I can tell you first hand that the screws in the deck will not hold. I bought my fish master top from Marco Canvas in January 2019. They had a crew install in on a 23 Frontier bay boat that I had just bought preowned. (My first boat). Took a hard wake in back water in February 2021, look down and see 4 screws laying on the deck. I call Marco Canvas, they don’t have anyone available too look at it. (Can’t find help). They suggest drilling wider holes. (That’s brilliant, let’s do more of what didn’t work before). I contact Frontier’s engineering department and they send me detailed drawings and pics of the aluminum plates embedded in the fiberglass below the top deck and core. All the morons had to do was drill down 1/2 more and secure to the plates. Now this moron is doing it. Fishmaster should train their dealers to at least call the boat builder first for crying out loud! If your vessel doesn’t have the ability to secure to something stronger in the sub deck, don’t waste your money. Btw, I take the boat out maybe 1x per week in back water only so there was very little wear and tear on it before the bolts popped out.

@@timmckinnon9353 I added an inspection hatch on each side, and BOLTED through the deck, AND through a reinforcing plate. Helps when you build your own...

I used plates and machine thread bolts for mine. Inspection hatch next to each side, can easily completely remove and reinstall and there is NO chance of it ever loosening. Only lazy people would use self tapping...

no

there is a video for that - drill lots of holes 😞

Yes, this makes sense. How do you get the backing plate installed?

@@prettygirlus9008 If there isn't a backing plate or something intended to bolt into then the boat maker never intended it to have a T-top. You'd have to remove the floor section where the base will bolt to and installed a backing plate that is tied to the stringers. Then put the floor back, while will mean it will have to be re-gelcoated to match. Then you can through bolt into the backing plate. There's no easy way really.

@@Rico11b seems you can do that after those so- called weak screws come loose

@@Farmer2492 very nice. You just got lucky with the right t-top/boat combo. Or you don't boat on rough seas. If you never go in the ocean you may be ok. Sometimes ya get lucky and the combo works well, but that doesn't negate the fact that there is a proper way to have the t-top installed. I have lots of friends that have done the same thing. They only fish and boat in local lakes on calm days, then the first few trips to the ocean they begin to see the problems.

@@Farmer2492 there are lots of manufacturers that do say that. Show me a great boat builder that sells boats WITH a t top installed that doesn't have something like a backer plate also installed. Your boat probably has a backer plate and you don't even know it. Or maybe a very thick wooden deck glassed in. Many boats today don't even have any wood, so now what. Running screws into the top deck ONLY is NOT. a proper way to secure a t top that will last. Just because it worked well for you doesn't mean that's the proper way to do it. You've just been lucky, or you're full of shit. If it truly worked for you then great, congrats, but don't lead people to believe that is the proper way when it isn't.