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Canopy Skirts!

comfortcat

Well Known Member
So, what do Caitlyn and I have in common?

We are both ready for our skirts!

These are aluminum and not exactly perfect, but they look pretty darn good to me!

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The back skirt was the hardest, but the side skirts did require a little shape.
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Notice the pen marks. They give location and direction for the curve. This whole process is like my early romantic life: On again - Off again.

These skirts were install and removed MANY time, so you need to be careful with the clecos. Go easy and try to pre-align the parts: canopy frame, canopy, and skirt.

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Here is my trick: I bought a 3 foot piece of 4" PVC pipe and screwed it to the table top. I was able to use that to form the bends on the aluminum skirt. Take it easy and be patient. This took just over 8 hours including re-painting. The inside of the skirt is the interior color and the outside is just primer.

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Be sure the PVC pipe is firmly anchored to the table. You will be applying some force, and you do not want it to move.

Practice with some scrap to get the feel of the bend. Use the same thickness in practice as you will on the actual skirt.

Not perfect, but I'm pretty happy. For real perfection, all the folks I talked to use fiberglass.

CC
 
Those look fantastic, David! Great write-up and photos; they'll really help me in a couple of weeks (I'm fitting/trimming the windscreen right now). Much easier to visualize the bends by studying your pen marks.

What sort of hole finder did you use on the aft skirts?
 
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Beware of Clecos in the Plexi

Nice job and write up - for those sticking clecos through plexi - BEWARE - make sure you have good alignment, I chipped some of the plexi holes and had to sand down to the base of the crack - be careful !
 
Hole finder??? I don't need no stinking hole finder!!!

Actually, I used the plexiglass canopy to guide the holes.

1. Clamp and tape canopy to canopy frame
2. Drill canopy and frame
3. other stuff....
4. Remove the canopy from the frame
5. Use the holes in the canopy to act as guide for holes in aft skirt.

CC




Those look fantastic, David! Great write-up and photos; they'll really help me in a couple of weeks (I'm fitting/trimming the windscreen right now). Much easier to visualize the bends by studying your pen marks.

What sort of hole finder did you use on the aft skirts?
 
David,

Very nice. MUCH better than the first time I saw them! The PVC was a great idea.

Congratulations on working thru your problem to get a very nice fit.
 
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