Fat Bøttømed Girls

[DesertAlbin736]

Interesting that it doesn't take much chop to make it look like a whole lot of thinking went into the lines...not likely. But it does illustrate the bouncy nature of life on the A25.

Case in point: Screen grab from a video of WillieC crossing Strait of Georgia, BC in 2018. Wish we could upload videos here so you could see the whole thing. Haven't uploaded to YouTube yet. He can tell you what that was like, ha ha!

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Another still photo of WilleC crossing Georgia Strait

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This was on relatively calm days. Sometimes the strait can be like glass & calm as a mill pond, other times not to be trifled with.

[WillieC]

This is my idea of a calm day in Desolation Sound.

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Darn vapor trails almost ruined the scene.
Come to think of it, we were buzzed by some branch of Canadian Air Force in this same area on our return.

[Bob Noodat]

That would have been the whole Canadian Air Force.....

[WillieC]

"Any chance you know the overhang measurement? Is it enough? Too much?"

I can get you any measurement you might like. And pics to boot.

It all depends on where you measure from. The hardtop sits sort of hard on the original exterior...with gappage. It is about 1/2"-3/4" thick, except where I built it up so as to eliminate the water trap originally built in by the hatch. It also has a raised, nicely faired edge all the way around, except the stern. Trouble is, it trapped "water" along the sides that ate into paint and putty and glass. Nothing more caustic than seagull excreta. So I cut in relief on both sides to assist in draining. One of the major improvements on the boat.

I have an ongoing love/hate relationship with this top and would have preferred making my own, said the guy who has nothing else to do in his spare time except maintaining at least one metre from all human contact.

Oh, the water trap on the sides of the hardtop is DIRECTLY related to the topic of this thread. The original builder of said top was COUNTING ON the stern sitting low in the water, to drain the gutters. He just didn't load enough jit in the aft cabin. And the quick rocking period of the sea in these here parts wasn't long enough to drain the accumulated seagull pee. (I stay on topic, mostly.)

Nebulatech, let me know how I can assist.

[nebulatech]

I was just curious about how much the overhang is over the windshield, 8 inches, 14, something inbetween? And do you feel like it is the right amount, or is it not enough, too much etc. Not a project I was going to tackle this year anyway.

Here is a picture of a boat I found online. It seems to be sitting properly in the water, even with dingy davits, though I wouldn't consider the pool toy on the back to be an actual tender. This came from a Swedish website, so I assume this vessel is in Europe. I'm not sure I have particular insights based on it, but I'm sharing to continue the discussion. Same blue stripe as the WillieC!

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[Bob Noodat]

That's a nice looking boat. And a sailer! Needs more vents though.

So if you like a boat that rides level like that, why think of a hardtop? What does a hardtop weigh? Some of them look huge.

[WillieC]

"why think of a hardtop?"

I need to stay out of the sun as much as possible, and I love being outdoors. I don't think I could do an open boat. I have to avoid the fogged/crazed plexiglas hatch above the helm, so the Starfleet Commander does most of the piloting, while I check beverage temps. And it has been known to rain here.

Now if I lived in a tropical paradise like Sweden...swimming pools, movie stars...oh yeah!
Squamous be damned!

Actually, they say in our parts, the Salish Sea, there is more skin cancer because we all get lulled into thinking that the dismal 11 month cloud cover affords us protection. Not so.

How much do they weigh? I can lift one end easily enough, maybe 2 hunnert pounds total? It all depends on how they were built. The nicest one I ever heard of was built by one of our BC friends. Welded aluminum, with lifting hatches on both sides. Easily doubled the investment on that A25, most definitely not reflected in sale price.

The vents were added to balance fore/aft trim in that picture. Clearly.

[nebulatech]

Hard top weight can be mitigated by construction materials and techniques. I've never done vacuum bagging, but for small parts the technique is within reach for amateurs. Vacuum bagging over a foam core can produce a light yet strong top, maybe in the neighborhood of 50lbs. (2 gallons resin: 20lbs, 10lbs cloth, 10lbs foam core, 10lbs paint and hardware, all estimates)

It doesn't need to be structural. The top could marry to the end of the existing top rather than laying on top of it and use tubular aluminum or steel for vertical support. A canvas top weighs something. I believe it is possible to achieve a lightweight hard top. An aesthetically pleasing design is the key. It's on my list, maybe 2-3 years out.

