Opinion on bimini tops

[danond]

I'm going to get a bimini top, 6' long for my 18' (including diving deck) Starcraft. I noticed a big jump in price from a place like safeguardcovers.com and iboats but know nothing about the material choices.

Any recommendations on height, length, manufacturer, material?

 

[BMOLCHANY]

Re: Opinion on bimini tops

Well in the end you get what you pay for but be sure to shop around and look at specs. Compare apples to apples not apples to oranges.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Opinion on bimini tops

18 foot boat go with an 8 ft top. you want to be able to walk under it. you measure from the mounting point how high you want it. if you want it 6 ft off the deck, you measure from the deck, to the mounting point. subtract from 6 ft, that is the height of the bimini. i also suggest using sliding mount, this allows you to adjust the top forward or back, and easy to store.
this little 14 footer has a length of 6 feet, i am 5'10" and can walk under it with out ducking. it also has the slider.

 

[shorts&chanclas]

Re: Opinion on bimini tops

I have always had Sunbrella brand fabric biminis. Never saw, fade, fray or tear. Kept it covered in the jacket when not in use.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Opinion on bimini tops

mine is sunbrella, this is it's 3 rd boat.

 

[haskindm]

Re: Opinion on bimini tops

The cloth that is used for the top is a small part of the cost. Look at the hardware that is used. Some use plastic hinges, etc. Some use aluminum poles, others use stainless steel. You will need to determine how harsh your environment is and what you need. My boat came with a Sunbrella Bimini with all stainless hardware; a very good top but probably very expensive to reproduce.

 

[jennis9]

Re: Opinion on bimini tops

We received our bimini a month ago. I ordered from iboats and received it ten days later. Took about an hour to install (that includes taking out of the box and reading instructions). You can't go wrong here, the online selection tool walks you through it.

I also posted a questions about materials, forum advice led me to sunbrealla - and I am not disappointed. I wish we had enough gunel space for a slide mount - like TD recommended, I would have gone with that..

I was nervous ordering the top since I had no idea what it would look like - or how tall it would be or how it would fold down and store. The best advice I received from the iboats customer service rep was to figure out how high I needed the top to be and then figure out where it would lie once I had it folded flat for storage. I measured TWICE and was not disappointed since I knew where it would mount and store under our cover.

Good luck!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Opinion on bimini tops

these can mount on top of the gunnel or one the side, then you just need the correct hardware for the type mount.

http://www.iboats.com/Bimini_Top_Sl...ategory--**********.152519623--view_id.216568

 

[sidechoke67]

Re: Opinion on bimini tops

Can the straps for a bimini be anchored to snaps used for other canvas? Or do you need something through bolted and more solid to anchor the bimini straps to?

My boat came with a hinge point for a bimini top, but no bimini. I don't see any strap anchor points specific to the bimini. So the previous owner must have either ran the straps to the cleats, or to the snaps.

 

[haskindm]

Re: Opinion on bimini tops

You will definitely need something much more secure than snaps to secure your bimini. Imagine the stress that will be put on the anchor point when you are running at speed with the Bimini up.