99 Islander 268 top options

[Watersong1999]

Hi all,
I just picked up a 99 Islander 268, and I'm searching for Top options. It looks like it had a Bimini side mount at one time. I'm struggling to find any that has side mounted Bimini replacement. I would much rather a hard top with enclosure but seems to be a hard find used. Does anyone have any recommendations? Or looking to sell a top that would fit? I'm in NY if that makes a difference.
Any help or direction would be appreciated.
Thank you in advance.

 

[Hookup1]

I have a 1997 268 Islander. It's not going to be easy to find a hardtop and tower. If you do condition and refinishing it will be a big factor. And you will need an enclosure made. I refinished my hardtop, tower and enclosure a few years back. Everyone I talked to told me to just build new components - it would be cheaper than paying everyone to refurbish. They were right. Instead I did all the work myself. Take a look at this thread.

Post in thread 'Hardtop fiberglass repair'

Jul 9, 2025

I refinished my hardtop a few years ago. Gelcoat chipping all around and heavy chalking. Also no reinforcement for the rigger bases leading to stress cracks. AwlGrip epoxy fairing, AwlGrip epoxy paint. Coosa composite board for rigger base reinforcement. Topside non-skid underside car hood gloss finish to match hull.





As SkunkBoat said use epoxy products for repair. Easier for DIY person to use with excellent results. This was my first fiberglass and painting project and...

• Hookup1

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[Mustang65fbk]

As has been discussed on here a few times before, you've basically got 3 options as to how to proceed. The first is going to a local shop and having them fabricate up a hardtop for you, though this is likely going to be the most expensive option. The second would be scouring the internet and seeing if you can find a hardtop only for your exact make and model of boat, which imo is going to be a needle and a haystack type of situation. Though there were a couple hardtops only located in the Florida Craigslist pages a few years back, so it's not entirely impossible. The third option, find a project boat similar to yours, buy the boat, steal the top off of it as well as any other things you might need, and then scrap/part the boat out. I imagine the first option of having a shop build a hardtop for you is likely going to run close to $10k+ depending, especially during what is almost July now and is prime boating season. Comparatively and as mentioned, if you can find a project boat for $5k-$6k, snag the hardtop off it as well as a few other items, and then part the boat out or scrap it, then you could spend half the money or less. Depending, you might even be able to break even. There's a couple project 255 Sailfish boats on eBay/Craigslist in the $3.5k-$6k range, although they do have a wider 9'6" beam, whereas I believe your boat is an 8'6" beam. When I was looking for my boat, there were a few 228 Seafarer's that popped up without hardtops and I briefly considered buying them, then either having a hardtop fabricated or whatnot. Ultimately it seems like 99 times out of 100, it's considerably cheaper just buying a boat that comes with a hardtop, as opposed to adding one on after the fact. Good luck!