I took my swim pad off.
The bottom is Fiberglass weighs 50 lbs.
Then there is a 1/2" board of solid plastic with then foam. then vinyl. Weighs 83 pounds. So the sun pad total is 133 lbs not counting the lift. Can it not be made lighter. This seems ridiculous.

Thanks

Have one made out of Carbon Fiber. A little pricey but very light.

How much would a hatch out of carbon fiber be?

More than the 2 piece big baja style or 3 piece centurian style . You have to be ok with seams though.and have some aluminum l channel for the cross supports . Or 2 piece with center support that slides in from the top .thats what i did on my wellcraft .could pull 2 panels and support channel by self and it was easy maintenance time .didnt have to climb in and out of boat over the side was a bonus

It was all inspired by the engine cover style on my old glastron css19

It had to be made that strong for the sunpad "extracurricular" activities!

I've built OEM replacement hatches that were roughly less then half the original weight. Do you have any pics of yours and is it flat? Iff its flat its a much easier build, maybe do Nida core or something. Most OEM hatches I've seen could definitely be done lighter and better.

50 lbs seems reasonable for the 'glass hatch , but 83lbs for 1/2 pvc w / foam and vinyl ? Sometimes they wrap the foam with plastic or dont drill drain holes in the PVC . Either way , something sounds soggy.

my pantera has a one-layer fiberglass engine cover feels like it is only about 30 lbs. of course it has ribs glassed into the lower side. but it is 35 years old shows no sign of deterioration and seems completely rigid. and the pad itself? the bottom layer only has to be strong enough to hold staples. 1/4 inch will do just fine...though upholstered on both sides with 2 good surfaces and ability to unzip and remove foam would be even better yet...i made pads from scratch for an old 27 Nova. used orig foam. vinyl and 1/4 plywood they didn't weigh 10 pounds each. 2 halves 4 by 3 feet each for total of 6 by 4 foot area. the sun pad on my crownline? same size i just about need the engine hoist to take it off the boat...