Folding T-tops

[Bryan A.]

I am planning the second restoration for my 73 CC probably for next year, my question is has anyone seen or heard of a good folding t-top design for this boat. I live on a river and I need to pass under a bridge with about 5 feet of clearence at high tide. I would like to add a top but I don't want to have to worry about tides. Any suggestions or photos would be greatly appreciated. Has anyone tried this on their boat. Thanks guys. I look forward to the suggestions.

[Mark]

I've seen a few t-tops that can hinge forward/backward but am not sure if there is necessarily a company known for it. I'd give Birdsall or some similar fabricator a call and find out what they charge to do that. There are plenty of people in a similar situation in FL, so I'm sure you can get a few makers to bid for the work.

Alternatively, I had what I believe is called a "garage t-top" on my previous boat in which the top tubes were smaller than the tubes on the bottom half of the top and when the two push-pins were removed, it would slide down (telescopically) to console height...

[ScottM]

Bryan,
A buddy of mine has a 21' Hydra-Sports CC with a folding t-top. I'll try to get some pix in the next few days for you. Basically it's 1" diameter stainless tubing that is hinged on the forward legs and the rear legs have pins in them. I'm not sure who made the top since he bought the boat with it 2 years ago. It works pretty well, although he doesn't need to fold it for any reason. With only a VHF antenna and a laced canvas top, there's very little weight up there so the shaking is kept to a minimum.

Mark's design having the tubes slide into each other seems to make more sense. I'm guessing you get less shaking and a tighter joint.

[RS]

Check out this posting on the Hull Truth. This guy did something similar with a radar arch.
Folding Radar Arch