Re-dressing the lady and worrying about weight testing the hardtop

[PJHoffnet]

4100 SCA.
1) Best way to re-enclose the bridge? and ...
2) ... Aft/sun deck hardtop - how much weight can I put on it?

The big lady's bridge has been topless and un-enclosed since I removed the Bimini cover and isinglass right before Irma visited. Today my wife and I put everything back up.

While it was a fairly easy 'strip' job taking things down - just about an hour (just me doing it) including the aft/sun deck isinglass - putting everything back up ... well, not so much fun. Two of use working for about two and a half hours.

The isinglass for the aft/sun deck was easy, took the wife and I about 20 minutes including cleaning each of the four pieces. The bridge was a completely different story.

First thing we did was put the Bimini on, and zipped it up on the fixed forward and aft rails. Also zipped up the two movable support rails in the middle.

The biggest problem was installing the three aft panels of isinglass that snap into the ridge running across the the aft/sun deck's hardtop, just aft of the sky light. There's simply no easy way I could figure to get those snaps in aside from climbing up over the helm bench and laying on the hardtop, being careful not to put weight on the sky light, and reaching around in some really weird angles to reach all the snaps.

On several occasions we had to 'drop' the Bimini's two middle support rails or do some real stretching of the isinglass panels to get their snaps snapped.

A post effort review of our work brought out some ideas that might make things easier.

- What if we hung all the isinglass first and then just loosely fitted the Bimini, snapped all the snaps and THEN zipped the Bimini to its support rails?

- What if I laid on the aft/sun deck hardtop 'out side' of the enclosure - thus having more direct and easy access to the snaps at the base of the isinglass?

I'm not one to shy away from food, so I'd be putting a good 250lbs on the hardtop. I'd try to 'spread out the load' (literally) by laying down, vice standing/walking on the hard top. I kinda thought this might be 'ok' when I looked at the radar and HD OTA antenna that are already mounted on the hardtop. Someone had to be out in the middle of the hardtop at some time, or did they build a scaffold over the hardtop and work that way with out putting weight on the hardtop? I decided not to give that a try today before consulting you folks to see if anyone knew the hardtop's weight limit.

Hoping not to do the strip or re-dressing until necessary for the next hurricane and I'd like to do it smarter next time so any advice/lessons learned you folks have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[kingstonal]

well Paul i am 6 ft 3 and weight 280 lbs have been on the hardtop many times, cleaning and re installing that back canvas . I am now going into winter stoeage and we do not take canvas off, just clean in the spring. But i know what you mean, about being a pain. Did you see the pictures i sent you with the seadek on the 4100 sca.+

[kingstonal]

By the way Paul, where do you keep your boat. coming to florida later on in the winter, and if you are around, i would come for a visit

[shrew]

1) Install the Bimini, leave all the slides loose (Do zip up the sleeves).

2) Hang all the eisinglass from the top.

3) connect all the bottoms

4) Zip the verticals

5) Tighten the poles