[Bob Noodat]

For the sun, they came with those nice blue canvas tops, seemingly usually with sides that roll up. Yes, I would think 200 lbs would be a light one. Lighter than the average mother-in-law in our supersized age, I suppose. But then what if the MIL comes along too? Mount her on the bow? So to speak.

I have seen one that was married as you suggest. That is indeed good, mainly because it is reversible to the original. Cutting off the pilothouse roof is something I don't like to see. But then I don't like restorods either. Just a prejudice. My toaster is a 1953 model.

[Bob Noodat]

This is the best "married" design I have seen. So solid it will take the weight of a person. But the boat could be returned to original easily.

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[DesertAlbin736]

Hard top weight can be mitigated by construction materials and techniques. I've never done vacuum bagging, but for small parts the technique is within reach for amateurs. Vacuum bagging over a foam core can produce a light yet strong top, maybe in the neighborhood of 50lbs. (2 gallons resin: 20lbs, 10lbs cloth, 10lbs foam core, 10lbs paint and hardware, all estimates)

Note that in the picture of the boat Bob just posted the canvas over the wheel house does not have the bowed slat support that I just mailed to nebulatech. See what you get without it?

This is essentially what I did, minus vacuum bagging. I've posted this before, but I'll reiterate here. A lot of thought & planning went into this. Those weight & quantity estimates were pretty close. First of all, my hardtop with teak hatches weighs about 50 to 60 lbs. My reasoning on having a hardtop runs along the same lines as WillieC. Shade and watertight integrity is what we're after. Opening hatches provide ventilation, and I made Phifertex sun screens that can velcro over the hatch openings. In fact, with the sun screens built in to the canvas cockpit enclosure and a bug screen that can velcro over the forward deck hatch opening we can completely screen in cockpit & cabin to keep bugs out and still have ventilation. Also, the roof hatches are strategically placed so that when docking or otherwise I can stand up at the helm and stick my head out. Note that when adding weight the Albin brochure recommends adding weight up high and preferably outboard to help dampen roll rate as the boat depends on hull shape for stability, not ballast down low.

Building the hardtop started like this, after making patterns from 1/2" foam insulation panels, both to outline the horizontal shape and vertically to determine crown curvature

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Then fashioning the basic mold frame out of plain lumber at hand.

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Then framing the hatch coamings, which later consisted of birch ply cores. Note the foam pattern leaning up against the wall in the background and the notations on the frame, port, stbd, aft, etc to avoid confusion since it's upside down.

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Then lined with masonite, waxed & coated with release agent and the inside corners and edges filleted with molding clay.

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Then when all was ready laying down a layer of gelcoat

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Followed by measuring, cutting, and staging outer layer of glass cloth, then layers 1/8th" diviny cell core foam and chopped strand mat.

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Then the actual layup with isothalic resin, alternating layers of f/g mat & foam core to a final thickness of 3/4", while adding plywood backing for hatch hinge and solar panel attachment points. Note the pieces of foam and mat were cut like a puzzle & lettered & numbered according to position & layer. Temperature control was crucial at +/- 70 degrees. This was done during the first three months of 2015 when it was easy to keep my garage not too hot nor too cold. Note the thermometer sitting on top of the mat to note temperature. Temperature control is what helped Albin put out such quality work.

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Then framing & building the hatches using Iroko so-called "African teak" for frames, inner layer of birch ply and outer layer of marine grade Okeume teak veneer ply grooved & caulked to simulate planking and finished with varnish over epoxy resin. Note here there were some flaws & voids in the gel coat that had to be filled with epoxy putty & the whole thing painted with deck paint. This was a first attempt at laying up fiberglass.

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Final product ready for installation.

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[Bob Noodat]

It certainly looks very professional, and a far nicer finish than most I have seen.

I shall have to find out what vacuum bagging is.

[nebulatech]

OK, I found another picture while I was searching about windows. It was beautiful and I had to click on it. I believe it contributes to the discussion, as it features two NA A25's; the WillieC and La Dolce Vita. You'll notice that La Dolce Vita looks lower in the water, but actually isn't, than the WIllieC, which is sporting the hard top. It's all about the boot stripe:

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[WillieC]

That picture was taken on the day the four of us had visited the bakery in Ladysmith. We were all reposing in our aft cabins.

[Bob Noodat]

Looks as if DA was in a deeper sleep.......

But that is an instructive picture. Also the upper band under the rubbing strake emphasizes what appears to be the angle, with the boot stripe parallelling it.