Stuart, the bolts are 12mm steel bolts and they should hold 45 kg each. So they are more than adequate to maintain the position of the top plate under slew.
As for Weather control, that is something that I am currently toying with. I am think that I will put a small enclosure around the outside of the scope on the fence line and then a sliding roof on top that slides on to the pegola. Or a roof that can be just pulled off when I want to use the scope. Don't really know yet and I am sure that this will change with further development.
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