Help on rebuilding sundeck

[nateo]

Hi there. Bought a used boat and took it for sea trial over weekend. Sundeck covering engine blew off while I was going down highway. Couldn't find it, think someone might have picked it up for some strange reason. Anywho, now I need to build a new one but don't have a pattern to go off of. I have a couple of questions and hoping someone might know the answer to.

How much of a gap should I leave when I cut the board? Also planning on using vinyl on top of course but what should I use on bottom? The seat cushions (which were recently redone) have some sort of black mesh one them that looks pretty nice, anyone know what this is called and if I should use it (not sure if it will melt due to heat). Do I just use 1 inch foam on top, will the stuff at joann fabrics suffice?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Help on rebuilding sundeck

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... Pictures sure would Help,... to see what yer matchin' too,...

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Help on rebuilding sundeck

Yup, MFG. Year etc... Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Put an ad in the Paper or on Craigslist! Maybe the FINDER might come forward!!!!

 

[nateo]

Re: Help on rebuilding sundeck

This picture is from a boat same model and year as mine. The cover is is about 3' x 6'. So far I have the shape of the board cutout with roughly a quarter of a inch of space on each side. I am planning on using 4 nice stainless steel hinges 1.5" (unfolded). Previously there was a flimsy long piano hinge on that sucker (which is what broke when it flew off). Just not sure what size gap to leave on the back because this thing is going to need room to tilt up and the whole thing will be recessed in between the fiberglass.

Board so far weighs 50 lbs. The front of the cover simply rests on top of a vinyl covered 2" x 4". Anyone know what kind of latch mechanism what be appropriate for this type of setup? Are will gas springs be sufficient to keep it from popping up and ripping off? (someone removed them previous to me buying boat) I seen some gas springs at the boat store today that were rated for a certain poundage, such as 20, 30, 40. I guess that's for a single spring so I should use two 30's?

For the foam I ended up buying a 1.5" memory foam topper from mal-mart that was half of the price of the amount of foam I would have had to buy at joann-fabrics. I'm planning on using that for the top.

I have this suspicion that this is going to take several attempts to get this thing correct. If anyone has any tips I would be ever so grateful.