Bimini Top Questions

[tboltmike]

Looking at choices for a bimini for my 18' trihull. I have never owned one or been on a boat with one. I doubt if it will be used for fishing because the straps and rods.

1) The original top snapped to the windshield and the rods attached to a slider channel inside the gunnels. Would the bimini hardware allow the use of these channels? This would allow me to shift the top fore and aft to adjust the shade.

2) Is there a rule of thumb for the lenth and heigth? A 6' lenght would allow 2/3 of the aft area to be covered and up to just fwd of the windshield. An 8' would cover over the seats fwd of the consoles.

3) Would an 8 footer be too bulky and look out of porportion?

4) Matching hull color aside (yellow), does color make a difference in felt solar heat?

5) Any advise on material? It will spend a lot of time in the boot and the boat sits covered on the driveway. Likely will be used 10 times a year in the Texas coastal bay systems.

Thanks for any advise. Mike

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Bimini Top Questions

First, let me say biminis are fabulous! If you've never had one you will be amazed at how it increases the comfort of a day on the water in hot sun.

1. Mounting - My bimini side poles are mounted to dedicated, non-moving anchor points. I haven't really missed the ability to slide it fore and aft perhaps becuase the boat isn't really that big. That said, if you can find compatible sliders for the poles, why not give it a try.

2. Height versus length - There may be but my main criteria was that I could stand under it and that when mounted it came slightly forward of the windshield. On the boat it was origianlly designed for I didn't want it going too far aft as it would make getting in the boat more difficult due to the extra rigging.

3. 8 feet -Not sure -- it's a matter of personal taste. My neighbour has a multi-sectioned one that covers his entire pontoon boat. Must be 18 feet long. It seems a bit ponderous but after seeing him take a group of ten out in the blazing sun and knowing that they would all be comfortable under there, it seemed to make sense.

One other element to consider, the more canvas up there, the more you might be blown around in windy conditions. It hasn't been a huge issue for me with my 5 footer but I am aware of a little drag.

4. Colour - Mine is a royal blue colour and seems fine but I haven't been able to compare with something much lighter. Basically, anything that provides shade is going to seem a thousand percent better than no shade. Also, the fact that it's open on all sides prevents much internal heat build-up.

5. Material - I think most people agree Sunbrella is the stuff to get. My Sunbrella bimini is going on ten years old and still looks brand new (except for the couple of bleached spots I stupidly caused by scrubbing the thing with Tide clothing detergent...). It spends pretty well all season up and has even been through a sinking during which it was saturated in old engine oil from the overturned, submerged motor. Cleaned up real nice.

Hope some of this helps.

 

[tmfd]

Re: Bimini Top Questions

15. I think most people agree Sunbrella is the stuff to get. My Sunbrella bimini is going on ten years old and still looks brand new (except for the couple of bleached spots I stupidly caused by scrubbing the thing with Tide clothing detergent...)

Maybe you could try to dye the bleach spots in the fabric with some pigment based dye, if you could find the right color. Is it bleached white or just badly faded?

 

[tboltmike]

Re: Bimini Top Questions

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the replys. This helps!!

Scout, Sorry about the sinking. That must be a story in itself!!

Mike

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Bimini Top Questions

Maybe you could try to dye the bleach spots in the fabric with some pigment based dye, if you could find the right color. Is it bleached white or just badly faded?

Good suggestion -- I might give the dye a try. They are two palm-sized areas that went almost white. Of course they had to be on the side where the material wraps around so you can see it across the damn bay. I was fit to be tied when I discovered what I'd done. Strange tho, I had the thing off its frame spread out on the deck and had gone at it with a brush and liquid Tide all over to clean it of some sap drippings and bird crap. It only affected those two "relatively" small areas, thankfully. It could have been much worse.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Bimini Top Questions

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the replys. This helps!!

Scout, Sorry about the sinking. That must be a story in itself!!

Mike

Yeah, our beloved SeaRay 170 went down at the dock in a bad storm a few years ago. Shortish version - After the storm our neighbour thought she'd been stolen because he knew we weren't there so came by for a look and saw her under the surface hanging by her lines. The motor had emptied its sump into the boat (and the lake) and there was oil soaked into everything.

The marina quoted $7K to repair a two page list of items supposedly wrecked by the immersion so the insurance wrote it off (it was ten years old), cut me a cheque, and gave me the sodden hulk back. I salvaged the bimini which just happened to fit the Scout (the SeaRay's eventual replacement) and a buddy offered to buy the boat for the cost of the salvage and storage.

I'm glad to report he completely refit her for a fraction of that absurd quote and she's back on the right side of the surface giving another family lots of good times.