Custom made aluminum top for a 20 foot Thunder Jet

[Jaybones]

I would love to hear your guy's opinions on adding a custom-made aluminum top to my 20-foot Thunderjet. The original canopy is getting old and will need to be replaced soon, might be able to get one more season out of it. I keep the boat in the marina for the summer and wrap it in a tarp in the winter months but it is never stored inside so the idea of a hardtop is very appealing. I saw this Thunder Jet (mine is exactly the same) awhile back with a custom-made hardtop and thought it would be a better solution than replacing the original canopy. Adding rocket launchers and a net holder on the side would increase the functionality of my boat as well. I thought about getting it powder coated or vinyl wrapped to match the color of my boat. Any recommendations on a quality fabricator that could take on this job, (I am in Victoria)? Any ballpark idea on what this would cost to get made? Any other issues I may encounter in doing this? I have also toyed with the idea of buying a new boat, something a little bigger and better suited for the ocean. I assume that if I did sell this boat in a few years I should be able to recoup part of the cost of the hardtop as the resale value will be a little higher vs. a soft top. Love to hear everyone's 2 cents worth.

 

[happy hooker]

Functionality wise, great upgrade. To my eyes though, You can always tell when a hard top has been added to a non hard top boat, never looks quite right. May be just me....

 

[Gordon]

I would love to hear your guy's opinions on adding a custom-made aluminum top to my 20-foot Thunderjet. The original canopy is getting old and will need to be replaced soon, might be able to get one more season out of it. I keep the boat in the marina for the summer and wrap it in a tarp in the winter months but it is never stored inside so the idea of a hardtop is very appealing. I saw this Thunder Jet (mine is exactly the same) awhile back with a custom-made hardtop and thought it would be a better solution than replacing the original canopy. Adding rocket launchers and a net holder on the side would increase the functionality of my boat as well. I thought about getting it powder coated or vinyl wrapped to match the color of my boat. Any recommendations on a quality fabricator that could take on this job, (I am in Victoria)? Any ballpark idea on what this would cost to get made? Any other issues I may encounter in doing this? I have also toyed with the idea of buying a new boat, something a little bigger and better suited for the ocean. I assume that if I did sell this boat in a few years I should be able to recoup part of the cost of the hardtop as the resale value will be a little higher vs. a soft top. Love to hear everyone's 2 cents worth.

This looks excellent. Great idea. I've fished in an open 20 ft welded aluminum boat for 15 years and have been thinking of adding a top. After looking at the pics I might do the same thing.

 

[ChrisK]

I think for it to add value it needs to be well designed. If it looks original it will add value, whereas if it’s off even a little it would actually detract value. Great idea for functional, just make sure it’s well designed.

 

[redrunner]

First time post from a WA guy here, was waiting to have something worthy to contribute..

I'm pricing out a hardtop on my 21'. The local fabricator and I decided it would be cleaner and less labor for him to cut my exiting windshield off at the gunwale and use new sheet material to build the hardtop. I'm wanting the top to resemble a silverstreak when finished. It's about $1500 more once we buy new windows but the improvement in line of sight from rear deck and not looking like an add on is worth it in my opinion.

 

[Oly1]

First time post from a WA guy here, was waiting to have something worthy to contribute..

I'm pricing out a hardtop on my 21'. The local fabricator and I decided it would be cleaner and less labor for him to cut my exiting windshield off at the gunwale and use new sheet material to build the hardtop. I'm wanting the top to resemble a silverstreak when finished. It's about $1500 more once we buy new windows but the improvement in line of sight from rear deck and not looking like an add on is worth it in my opinion.

That sounds like a great upgrade. Welcome to the forum by the way. Hope you are going to make a build post with pictures showing the progress and outcome. Where are you getting your windows from?

Oly

 

[Hot-Streak]

I plan to do this to my 18ft Silver streak when it is time. My plan is to have my new top made of aluminum/metal in the same shape as my current soft top. The sides and back curtains will still be the clear flexible soft top material as I really like the larger windows/visibility.

I'm in Victoria as well and I saw a few months back and ad for a custom made aluminum where they had fabricated a top that was in the shape of a curved soft top but in aluminum. I even saved the pictures as I intended to contact them in a few years. I'll have to dig it up once I'm home from work but it was exactly what I wanted.

Note. I also plan to make my replacement top frame the same shape/mounting points as my current soft top so I can detach it just like my soft top. I also intend to vinyl wrap or paint it so it even looks like the original soft top.

I agree that keeping the look if possible will make it better. I also keep my boat in the water year round and this is something I want to do.

The other reason I want a metal replacement hardtop the same shape as the soft top is that it is taller then the hard top version of my boat.