Recycled foredeck pieces from an America’s Cup yacht made into an aft hardtop
This episode is all about our hard top over the cockpit. It was made using more salvaged parts from the 2007 America’s Cup. This time we have got a bit of Swedish vibe going on.
The foredeck on the America’s Cup boats had a HUGE hatch with which to launch their spinnakers and it was perfect as the observation hatch in our hard top. We have the comfort of a secure hardtop to protect us from the elements with the option to open our massive sunroof and observe sail trim.
We used recycled spreaders and jumpers from various race boats to mount the hardtop to the boat. The jumper spreaders originally contained hydraulic rams to adjust the rake of the spreader. We used these as the perfect place to run electrical wiring for our outdoor lighting. The overall effect is sleek, racy and downright carbon-sexy. The steering consoles were also given a make over and now are laminated firmly in place as part of the covering structure.
Carbon fibre C Tech batters were recycled into finish off the edging of the carbon/Nymex cores hardtop. In the end the entire structure weighs less than 40kg!! Winning!!
The crowning glory and our most favourite piece isn’t in fact the hardtop. It’s our McConaghy carbon fibre trim tab wheels which we retro fitted to replace our stainless steel steering wheels.