I talked with the guy at length -- he's been making tops for over 20 years
& I
know 2 people that have used him for hte last 10-12 years. All very
positive
things.

Go see some of his work if you can. See what they didn't like. There's all
sorts of ways to run zippers, position flaps, place snap mounts, etc. You
want to make sure the setup will be convenient for YOU, not just for the
folks making the covers.

I went ahead and ordered the camper back; making sure I could just use the
navy
or 1/2 top type with the "fast bacK" cover ot quickly close it up if we
stop
somewhere during a day outting.

We've got a radar arch so there's a separate front and a back bimini top.
Most of the time we leave both up, and the front one almost always. It's
nice to have a place to get out of the sun. Removing the aft canvas top
isn't too difficult since the sleeves that hold it to the support frames are
zippered. The rear support poles are set with a ball joint (don't know the
official names of this sort of stuff). Remove their retaining pin, pop 'em
loose and the whole thing folds up to the arch. There's a short 8" bar
(also w/ball joints) that clips into the arch to keep the folded frame
standing off the arch itself. This keeps it from banging against the arch's
gelcoat. I keep a pair of bungees handy to help keep the whole mess from
rattling a bit.

Sadly; he was out of gray so I had to go with Maroon (boat strips were
gray &
maroon) which is ok; we actually have furniture here that is sunbrella
maroon...
;-) so the boat will match the house well...

I've seen maroon and I've seen gray canvas. I think the maroon looks
better.