1975 Trojan F-26 Homebuilt hardtop under construction

chucka · Post by **chucka** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 9:41 pm

My project has been percolating along slowly. I'm hoping to have her in the water before the end of June, but that will only happen if I'm able to take a few extra days off work and I've been very busy there. With the price of gas, I don't expect to be going far, but I want shade for when we sit out on the deck.

Here are a couple of photos.

Let me know what you think. I don't pretend that this is fine craftsmanship, but so far I'm pretty happy with the appearance. I've got just about 6 feet of headroom under the ribs, except right along the side frames where it comes down to about 5'-9". The frames are made of mahogany painted with interlux topside paint. The top itself is 1/2 inch marine plywood with a light coating of West expoy before painting. I probably should have put more resin on the plywood, and maybe a layer of cloth because I'm already seeing signs of the plywood wood grain opening up small cracks in the paint. That's even with 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of topside. It looks like the plywood layers are just not glued as solidly as I expected.

I was working today on framing in the windows. I bought some starboard, which I'm cutting in 1/2 inch strips to go on either side of 1/8 in plexiglass side windows. So far the material tab is about $600 (not counting the stuff I had lying around), which according to standards means I should have spent about $120 on beer. I'm way behind in that department!
Chuck

thecode9000 · Post by **thecode9000** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 4:11 am

great work looks real good and sharp

mr elevman · Post by **mr elevman** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:55 am

looks great now your ready for a fly bridge realy it looks good

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 6:27 am

looks great ! good job .

randyp · Post by **randyp** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 10:38 am

Looks really sharp! What's supporting the front windshield? It looks like you removed the original framing from the side windows. A suggestion about the top. You can sand/prep the top this fall and then add the cloth and epoxy. Two layers should be plenty (maybe only one). Then prime and repaint. The plywood might start to delaminate over time. Just a suggestion. Nothing beats a hardtop on the F-26!

chucka · Post by **chucka** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 11:28 pm

Thanks for the feedback. Here's a photo that shows the frames before the top went on. Most of the support comes from the aft 1-1/2 x 2-1/2 Mahogany posts that are screwed and glued to the superstructure with 3M-5200.

The side windows are framed with mahogany 1x 1-1/2", which is screwed directly into the aluminum windsheild frames with self tapping screws and also glued with 5200. It's pretty stiff, I wouldn't try to stand on the roof, but it doesn't budge when I hang on it or try to wiggle it.

The top is screwed, horizontally into the posts and vertically into the top frame, but when the screws are removed, the roof lifts right off the frames.

I'm closing in the side windows with 1/8" lexan. The windows will be fixed, and I'm thinking of cutting a hatch in the top for additioanl ventalation.

rick1954 · Post by **rick1954** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 7:51 am

You are doing a great job, you should be proud, it looks great.
I was contemplating the idea of the hard top, I think they look sharp and serve a huge purpose. However, you answered the most pressing question I needed an answer on. â€œ you are going to cut a hatch in the top for ventilationâ€ tells me that it can get hot under the top from lack of air movement. I think I will stick to the soft-top for now.
Again Chucka , awesome job.

chucka · Post by **chucka** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:57 pm

Here she is on the water with the hardtop in place. I didn't get as many coats of paint on as I wanted to, but sometimes you have to just declare victory and move on.

I put sliding plexiglass panels over the windshield to add a litle extra ventalation for when I want to close the main windshield.

wowzer52 · Post by **wowzer52** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:11 am

very nice and well thought out. A+

mr elevman · Post by **mr elevman** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 8:41 pm

very nice it looks like it belongs not a add on

MattSC · Post by **MattSC** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:07 pm

You did a great job on her, really adds to the boat, very sharp. You also did a very professional job on your deck. That was a project I was glad to finish, looks like I ran into the same problems you did. I finally found this forum after 15yrs of owning my F-26, lots of good info. I decided awhile back that ithe F-26 is the perfect boat for what I do and so I have continually upgraded her.....I'm actually waiting for my new outriggers to arive the next couple of days

take care,
Matt

Danny Bailey · Post by **Danny Bailey** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:31 pm

Looks just like it belongs to be there. When you get ready to fiberglass the top check out 'Merton's Supplies' and 'System Three' epoxy products. Did me very well on a 26 gallon epoxy project on a 1973 28ft Chris Craft years back.

Fryedogg · Post by **Fryedogg** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:35 am

Looks great! I have a 1979 Trojan Express Hardtop. Yours looks like it came from the factory. What engine do you have and what is your prop size?

randyp · Post by **randyp** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:48 am

Great looking hardtop! You done good, real good! Enjoy the rest of the season.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:03 pm

looks good