195 BR canopy frames

[Pugwash]

Hi All, 1st post, 1st Searay! Just Had new convertible top canvas's made inc sides and aft for my 1995 195 BR, unfortunately I do not have the original frames and need to know where I can get them or a pattern/diagram so I can have them made, even pics would help.

 

[Pugwash]

One more try to see if anybody can help!

 

[blaster]

Most good canvas guys will bend one custom made to your boat. Can't really help you with measurements but I have seen more than one canvas guy fabricate a frame and match it to the boat.

 

[Lazy Daze]

You can try Great Lakes to see if they have the pattern to make a convertible top. That's about the only "store" I can think of that might have the original.

But... how did you make the enclosures without a convertible top? I hope not, but you might run into a fitment problem by having the enclosures made before the top. Typically, the enclosures are made to fit a top, not the other way around.

 

[Pugwash]

Hi, guys, I had a new convertible top made and shipped from the US by Searaycanvas which I,m sure came from Great Lakes boat top Co, I thought it would be an easy job to make a frame to fit but even experts over here said it is really difficult without a pattern, I have contacted Searay parts, Great Lakes and Taylor Made with no luck as to who made the original frame. Looks like I will be getting my conduit bender out and making my own.

 

[Lazy Daze]

You mentioned you contacted "Searay parts". Is that Sea Ray, the company, or some aftermarket place? Try contacting Sea Ray directly, if you haven't.

That being said, I think it's going to be tough to make a frame to fit the canvas. Even if you got an original frame there's no guarantee it's going to fit the canvas you had made. Another place to check for frames, though, would be marine salvage yards.

 

[Quint4]

Making a frame to fit existing canvas would be a nightmare.

That is some backwards engineering that will be problematic from beginning to end.

Bending frames is an art in itself.

 

[lawndoctor]

FWIW when I wanted to replace the stock aluminum frame with stainless steel, I traced the frame pieces onto large paper, mailed them to a fantastic canvas shop in New Jersey, and they bent them perfectly to match. The new frame fits the old canvas perfectly. If somehow you can get the boat's frame from someone with the same boat, or a good tracing of it, you might be able to solve the problem that way, and you also get the choice of frame material.

 

[Quint4]

FWIW when I wanted to replace the stock aluminum frame with stainless steel, I traced the frame pieces onto large paper, mailed them to a fantastic canvas shop in New Jersey, and they bent them perfectly to match. The new frame fits the old canvas perfectly. If somehow you can get the boat's frame from someone with the same boat, or a good tracing of it, you might be able to solve the problem that way, and you also get the choice of frame material.

Yes! A tracing of existing frames would be a major help if someone has your same canvas setup.

 

[Pugwash]

Good idea re tracing, the new canvas is advertised as being the OEM taken from the original pattern and would be an exact replica of the original, not sure just how many 195s there are in the UK, I was hoping there might be a couple who are members of this club.
I appreciate all your help and advice.