<<Hi Mark, Can you give a brief explanation on how you laid out the hardtop and mounting plates in the glass ? Where can you pick up the foam and how to tie the hardtop to the windshield and the windshield to the deck? I guess we would like to hear the whole story when you have a chance and are a little bored.>> The construction process begins with the cored fiberglass top, about 10' x 14' both for WTP and the Gulfstar 49 "Southern Star" flybridge. WTP used PVC foam core, the Gulfstar used Nidacore polypropylene honeycomb (www.nida-core.com). Build a temporary form from 2x6's, cutting a curved top on them, spacing them every 2' on a pair of 2x8's for a strongback. Tack down the core material, using nails or wire to fasten the foam or honeycomb temporarily to the curved form. Install electrical wire conduits of PVC pipe where you will need them. Then apply glass and polyester resin of the appropriate thickness to the top surface. For tops this size, one layer of 24 oz Biax w mat over the whole surface, then a second layer over the central 60", 14' long was used. After curing, remove the top from the temporary form, and turn it over. Weight at this stage is only about 160 lbs. Next, apply glass and resin to the concave side. Then layout the desired shape of the top and cut to shape with a saber saw. Close out the edges with either more foam and glass (labor intensive) or foamed plastic-wood trim shapes from Home Depot. Use epoxy to attach these edges. The top is done, and now weighs about 300 lbs. The sides of the two pilothouses were quite different. On WTP, the sides are mainly 1/2" MDO plywood, coated with epoxy, then cutout for the aluminum framed windows. Some 2x wood framing, covered with epoxy, was also used here. The top is put on after building the sides, then glass-taped with epoxy on both sides of each join. The Gulfstar PH was built with large sliding glass window units, custom built for the job. 4 corner "posts", about 16" wide x 40" high were built from glass and nidacore, with the skins overhanging the core on top and bottom about 1.5". 2x2's were epoxied and glass taped to the roof sides, which would later receive the overhanging skins on the top edge of the posts to make a very strong lap joint. 2x2 rails were epoxied and bolted to the edge of the flybridge for strength, to receive the post bottoms the same way. All wood must be coated completely with 3 coats of epoxy to seal out moisture and prevent rot. Now the fun part. Throw a roof raising party. Invite 12 strong people. Before opening the beer, say "there's this little job I need your help with, won't take but a few minutes". With enough hands, lifting the top onto the walls (or posts) structure is easy. You should see their amazement when the top rails fit perfectly into all 4 posts simultaneously. The front windshields fit into wood trims epoxied and glassed to the roof, posts, and flybridge coaming. Lots of 3M 4200 sealant was used to bed all the window frames into their wood trims. On the Gulfstar, clear Lexan plastic was bent around the forward corners to comnplete the front glazing. I hope this helps you to visualize the building process. Mark Richter,M.E., Winnie the Pooh __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/