< One major wish, thought, idea is to change from a bimini with enclosure to a true hard top with enclosure. > At half the price with the same functionality is a welded frame with vinyl cover. A number of the Moorings 4700 sailing cats, Robertson and Caine 47's, have been converted from bimini to hard tops at $14,000, $21,000 with enclosure, or welded frames with laced on vinyl top, on which you can walk, for about $7000.00, $15,000 with enclosure. At 15' x 17' and a custom one-off hard top, I imagine $30,000 - $35,000 is closer to what you'll spend. What both give you is a top that is stable enough to support enclosure panels so that they don't sag. Also waterproof enclosure. The 18' x 12' welded frame on my fly bridge has been up for almost ten years, never been touched, and stayed up through Earl, cat 4, and Debbie, a cat 2 hurricane, with the fabric on it. I prefer using 1 1/2" aluminum pipe, schedule 40, which requires no maintenance. Yes it oxidizes and corrodes in places, but with almost 1/4" wall it isn't going anywhere in my lifetime. A welded frame is a third or less the weight of a hard top, unless you up the price considerably and go with carbon and epoxy. You can do a hybrid top of welded frame and thin fiberglass panels, but still more expensive than a laced vinyl top and there is the incompatible fastener issue joining the panels to the frame. This is an example of a low profile frame on an eighty footer, http://www.doylecaribbean.com/boats/ynot.html . This went on in 2001 and hasn't been off the boat since, although she has 40,000 miles on her including six or eight trans-Atlantics. This is another example on a seventy foot cat, http://www.doylecaribbean.com/boats/belladonna.html, which has been to New Zealand and back by way of Alaska, Japan, and most of the rest of the Pacific Rim countries. Robert Phillips, Managing Director Doyle Sailmakers BVI, Ltd Tel: +284-494-2569 Mobile: +284-541-2206 VOIP US Tel: 423-285-8752 Skype: doylebvi