A27 Hard Top Modifications

[sail149]

Modifying the A27 hard top.
Quite a few boat have extended the existing hard top that is only over the helm.
Later boats '90+ have longer hard tops than the earlier '84-89's. About 2-3' I think.
But even the later boats could have a the top extended right over the center cotpit of the Aft Cabin versions.
This is of course great as protection from the sun and rain as well as allowing side curtains to enclose the cotpit and greatly increase the dry and usability of the boat in inclement weather.
The extended hard top also could function as a solar panel mounting or storage for light wt Kayaks etc.
Many of us are looking to do this modification but it's quite a big project without something to start with.
Hard tops can be repurposed from some other application but it may be hard to make it look like a factory installation so that it looks right and does not reduce the value of the boat.
There are some decent jobs done one out there that would be worth seeing a photo of.

So let me offer up the top on my boat as what I think was a decent job and looks like it belongs.
It's has some minor issues but on the whole is a solid job that could be duplicated and be an almost bolt on addition to any A27. See below.
So it would be possible to make a mold and produce tops for installation buy owners or boat yard of their choice.
I have customers in industrial fiberglass business and I could work with them to produce hard tops .
If talking about a semi commercial project is not appropriate I hope the moderators will let me know if it's ok or I can work with anybody off the board but I think we could discuss the possibilities here first .
Let me know what you think.
I started a new thread here as the discussion started in a thread 'A27head modifications' and we needed to separate the subjects.
Warren

[JT48348]

Warren: where do I get alum supports like yours? are they custom made. I love the look

[don123]

Glad to see this thread. Hopefully it will be of use to others, as the boat really needs a hardtop, IMO . . . . but building one is no simple matter

I'm currently (still) in the process of designing/building a hardtop on my A-27 also and I'll offer a few tips to others who may decide to undertake something like this. I built a hardtop on my Endeavour 34 which covered the cockpit and gave me space to mount a pair of large solar panels, so I do have some experience. I got numerous compliments on that one and several people asked me if the boat came with it. I promise some pictures of my current effort, once I have something finished enough to take pictures of

If your goal is to try to make it look like it came on the boat from the factory, there are several things you'll need to pay close attention to. First, there are very few straight lines on most boats and the few you will find are all fairly short - If it's a hard edge more than a few feet long, on most boats if you look closely, it will have a slight curve. Straight lines added to boats which didn't come with any from the factory usually stand out like a sore thumb

Even our existing hardtop has sides which are not parallel and if you examine them closely, they have a slight curve. The existing hardtop is 93" wide at the front and 98" wide at the aft end, curving outward from the front to match the boat as it gets wider amidships. If it were to be carried aft, the curved sides would continue, narrowing as it goes aft so that it will be something on the order of 84 to 86 inches wide at the aft end, depending on how far aft you're taking it. IOW, extending the hardtop aft from the widest part of the boat, the sides of the hardtop should curve inward as you go aft, mimicking the curve of the deck/rubrail as it goes aft - There are no straight lines fore and aft on the boat and if your hardtop has them, it will look . . . . odd

The back end of the hardtop definitely should not be a straight line either - It should be curved approximately mimicking the curve of the transom. The front corners of the existing hardtop are rounded and the aft corners should approximately match that curved corner. The camber of the existing hardtop should be carried aft - It's about an inch higher in the center than on either side. There shouldn't be a flat surface on the top of your new hardtop anywhere

IMO, if you have an absolutely straight line anywhere on your new hardtop, it's going to look out of place

Granted, it's easier to eliminate many of these details and go 'straight and square' building something but if you do, it will be pretty obvious to even the casual observer that it's something that was tacked on later on and did not come on the boat from the factory. For me the hardest detail to get right so far, is to match the existing rolled edges while slightly bending them inward so the new hardtop follows the curve of the rubrail as the boat and the hardtop get narrower as you move aft

I am about 80% complete on my new swim platform and it goes with the lines of the boat very well and there's not a straight line on it anywhere, nor any parallel sides. I've made it a pretty beefy piece and installed a 1" solid stainless 'D' shaped rubrail all around the perimeter, so it should be OK even with the occasional bump when docking. It incorporates a swim ladder mounted underneath and I've designed a removable bracket so I can mount the dingy outboard to the platform to move the boat in an emergency

Don

[tego]

Don, It looks like you've been in my project and design book. I've done exactly the same thing on my swim platform, except I used some 3/4 solid ss that I salvaged from an old OWENS that went to the scrap heap. My emergency motor mount works great, except now I've got to get a larger motor. My little 3 1/2 HP doesn't quite cut it. It's true about everything else that you said. It follows my design parameters for my hardtop. It has to look like the rest of the boat! Also no hard corners anywhere anyone might fall against it. I think I'm going to construct a teak beam up under the hardtop, from the wheelhouse support teak, all the way around. That'll give me a good place to attach the side curtains easily, add support, and dress it up a bit. It appears we think alike! Ben

[don123]

Ben - We're definitely on the same page!

