September 3, 2009

We have a hardtop!!

Jim woke up this morning about 5am. Turned on the TV and they predicted rain late morning. So we got up..started the coffee…while that was going, Jim put the last coat of paint on. While that dried…we grabbed a cup coffee. Then it was time to put the handrails on.

My sister, JoAnne, had given us a set of 7’ teak handrails. I spent 2 or 3 days sanding them down and putting teak oil on them. They came out great!!! They really make the top look good and will be a good safety feature.005

Since there were only 3 of us. Jim and Carl tied ropes to the opposite side of the boat trailer…ran them through the cockpit …under the hardtop and tossed them up to me. That way, I could pull and keep it from flipping backwards.006

They each took a corner and lifted until it was over half way up. Then Jim came up the swim ladder..Carl the stepladder and helped lift it the rest of the way. Once it was set on the cabin roof..it was only a matter of sitting the corner posts in place.015

Once they were somewhat secure he could get on the cabin top and thru bolt the leading edge.024

We tacked the side curtains in place. They don’t completely fit but will keep most of the rain out until we can get new ones made. They will definitely not be blue. It’s is amazing how hot it gets. We’ll use a light tan or something in that range.033

So..my next project…get an estimate on side curtains ..