hard top bimini (newbie question)

[Medved]

I am sure there is a simple answer to this, but being a new sailor I cannot find it just yet. I sailed a catamaran last year that had a fiberglass top over the cockpit, and the owner had fair bit of solar on it. It got me thinking as to why not to do something similar on a mono? So basically instead of a dodger/soft bimini combo and then a dedicated solar arch on the back, just have a hard top.

[Rainbowrider]

In am assuming your question is: can I have a hardtop on a monohull?

Mostly Yes and and sometimes No. Depends on your boat.

[flightlead404]

Sailed a Morgan IO 33' over thanksgiving that had this, worked very well and looked great. This was built with plywood over 2x2 and 2x4 with fiberglass and awlgrip.

I was considering it at one point. I think I would do it they way they used to make the wings for VariEZ type aircraft. Carve if from foam, make yourself a large hot wire "knife to get long straight edges and some plywood guides for the curves. Make cutouts for things like speakers and lights, including conduit (leave in the pull strings!!!!!), and glass over it and paint.

Just as strong and lighter than the wooden frame.

[Medved]

Originally Posted by Rainbowrider

In am assuming your question is: can I have a hardtop on a monohull?

Mostly Yes and and sometimes No. Depends on your boat.

Yes, I do mean a continuous hard top from the companion way (dodger) all the way aft with see through window to see the sails, with the same width as the dodger/bimini. Again, the idea is to have space for the solar.

[Rainbowrider]

As long as your main sheet track is out of the way it’s probably more of a “looks” discussion and well, saftety.

Personally I don’t like the “caravan” look but sailed last December on a Roberts 47 in the Tasman Sea when we were hit with plenty of breaking waves and that sturdy hardtop helped to feel safer than without.

This one was a full hardtop and it was a pain in the butt to check sails but the owner said you get used to it. I didn’t like the peeking out of the cockpit exercise at all.

[Rainbowrider]

And the see through window idea is apparently not as easy as one might think.

[wholybee]

I have seen it a few times. If you have panels on a dodger/bimini, then a high percentage of time many/most/or all of them will be shaded by the boom. The further aft the panels, the more sun you get. So an arch well aft of the boom will produce more power than the same panels further forward.

Also, as mentioned, you can't see your rig.

[tkeithlu]

That window. You lose a bit of visibility at night even without tinting. Your view of everything about you, from the set of the main to the horizon, is limited. You've got to keep it clean. You might consider a design that allows folding the window down or up when the weather is nice.

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by Medved

Yes, I do mean a continuous hard top from the companion way (dodger) all the way aft with see through window to see the sails, with the same width as the dodger/bimini. Again, the idea is to have space for the solar.

Some boats are built with hard top biminis, the Hunter 40 comes to mind.

https://www.marlow-hunter.com/large-...ce-and-luxury/


There are very few that are hardtop all the way aft, that restricts some visibility. The ones that do are mostly pilothouse designs, which is better for colder climates, like this Nordhavn 56MS.
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...t-95261-6.html

[flightlead404]

Originally Posted by Medved

Yes, I do mean a continuous hard top from the companion way (dodger) all the way aft with see through window to see the sails, with the same width as the dodger/bimini. Again, the idea is to have space for the solar.

You mean, a pilothouse

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by Medved

Yes, I do mean a continuous hard top from the companion way (dodger) all the way aft with see through window to see the sails, with the same width as the dodger/bimini. Again, the idea is to have space for the solar.

We like ours to keep us out of the sun and weather. Obviously when its cooler, one misses the sun a little bit (not too much).

In the design, one should add a viewing hatch to see the main/windex from the helm (or where ever you sit mostly) will say we do have to come outside the cockpit to trim the genoa well, but that in most part is from the main blocking the view of the genoa.

We used glass (w/just a slight tint) in our dodger windshield. This allows for the best visibility and the use of Rainx. Even though the high end plastic windows (Stratglass, O'sea, etc.) have good optical clarity when new, they are expensive and need to be replaced more often than glass. Also the use of Rainx allows for better visibility in the rain than w/plastic.

Some one mentioned ventilation through the windshield and agree it is a very important criteria in the design. While we typically have excellent airflow in the cockpit, we have two large opening sections of the windshield. These do let in a large volume of air and can be opening when raining.

IMO the hard top is a great cruising feature and works for us to reduce sun exposure.