25.5 poptop questions

[Todd & Lynn Alley]

Enjoying first season with a 1986 25.5. Only complications revolve around the pop top. Small drain holes in the underside of the poptop drip condensation or collected rain water... what should we do to prevent this? Does anyone sell a bug tent to drape over the pop top so it can stay up all night? And what is a good way to stop the SCREECH when sliding the hatch back and forth? Input much appreciated.

 

[Joe Boyette]

There are other posts in this website about pop-

top issues. Do an archive search... the top can collect water, so some folks have drilled the drain holes. Maybe you can put a sheet metal screw with a small o-ring around it into the drain holes to seal it up, allowing you to drain it when you want to. Get a boat canvas shop to make a tent for you.Remove the hatch from the boat and clean the slide area to prevent the screech. Maybe a little SAILKOTE would help.

 

[John]

What I did

I also had some water coming from weep holes. I found a solution by filling the weep holes with cauk. Of course, that meant water would collect in the campanion way hatch track. I found a simple, but effective, means to totally remove the water in a relatively short time was to place a short piece of 1/4 inch line under each teak strip holding the hatch that was well frayed on each end. This formed a wick that removed the accumulated water automatically, eliminated the water drip problem, and has not resulted in any damage in over five years. The wicks need to be replaced each year, but they do work.

 

[Dan]

Pop-top leak

I also had some leaking through the holes in the pop-top. I found that my leaks were coming from the screws holding the teak hatch strips on. When I sealed up the screw holes my leaks went away. I would recommend rebedding the screws real well.John do you have any pictures of your rope wicks? I am not sure I understand how they are mounted but would like to give them a try.I have noticed another problem with my top. It doesn't seem to be a structurally strong as it should be and is sagging between front and rear. Has anybody else noticed this?Dan,

 

[Anthony Bavuso]

pop top sagging

I have noticed my pop top sagging also.