Attaching Canvas to Windshield Track

[Cod Father]

I have a 2001 260DA and I removed the rubber extrusion from the bottom of my canvas that goes into the top of the track in the windshield support. Vadney clips won't work with the 2001 and I believe other years, of which I'm not sure. It was old, hard and really wasn't easy to install. One reason is my canvas shrunk a little over the years and it was too hard to put into the track. I had it removed and sewn up, so now I'm left without a way to attach the camper panels to the front of the windshield support. If anyone is interested, I found someone who makes these and they are $5.00 each, but he says he has to make a lot of them to make it worth his while. So if anyone has the same problem I have, let me know and maybe we can all put our orders in and make it worth his time.

 

[Chris Nowell]

Dave,

I understood the price would be $2.50 per unit if he didn't have to tap them. Personally, I would save the money and carefully install the studs in the predrilled holes myself. Also, by the looks of that extrusion, a person might be able to install each stud by using a longer screw and securing it into a predrilled hole in the base of the track. It doesn't look like it would interfere with the glass and that the screw tip would just reside in the hollow part of the track, unless I'm missing something here :huh: Of course there would be the issue of dissimilar metal contact at the point where the screw shaft entered the extrusion. I'm curious what the feedback will be because someone previously indicated that there was a danger of breaking the glass in the window. From this angle it looks as if the glass sits in the rectangular, grooved part of the extrusion. Now I'm REALLY confused.

 

[lawndoctor]

The aluminum piece in the photo is an actual replacement piece for the center section of the windshield frame that I bought from Taylor through a Sea Ray dealer so I would know exactly what I was dealing with. Taylor had previously supplied a small sample section to another person on this board, but Taylor was not willing to do the same for me, all they would do was send me the CAD drawing.

I agree you could screw the snap studs, or even stainless thread inserts, directly into the frame at the bottom of the extrusion slot. That does raise the issue of dissimilar metals, but Taylor put the frame together with stainless fasteners anyway, so I'm not sure how big a deal more stainless would be. I don't think you would crack the glass, unless you really slipped with the drill.

For my part, I didn't want to drill 23 new holes into a 12-year old windshield frame that is either irreplaceable or prohibitively costly to replace. Also, I didn't want to create 23 new opportunities for water to enter that closed space and start a corrosion process from the inside of the frame.

Having said that, the guy who is making my new cockpit cover, who BTW really knows what he is doing, said he just screws the snap studs directy into the frame in this situation.

 

[JimG]

You could have those pieces 3D printed... I wonder if that would be cheaper :huh:

 

[BryanOnTheBay]

You could have those pieces 3D printed... I wonder if that would be cheaper :huh:

Would they be strong enough? I suspect the plastic used is reinforced.

Bryan

 

[lawndoctor]

Would they be strong enough? I suspect the plastic used is reinforced.

Bryan

The material is King Starboard.

 

[BryanOnTheBay]

The material is King Starboard.

HDPE is some pretty tough stuff. I am not sure that the strongest nylon printer filament is as strong, and normal filament is ABS, which is good, but not great. Also, the question comes if it is UV stable.

Bryan

 

[JimG]

Would they be strong enough? I suspect the plastic used is reinforced.

Bryan

HDPE is some pretty tough stuff. I am not sure that the strongest nylon printer filament is as strong, and normal filament is ABS, which is good, but not great. Also, the question comes if it is UV stable.

Bryan

Good points... I have limited experience with printed parts. We (at work) have a few prototypes printed and they seem very durable. Looks like that part was milled out of nylon or Delrin (one poster said "king starboard"?).