Canopy hatch (cont)

Functioning canopy (cont)

pic 1:
My buddy, Doug Miller, suggested putting a lip between the two parts of the moving canopy.
A good idea to keep wind from getting in there and it hides any gaps between the two parts when they are closed.
Since the surface is a compound curve, I cut a 1/16" thick by 2"X12" piece of ply for the lip.
The total width of the lip is only about 7/8" wide but it needs to be extra wide to conform to the compound curve.

pic 2:
Since the curve is compound, I had to, initially, remove some waste so it would lay flush with the canopy surface.

pic 3:
After attaching the 1/16" thick ply with #0 screws, I used thin piano wire to align the holes as I put the screws back in.
Since it would be easy to accidently put the screws into the wood in the incorrect spot, the wire keeps the original holes aligned with the screws.
It took several re-attaching all screws, marking the waste area, removing the ply and sanding it to conform to the canopy frame.
Remember, it's always easier to remove material than try to put it back on, so all the re-attaching, measuring and sanding is necessary.
I don't think a paper template would work well in this situation as it needs to be in the exact same location for each trim and the screws put into the ply accomplishes this.

pic 4:
After the lip aligned with both parts of the canopy, I sanded a slight angle on the edge that will slide under the front of the canopy and then applied the aluminum tape.
The tape was applied while keeping the ply at about the same curve as the canopy to keep wrinkles to a minimum.

pic 5:
In order to cut the clear plastic canopy, I had to remove the lip and front canopy frame.
I just used some curved tin snips to cut the plastic.

pic 6:
Parts re-assembled.

pic 7/8:
Closed position.

pic 9/10:
Open position.
I still have to make a device to attach to the back of the canopy and put a ball socket on it for the back guide.

pic 11:
The final shape of the canopy lip:
It is 9 3/4" long.