Drilled Canopy Sides

I repositioned the canopy and clamped it down.  I then used a 1/8" plexiglass drill bit to drill through the canopy, aiming for the 3/32" holes already in the frame.



Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, the front of the canopy pulled up about 3/32" of an inch on the left and 2/32" on the right.  This is a pretty common problem, and the fix is fairly easy.  The canopy can be pushed down flush with very little force, so I'll fabricate a couple of aluminum clips that can be riveted to the canopy frame to keep it tight while I lay up the fiberglass along the front joint.



Now that the canopy position is locked in, I laid up some masking tape to define the area to be painted.  I'm going to paint the part of the skin that is under the canopy a flat black to avoid glare.



I trimmed along the line I defined a couple of days ago, this allows the canopy to transition more gently from the skin to the side channels.



Here's a shot from a different angle showing the gradual transition.  This is a much better solution than extending the notch forward.