!@#$%&*!@#$%^&* eisenglass panels

[Lazy Daze]

i guess when i said 'pound the rubber into the channel' that was a little overstated.....i could use my hand and thumbs to push the rubber into the channel after i applied the dish washing soap but the rubber mallet made it a little easier to 'pursuade' the rubber to slip into the channel.....:grin:....

cliff

I've got a few different sized "persuaders" in my tool box, too! :smt001

I wonder if whoever made your canvas made it a bit short - or possibly just copied the existing ones... which may have shrunk over time.

It really is a good system - it just isn't one of those "no brainer" things - it takes a little thought. But it really can be done in about 5 minutes - even in adverse conditions on the water (I do it all from inside the boat) - unfortunately, I've been there and done that a few too many times!

 

[CliffA]

found this source for the vadney clips....$1.90 for a pack of 10......these are to add snaps to the windshield channel.......

http://www.northstarproductsinc.com...ductID={343E6B0C-69E2-4D1F-AC81-40418E929B6F}

cliff

 

[Chris Nowell]

I wonder if whoever made your canvas made it a bit short - or possibly just copied the existing ones... which may have shrunk over time.

According to the dealer the front, sides, and back are original and have never been installed on the boat. The PO had the boat sitting on a lift at his summer residence and only used the mooring cover and the bimini. The frame work is riveted so there is no chance of the PO having adjusted it. We'll be going out to the boat later today just to see if anything has come apart yet. I bet that if the top was used on a regular basis over the life of the boat, then everything might have fit a bit better. I remember back in the old days, before "Sunbrella" was around, the tops and mooring covers on our boats would have to be stretched beyond belief in order to get all the snaps done up if they had been sitting around in the basement for a while. Hope it all works out. We're already 2 months late for "splash day", and we still have to de winterize, put all our stuff on board, and get this "new to us" boat ready to use for a few weeks before we come to the conclusion that it's too small and we should have bought a 260 :grin:.

 

[CliffA]

I wonder if whoever made your canvas made it a bit short - or possibly just copied the existing ones... which may have shrunk over time

that is a very real possibility......the old windows were brittle and i am sure had shrunk over time....i bet the canvas shop used the old windows as a template.....

i use a different canvas shop now that i am pleased with.....i am thinking of adding the vadney clips mentioned in this thread to the windshiled channel to add snaps and then getting my canvas shop to make a one piece 'rain cover' out of sunbrella fabric....the cover would be used in lieu of the 5 canvas windows and protect the majority of the cockpit...it would have zippers on top to mate up to the bimini zippers and have snaps on the bottom to mate up to the newly added snaps in the windshield channel.....if/when rain is expected i could install this 'rain cover' in just a couple mins....i really only need the protection of the windows when we run into rain while on the water....as Mike said in one of his post it just depends on how you use your boat and why/when you need the camper canvas.....i don't really need the protection of full blown camper canvas....all i need is protection from rain once in a while and to keep dew out of the front of the cockpit when we camp.....it would not matter if the rear bench seat gets wet with rain......a lightweight rain cover for the front and sides of the cockpit is all i need which could be stored easily and quickly installed/removed and would allow more room to move around on my relatively small boat during a rain storm....the windshield would allow sunlight into the cockpit when the rain cover is installed so it would not get too dark in the cockpit....

cliff

 

[Chris Nowell]

Checked it out again yesterday and everything seems to have held together. The Admiral found the original tags on all the pieces for the front and sides and they appear to be original and unused. My best guess is that the bimini part relaxed over the 14 years of use and the sides had not yet stretched. BTW, the rear "stand up" part went on without any trouble at all. It was just the front and side eisenglass pieces that were troublesome. Thanx again All for the responses.

Chris

 

[Lazy Daze]

BTW, the rear "stand up" part went on without any trouble at all. It was just the front and side eisenglass pieces that were troublesome.

That's normal, too. The rear pieces don't need to be stretched as tight. The front ones, if they're not stretched as tight, will be wavy and harder to see through.

 

[Chris Nowell]

I still like the old style tops that were sloped from the windshield to the first bar in the frame. They gave the boats a more streamlined, classy look. We always had a couple of zippers sewn in above the helm so the option of standing up to steer the boat was always there. Sure, it got a bit wet at the helm station occasionally,,,,,,,, but it IS a BOAT, and it was always wiped down in less than a minute. Oh well, change is gonna happen:smt089,,,, suck it up Chris:thumbsup:.

Edit; I'd like to add that the original top for this boat is extremely well made. Liberal use of Velcro and extra material at the edges probably provide weather proof seals. Kinda doubt if we could get work like that done around here. Hope this top lasts a while.