My hardtop uses 2" x 3" Ipe beams attached as you say in the front and going aft a little over 7 feet. The aft end of them is supported by 1 1/2" stainless tubes which go through the aft cabin top at the forward most points. The portside one sticks out the top and supports the crane which will lift my dink on top of the hardtop. The 12 volt winch motor for the crane is under the port lazarette seat and the rope runs inside the tube . . . . or at least it will when it's all finished

I also have a pair of 1 inch stainless supports in the center, one just aft of the engine opening and another one 42 inches behind that one. My new dining table/refrigerator will go between them

It's just been too darned HOT to get much done this summer, but fall is approaching and I'll get back at it and finish in time for a spring launch

Don

[JFOkie]

Don and Tego,

Please post some pictures when you can, I would like to see your swim platform and any other project(s) that you may have done or are doing.

I'm very interested in extending the roof of the wheel house, but have other projects to do.

John
M/V Nirvana

[NickScheuer]

Nice Hardtop! I am planning to make one for our Albin-25. One feat5ure I will incorporate is a pair of upwardly hinged panels just aft of the original helm cover, measuring about 10" wide and 24-30" long which will give more clearance for our heads, backs, and shoulders for entry and egress. The edges of our existing canvas cockpit cover restrict our movement too much.

But another question, about those vents appearing on your boat's starboard side. Do they just open to the engine space without ducting? A mechanic somewhat familiar with Albin-25's has told me our boat could profit from additional ventilation for the engine compartment.

[don123]

The vents open directly into the engine space - No ducting

I *think* the ones in Warren's pictures are aftermarket replacements though - They don't look to be stainless and I've never seen any other 27 with vents like those

The 4 cylinder powered A-27's came with 4 smaller stainless vents, 2 per side and the 6 cylinder powered version came with the same, but the vents were larger (longer). I enlarged the holes and put the larger vents in mine. I found the exact same stainless ones that came from the factory

Don

[eschool66]

I would gladly support a group effort to build reusable standard molds for extended fiberglass hardtops for both the A25 and A27.
Ernie

[sail149]

Warren: where do I get alum supports like yours? are they custom made. I love the look

Your right they were custom make but possibly repurposed from something else as they are anodized except where the welding was ground smooth.
Warren

[sail149]

Don
Interesting comments about the shape. I'll check it out. I am in the pattern / model business for fiberglass parts and metal casting so understand exactly what you are getting at.
What did you decide about the width of your extension?
Mine looks good I think but the drip line means it drips on the seats without side curtains up. I have some aluminum drip edge to install to help in a light shower or condensation situation but I think a fiberglass top could have a drip edge built into it.
Warren

[JT48348]

I would gladly support a group effort to build reusable standard molds for extended fiberglass hardtops for both the A25 and A27.
Ernie

I second that. Please count me in.

[sail149]

I did some quick measurements of my hardtop extension.
It is 95" wide and parrellel . The top extends about 100" aft
It's a little hard to tell as I don't know the orriginal length.
I hope the widths did not vary too much. Could anybody measure the width at the back and post the dimension and year of boat....thanks...

Does anybody have a photo of the orriginal hardtop back from the inside and
How far does it extent beyond the upright at the pilot house sides.?
I think the last 3-4" were cut of my orriginal and the middle filled in.
Don while I see why you might want to follow the curve of the boat a parrellel sided top would be cheaper to make and I think looks quite good on my boat bad allows a stop to be put into the mold to allow it to be made in different lengths. The later boats had longer hard tops by the way.
Warren

[don123]

I think it's all personal preference, Warren. True, something with parallel sides would be easier to make - I was just pointing out that if Albin had extended the hardtop 8 feet aft when they built the boat, it would not have had parallel sides and a straight line across the back. There are very few long straight lines on this boat and the entire boat does narrow as you go aft of amidships

I hear you with the water dripping on the seats - Mine will too. To build the top wide enough where that doesn't happen would have it looking quite odd, unfortunately. You can either have form over function, where it looks good, or you can have function at all costs where it doesn't. The single most important thing to me is . . . . I want it to look like it came on the boat from the factory, not something I added on later

Don

[tego]

Don and Warren, It would be a little more complicated, but a drip molding could be incorporated on the extension from the side teak on the existing hardtop, all the way to the rear. It would have to be tapered on the forward end so it could be faired onto the old top. It would look like the geniuses at Albin thought of everything. When I build my top, I had planned to construct a drip trough similar to this that can be added after I mount my new top. I'll epoxy it on to the top, fair it in and then paint the whole shebang. Ben