| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| cliveshep |
Posted - 16 Jun 2017 : 02:54:44
Your topic is locked so cannot post a reply. Perhaps Trevor shut the door on leaving?
Anyway, not a 23 but an old 18.5, essentially made it of 25mm thick white oak (you can use any good hardwood but I was trimming in oak on this boat) and bonded to the superstructure with Sikaflex because (a) the hard top is too springy and thin for screws and (b) it is double layer with the cabin moulding making it almost impossible to get between the skins.
The bond was so good I think you could almost have lifted the boat by it's wheelhouse, just two screws, one each side through the cockpit coaming to hold the side frames until the Sika cured.
Cheated on the framing - resin glue and biscuit joints, stainless screws and pellets, glass bedded on mastic tape as used in caravans, beaded with screwed oak beads.
I used my 1/2" collet Silverline router, a power plane, Hitachi circular saw, and Bosch jig saw along with a 3" Bosch belt sander and a Bosch pad sander plus of course a pistol drill and the cordless screwdriver.
The roof was a sheet of aluminium, sprayed white before fitting, bonded down to the curved oak roof bearers with Sikaflex, trimmed all round with painted aluminium angle "pop" riveted down. Before final fixing cables were run for the ceiling light, and compass light (the compass mounted on the windscreen centre mullion. Note - the folding mast on the cabin coach roof had to be high enough so the anchor light was still visible above the wheelhouse roof.
I treated myself to a brand new Janome sewing machine (recommended because the inside parts are metal unlike Singer which have plastic parts) to make the bunk cushion covers. I bought some blue vinyl covered pram hood material, literally for perambulators, to make the hood because it wasn't too heavy for the Janome to sew. It is simply a tonneau cover but Norman cockpits are not so large that there wasn't sufficient headroom with it fixed under the leading edge of the wheelhouse roof.
Maybe this will give you some ideas? Hope it helps.
Finally living the dream!
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| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Mad Harold |
Posted - 07 Jul 2017 : 09:19:43
That does look superb. I'd love to have a similar one on my Norman 20,but unfortunately I don't have the skill to tackle it.
I guess it would be very expensive to have it done professionally,so I will await winning the lottery. |
| .danny. |
Posted - 04 Jul 2017 : 17:50:13
I'm looking to replace the hardtop on my Conquest, a previous owner had cut part of it out, I think possibly to give more headroom? It was forever ponding, and leaking in. Wasn't sure whether to repair or replace, but after seeing Clive's handy work, I'm going to replace  |
| Canveysteve |
Posted - 04 Jul 2017 : 11:04:34
Clive you are a total star I was looking at it totally wrong way as well that's good good start of the photos we were looking at getting this done ASAP as I'm getting a lot of water in as well as the bush behind me trying to take over my boat is that the mind one hard stand I finally got my last two windows going to the front it's got to make some timber frames now all the side windows are in so it's a bit of a wet out |
| cliveshep |
Posted - 16 Jun 2017 : 13:33:32
You go under it! Under 7ft air-draft.
No one said anything about no bridges and the bigger Normans go under bridges with hard tops so unless you got that silly bridge at Shalford on the River Wey or that one on the Middle levels where I once hit my pulpit (it was on a sea-going boat with a massive sheer to be fair) I don't see a problem.
Finally living the dream!
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| stratford4528 |
Posted - 16 Jun 2017 : 07:27:35
What happens if you come to a low bridge. I made a fold down cockpit for my 32 |
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