Forward bulkhead

[chriselk]

Yes we routed the honeycomb and then cabo ed the coosa in. I would suggest you take a saw and cut the perimeter first on the line. The honeycomb makes going straignt with a router difficult. Not a big deal as you are going to fill in anyway. Set the saw/router to the height of coosa. It does not hurt to overglass in the coosa on the back side. I am a big believer in mulitple 17 oz glass layers as opposed to 1708. Three 17oz stronger than two 1708 and lighter too.

You probably dont need reinforcement for the console or leaning post. The T top probably does need it. We are putting T nuts under the deck glued into the coosa. I have found out the hard way with T nuts. Epoxy them in with the screws and the T top while they set. That way the angle is perfect because you cannot get to them later. Also they wont push out if the angle is not perfect.

Said in other words. We will put the T top on top, screw holes the size of the screws. Flip the deck over and drill a slightly larger hole for T nuts (may just bang them in), epoxy the T nuts in with slow cure epoxy/cabo (keeping epoxy off the threads if possible). Flip it over again and place the T top back on. Screw the T top down and allow epoxy to set.
Remove T top for installation of course.

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by chriselk

Yes we routed the honeycomb and then cabo ed the coosa in. I would suggest you take a saw and cut the perimeter first on the line. The honeycomb makes going straignt with a router difficult. Not a big deal as you are going to fill in anyway. Set the saw/router to the height of coosa. It does not hurt to overglass in the coosa on the back side. I am a big believer in mulitple 17 oz glass layers as opposed to 1708. Three 17oz stronger than two 1708 and lighter too.

You probably dont need reinforcement for the console or leaning post. The T top probably does need it. We are putting T nuts under the deck glued into the coosa. I have found out the hard way with T nuts. Epoxy them in with the screws and the T top while they set. That way the angle is perfect because you cannot get to them later. Also they wont push out if the angle is not perfect.

Said in other words. We will put the T top on top, screw holes the size of the screws. Flip the deck over and drill a slightly larger hole for T nuts (may just bang them in), epoxy the T nuts in with slow cure epoxy/cabo (keeping epoxy off the threads if possible). Flip it over again and place the T top back on. Screw the T top down and allow epoxy to set.
Remove T top for installation of course.

Thanks for the info. I will cut out with a saw and use the T-nuts over the box stringers too, I should be able to thru-bolt the console between the stringers. My top will mount to the console and not the deck so that's where I need the strength. I always wondered how much lift is generated trailering at highway speed with a t-top - I bet its a bunch! I may skip the reinforcement on the leaning post, I'll just see how it goes when I am there.
Thanks!