Converting a Bimini top Seafarer to a Hard Top

[Ramblin Reck]

I did it with a little help from my friends. Searched long and hard for a salvageable hardtop off of a Grady White 22' Seafarer and found one. The rear legs were broken off just underneath the point where the two supports are welded. The front feet or landing pads were left on the sunken boat. Bought the windshield and side and back curtains too. They had not gone down with the ship in the hurricane. I found some 6'x1"aluminum pipe used for hand rails at McMaster-Carr. I had to get them bent a little but they slid inside the old pipes perfectly. Will try and reduce size of my photos. We used wood dowels 6' long to fit the top where it should go and made sure the curtains would fit. My boat had snaps already in place. PB blaster freed them up. I used 6' wooden dowels to figure out where the rear feet would land. Determined thay had to come in 5" on each side

 

[Ky Grady]

Not seeing the hardtop in that pic. I see the support arm and the enclosure clears, but it looks like I'm looking at blue sky where the top should be. Glass roof option?

 

[Ramblin Reck]

Hopefully here are some pics of the old top being fitted, along with some of its problems and the top on the boat

 

[Ky Grady]

There it is. That's a great project though. Good score on finding the top.

 

[Ramblin Reck]

Grady White owner down on the St Johns River South of Jax had his blown off the dock lift during a Hurricane event. He found it by walking on the river bottom. Was just about to take it to the scrap yard when he saw my ad. There was a Cobra VHF radio in the electronic box that still lights up! Says WATERPROOF on the front! In one picture you can see where it was broken completely in to and it was rewelded! Also another pic shows the port side strut support missing. That was replaced. Another pic shows the BEFORE with the original Bimini Top on it. It is viny and I have it listed for sale. Has one small hole on it side near rear bow about the size of an apple. Can be patched. You can see the front foot or pad is missing in another pic. The rear support legs are the neatest. I will get a pic of the swivel brace I bought to secure it to the deck.

 

[leeccoll]

Quite an ambitious project, love it!!

 

[Ramblin Reck]

I did it with a little help from my friends. Searched long and hard for a salvageable hardtop off of a Grady White 22' Seafarer and found one. The rear legs were broken off just underneath the point where the two supports are welded. The front feet or landing pads were left on the sunken boat. Bought the windshield and side and back curtains too. They had not gone down with the ship in the hurricane. I found some 6'x1"aluminum pipe used for hand rails at McMaster-Carr. I had to get them bent a little but they slid inside the old pipes perfectly. Will try and reduce size of my photos. We used wood dowels 6' long to fit the top where it should go and made sure the curtains would fit. My boat had snaps already in place. PB blaster freed them up. I used 6' wooden dowels to figure out where the rear feet would land. Determined thay had to come in 5" on each side

Here are some more pictures. The "feet" on the rear support poles swivel. The original rear supports curved in and did not go all the way to the top of the fish box.

 

[Ramblin Reck]

Quite an ambitious project, love it!!

Thanks. I was lucky to find a match for my boat which is a 1988 model! I had estimates of $8,000 to build one from scratch!

 

[Fishtales]

Spend some time and reglass the edges and cracks. The core is balsa so you don't want to get it wet. Nice job.

 

[Ramblin Reck]

Spend some time and reglass the edges and cracks. The core is balsa so you don't want to get it wet. Nice job.

It does not Feel like Balsa core! It is heavy! Maybe waterlogged from being submerged for several days or weeks. I will heed your advice. Thanks for the heads up. Do you think they were balsa cored back in the late 80's?

 

[Fishtales]

Don't know but I'd think so. You can drill a few test holes in the underside and see how it looks. You probably won't have to worry about freezing so hopefully no delamination. Maybe don't seal the underside just yet. Let it bake in the Georgia sun for a while.

 

[Ramblin Reck]

Don't know but I'd think so. You can drill a few test holes in the underside and see how it looks. You probably won't have to worry about freezing so hopefully no delamination. Maybe don't seal the underside just yet. Let it bake in the Georgia sun for a while.

Thanks.

 

[PNW_Drifter]

Score!