Anyone ever made a bimini?

HI all. I've been thinking about trying to make a bimini for my little 14' runabout. I've found several sites online that were very helpful, but I'm not sure about some of the materials. I know some folks use electrical conduit pipes with good results, but I've also read isn't the greatest in a saltwater environment like I have here in Florida (perhaps there's a way to coat/treat/paint it to last abit longer?). Instead they suggest 3/4" - 1", aluminum tubing instead, which makes sense, but I'm not sure where to get that sort of thing (Lowe's, Home depot?). I've found a great link for all of the hardware and how-to's except for the tubing itself. I also cam across a link where a guy had made his out of PVC, which seemed a little flimsy, but also kind of intriguing. I think the hardest part would be finding PVC that would fit the bimini hardware, but still be rigid enough. I would store the top inside when not in use, so UV exposure would be at a minimum. I've found some reasonably priced ones onlie, but that's no fun I like projects and tinkering. Here the links I'm using as a jumping off point. Happy New Year!

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/07/howto/bimini/index.htm

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/howto/bimini/index.htm

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/08/columns/rob/index8.htm



http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/bimini/index.htm

Re: Anyone ever made a bimini?

we just had the same question....
Homemade Bimini??? Has anyone tried to do this?

Re: Anyone ever made a bimini?

As a marine canvass fabricator I suggest you look at the following websites. sailrite.com rochfordsupply.com There are also utube videos on how to bend tubing and make patterns. You can get a bimini kit including all necessary hardware tubing and instructions. Otherrwise check with a canvas shop, I throw out old frames all the time because od design changes requested by my customers. If you have access to a heavy duty sewing machine and have patience then making a bimini may be an option for you.

Re: Anyone ever made a bimini?

I have seen several threads here on iboats on this same subject. You will probably see a lot of comments, but here are several things to get your thoughts going:

1) No PVC. As someone instructed on a thread, take a long piece of pvc pipe, clamp it to a table leaving half of it hanging off the table. In a few days, you will see the end of the pipe touching the floor. Someone related building a pvc bimini and the next time he came to his boat, it was all oozed down, out of shape.

2) People have posted about inexpensive biminis you can purchase $99-$200. Think about how much you will spend on materials and the time it will take you to determine if it is worth the effort.

You will likely get some replies about the looks of a homemade bimini. So, just be ready for those.

Good luck.