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Simple, cheap, quick and proven!  Couldn't ask for more.  I'll certainly try out this fix before I go to the expense and trouble of welding up a set of nesting frames. Thanks, Merrill, for adding these photos to the Contessa Corner technical information page.  Good stuff!

As Shannon has mentioned, Aebi was plagued with a leaky engine cover and she came up with a fix that is about as good as any I have run across.  It is something I am probably going to try at some point...but with a few modifications.

In chapter 7 of "Maiden Voyage" Aebi explains the problem most of us know too well..."Something had to be done about the water that leaked past the cockpit cover, which was also the floor of the cockpit, and into the engine compartment.  Whenever waves filled the cockpit or, on land, when I took a sunshower or threw buckets of water to wash down my patio, the cockpit drains never worked fast enough to avoid major leaking down into the engine compartment.

She goes on to tell how she fixed it..."We had an aluminum frame welded that fit into another alumninum frame.  With the smaller frame bolted on to the cover, the slightly larger one bolted onto the deck, and a gasket in between, an impermeable seal was formed."

One thing I'd do differently is use square stainless steel tubing for the two frames instead of aluminum. 

Before I commit to doing it this way, however, I certainly want to know more about how Merrill fixed his!  "No leaks in five years" sounds like where I want to go. SMH -- Any chance you could add some meat to the two rather skimpy lines posted earlier on this subject?

By now you should have a PDF drawing of it in your e-mail.  Let me know if I can help you further.