Jesse, The outer skin is attached to the ribs. you would only be able to get it off in sections. If you do it like that, don't cut right next to the rib. You need to give yourself a gluing surface to put the upper panel back down.
When you put it back together be sure to use a good quality epoxy. Anything you repair on these tops needs epoxy in order to bond well or be structurally sound. If you use the bondo-glass or regular glue it will fail. I have had good luck with the West Systems 105 products. There are also a couple of sailboat epoxies that work well.
