Agreed with what Tim said, the T-top was not the issue in that incident. Crazy seas and anchor issues are what resulted in that unfortunate accident.
To the original question, you can build a fiberglass hardtop by using many common materials such as aluminum piping for supports and plywood with fiberglass cloth and resin for the actual top. If you search on the GLA board, this topic has been covered with lots of input. Fiberglass work is pretty easy, just messy and time consuming.
Hey Richard, all is well, hit it again today, not nearly as good as Saturday, wind and waves were much more of an influence today. It was hard to maintain a steady troll. Managed 7 fish, 5 were Browns and 2 Cohos.
Saw this guy out there
As above, get a survey, no matter what boat you are looking at, they all have their issues. That being said, I'm really happy with my rig, an 89 245 Penn Yan. I have the 350 Merc in mine, plenty of power and trolls down great.
Make sure you mount it high enough so you can reach it from inside your boat. I have the same Penn Yan, and my platform is basically 2" - 3" above the waterline, and if I put my cooler on it, it is a pretty far reach down to it.
I agree with Yankee on the Bayliner 2452, I looked at a few of those before I bought my Penn Yan. They seem to be a really good blend of cruiser and fishing boat. One thing, if you go with that model, make sure it has the 350 in it, the 305 powered boats are considered somewhat underpowered.
I launch my 24' out of the south Fort Niagara boat launch all season. The only time there is an issue is later in the season when the water levels get low, you have to keep your outdrive trimmed up a bit until you get to deeper water. The parking is great as mentioned above.