I ended up pulling the vertical stab off to get the canopy center rail slider back on (it came off the track and the only way back on is to take off the v/s or remove the track or the slider itself - the v/s was the easiest option. I then put the v/s back on and then worked on how I wanted the canopy stop to go. I decided to put a bolt 2.5" from the aft bulkhead in the fuselage so as to not hit the inside opening handle on the bulkhead and to take up some of the empennage fairing to canopy skirt interferance.
I plan to limit the opening of the canopy by putting in a stop 2.5" from the end of the track
