Hi all, as titled we've noticed an issue on our 1990 Puck whereby the upper frame section of the pop-up skirt is coming away from the actual roof section. It looks like this was originally fibreglassed in place, but over the years and the extreme heat we've had recently it has finally given up. See pictures...

I've cut away the pieces of tape that are no longer doing anything to try and clean it up a little, but what is the best way to reattach it properly? We were thinking down the epoxy resin route but not 100%.

Thanks!

Did the aluminium strip fit underneath the remnants of the fibreglass tape? epoxy resin should do the trick. Epoxy is pretty much the same as fibreglass resin.
West System do a repair kit which should have everything you need ( though you may need to get some more tape ).

This is usually available at boat chandlers ( example given Force 4 which I have used many times, at about £30)

https://www.force4.co.uk/item/West-Syste...ASABEgKpVfD_BwE

I could post you a couple of metres of tape ( maybe for a contribution to Randa’s website slush fund) as I have a roll sitting around doing nothing (nor ever like to). Send a PM if needed.

You would need to cut away the old tape where it isn’t fully stuck down and give it a good rough up before applying new. You could probably clamp the rail in place with some small rare earth magnets , one of the roof and one below the rail. Cover the bottom one with polythene and it won’t stick to the epoxy.

West epoxy is very strong. I once glued a boat I was building to my garage floor, and when I eventually got it off, it left a lump of concrete stuck to the bottom of the boat but that is another story!

Oh and you do it yourself, cover everything that you may drip epoxy on, with polythene and a dust sheet or paper.

Thanks Steve! I thought it would either be an epoxy job or a bolt job. Can it be epoxied in place or is it a case of removing the roof entirely and doing it on the ground?

From the sound of it, you may want an extended reinforcement plate for the hinges at the front and back to clamp the rail in place and presumably epoxy the rest in place. Given that the roof is fairly small, it would probably be a lot easier to have gravity on your side. Epoxy has the consistency of runny honey, so working overhead can be tricky. Someone more familiar with the Puck would be able to advise on removing the roof.

Yes I am definitely going to look at removing the scissor mechanism and welding a tabs along the edge to extend it into the aluminium channel. I'm a fairly competent welder so it shouldn't take me too long.

Hello
Our much loved Eriba Triton M Touring has also developed this problem this summer. We also believe it dates from 1990s. Are you going to remove the roof completely to do this repair and do you internd to replace/renew the Canvas when you put the pop top back together? Our fibreglass roof appears to be quite soft is this usual?