work!

Are you up in Mulege?
Where is Paula??? Last I heard she was in the South Pacific?

I'm at home with Paula. She is helping me recover from 4 bypass surgery this month, doing well.

We were in the French Marquesas all September island hopping. Boat on hard gets splashed mid December.

Mulege for me likely after the holidays.

You're gonna get a sore neck looking up at that awesome new hardtop!

 

[ksanders]

I'm at home with Paula. She is helping me recover from 4 bypass surgery this month, doing well.

We were in the French Marquesas all September island hopping. Boat on hard gets splashed mid December.

Mulege for me likely after the holidays.

You're gonna get a sore neck looking up at that awesome new hardtop!

Glad you are on the mend!

Please pass our regards to Paula, and stop by if you make it to La Paz!

 

[Nepidae]

My approach started with a HardtoTop as well. Worked grate built on a Bimini canvas frame. Hurricane Ian decided I didn't need that anymore.

Atkins & Hoyle in CA make a great frame (why reinvent the wheel). Then I put a corrugated plastic top on the frame. I had curtains from the previous top that was modified to fit the new top. Seems to be working great. BTW, I put our solar panels on that roof so the arch wouldn't block the sun.

Contact me offline for specifics and I can help with the plastic company and canvas, depending on where you are.

Good luck.

 

[ksanders]

Here is my hardtop frame, as it is being constructed.

In the next couple of days they will be here for an initial fitting of the completed unit.

That will allow them to take the final measurements and angles for the supports, and to make a plywood pattern to cut the starboard roof correctly.

Looking at the details, they are welding a continuous plate around the outside so that I can choose my window sizes based on the natural fall of the stratoglass material.

The starboard roof will be welded together to make it one intergrated unit.

After I have constructed the windows I'll install three 200 watt renology flex solar panels, That combined with my existing solar will make the boat energy independent except for my watermaker, hot water and stove use.

 

[mvweebles]

Beautiful work Kevin. I forget what you decided, is this being done in La Paz or Ensenada?

Very exciting.

Peter

 

[ksanders]

Beautiful work Kevin. I forget what you decided, is this being done in La Paz or Ensenada?

Very exciting.

Peter

Thanks Peter! Sergio in La Paz is doing the work.

i want to have the flybridge fully enclosed for our Pacific Coast cruising adventure that starts in three short months.

 

[ksanders]

Here are a few photos of todays work

 

[lwarden]

That’s coming along nicely. I like the design, it fits the boat lines well.

 

[Bmarler]

Assuming the starboard will overhang the tube frame, will there be a drip edge on the bottom perimeter? If not, I can imagine water will wick back somewhat.

 

[ksanders]

Assuming the starboard will overhang the tube frame, will there be a drip edge on the bottom perimeter? If not, I can imagine water will wick back somewhat.

Right now I'm thinking I'll leave a 4" or so overhang of the starboard. I do not plan on a drip edge right now, but could easially add one if necessary.

 

[mvweebles]

As a suggestion, if I were to do my hardtop again, I'd make better provisions to deflect rain and condensate from coming right off the sides. Deflect it to the rear or something. Not s big deal, but annoying enough that it would be worth the forethought for me.

Peter

 

[Mac2]

Right now I'm thinking I'll leave a 4" or so overhang of the starboard. I do not plan on a drip edge right now, but could easially add one if necessary.

Consider a water catchment system. Either a raised edge (1 x 1 ), starboard material, around the perimeter to direct rain water to a down spout.