Love Hate relationship

[pclarksurf]

I'm kinda blaming @Gene Neill -- splashed for the first time this season yesterday which of course means there is no wind, but gave me a chance to hate on the bimini. I wanted to hate the bimini, I can't get my head around how it looks, didn't want any more attachment points, knew it would get in my way--- i was determined to go to war over the bimini.

3 hours later in the sun-- gosh this is pretty good, better get the rear brackets and do this right

Thanks Gene!

 

[kappykaplan]

3 hours later in the sun-- gosh this is pretty good, better get the rear brackets and do this right

 

[BulldogTim62]

Looks awesome and would love to do the same, are the bimini bases on the Genoa tracks?
Care to share the deets on your setup?

 

[Will Gilmore]

I'm a fan of dodgers and biminis. Yours looks very pleasant to sit under.

-Will

 

[LakeShark]

Or there's the portable solution of a beach umbrella! It fits the winch handle just perfect!

 

[pclarksurf]

Care to share the deets on your setup?

Absolutely-- I happened to have a gift card at West Marine already-- so I opted for Taylor Made. There are some other good manufacturers out there to consider. For measurements I opted for 6' of length, the C22 has plenty of room to accomodate fore and aft. The overall height is debatable. I went with the 42" stock and was willing to test fit and cut it down if I ran into a problem with the main topping out and the boom riding too low against the top of the bimini. I did not have to cut the risers down -- I can clear 4 inches or so above the bimini with no issues, and that's still using stretchy main halyards with a cunningham to tension the leech.

The other component that resonates for the C22 is the sliding track to mount the bimini. I was convinced prior and still believe it's the right way to give yourself the ability to put the bimini away foreward and out of your way when needed. It will lay down foreward and just clear the companionway hatch. To your question a separate track for the bimini foot is mounted in my case just inboard of the existing Genoa car tracks.

Last but not least-- I'm likely to follow @Gene Neill 's advice and add in the rear support struts. Too wobbly for my taste without them and the whole arrangement tends to "rack" and twist a bit if not perfectly adjusted. The rear supports would solve for most of that adjustment and stability and likely give you a second option for collapsing the bimini aft and up out of the way.

Sites-WestMarine-Site

 

[pclarksurf]

Or there's the portable solution of a beach umbrella! It fits the winch handle just perfect!

View attachment 225144

fantastic!

 

[Sail22Capri22]

I need to come up with something clever on my Capri 22, the boom is too low to fit a Bimini under it properly. . The umbrella isn't a bad idea.

 

[BulldogTim62]

I measured my 92 and came up with 78" width, inboard of the genoas and clear of the winches, do you have the same number there?
I do like the tracks option as well and will employ that, too.

 

[Joe]

I'm wondering if it might fold better by reversing the frame. i.e. back to front. The long section would just lay down forward, the shorter section could then be layed down with out interference from the boom. Also, there could be a benefit to having the short bows placed on the winch side of the frame.. ............. Just idle thoughts, since having it fold aft may be the designed intention. Good addition, none the less. You must be looking forward to enjoying the increased comfortability.

 

[pclarksurf]

I measured my 92 and came up with 78" width, inboard of the genoas and clear of the winches, do you have the same number there?
I do like the tracks option as well and will employ that, too.

Triple checked my order to be sure: Hot Shot Bimini Top Kit 6'L x 42"H x 73-78"W I don't have the boat or the measurement handy to be exact but I believe your width is all but the same as mine. I did not have to modify the above at all to fit inboard of the Genny track. I am a bit tight on the winch clearance with the cars set all the way forward.... but in a more modest stance mid rail it appears to be fine. And I should note I replaced my primary winches with Harken 8's so my dimensions could be slightly different than stock.

 

[BulldogTim62]

Gotcha. Would you say your mounting location is good, would you change anything at all, move it forward, back, get the quick release options?
Thanks

 

[pclarksurf]

Sorry I don't have good close up pic of it installed just yet-- but marked up where I mounted the slide rails. They are 18" so you get a good amount of play-- I positioned them so I could get full forward extension and lay the bows down outside of the companion way hatch... which left plenty of room on the rail to center the bimini about where I have the red horizontal line.

it's stil early -- but I would go get the rear support poles and very likely would opt for the quick connect on the deck hinge for future convenience. I bought the bare minimum knowing I was going to noodle and didn't want to overcommit without a real test drive.

 

[BulldogTim62]

I see, definitely will be doing the same. My cockpit coaming is shaped differently but it'll land in the same spot.

 

[Gene Neill]

I need to come up with something clever on my Capri 22, the boom is too low to fit a Bimini under it properly. . The umbrella isn't a bad idea.

Each Bimini I've owned had to be modified to suit me. Out of the box they have been too tall, perhaps because I like a Bimini that's plenty wide enough to span from one outboard genny track to the other, without bending the legs outward.

With the mainsail on, I just raise the boom until the sail head is almost up to the masthead, then start cutting the Bimini frame until the boom has just enough clearance to swing over it from side to side. It's a moderate PITA (and a geometry puzzle!), but it results in an optimally sized Bimini.

A tubing cutter is immensely superior to using a hacksaw, and I'm a fan of using rivets rather than screws to refasten the frame pieces together.

My most recent eBay cheapo:

 

[AaronD]

Each Bimini I've owned had to be modified to suit me.
...
A tubing cutter is immensely superior to using a hacksaw, and I'm a fan of using rivets rather than screws
...

to everything Gene said. I mostly used screws for my last couple go-rounds, and I'd definitely recommend rivets instead. If you're using aluminum tubes, a carbide-tipped blade on a chop saw cuts them really smoothly. If you splurged for SS tubing, you're beyond my experience. I bought a cheap Harbor Freight saw just for this purpose, leaving my nice saw for wood; also a handy backup when the big one was out of order.

 

[BulldogTim62]

I like the idea of using the Genoa track to mount the bimini, it looks like the P.O. may have already as both have this unused car on the back ends. I'm hoping it won't interfere with the winch and it looks like it won't.

 

[pclarksurf]

I like the idea of using the Genoa track to mount the bimini, it looks like the P.O. may have already as both have this unused car on the back ends. I'm hoping it won't interfere with the winch and it looks like it won't.

yep-- you have the new(er) style track-- very doable

 

[ShawnL]

I had cars on my genoa tracks when I purchased the boat, but no bimini. I ended up replacing the cars, bimini off of amazon (stingy sailor) and using the same type of rear brackets. I left the rears slightly loose as there's some angle to the combing, and I wanted to test it for a while before deciding what to do. I had thought of wooden shims coated in epoxy and varnish, or maybe 3d printing some, but now I think that just leaving the screws in the rear brackets a little loose is working fine. I had to cut the height of my bimini down some, but it was fairly easy -- drill out the rivets, cut some off the aluminum poles, re-drill holes and re-rivet. The only problem I had was getting the holes perpendicular to the way the bimini was setup -- ended up thinking outside the box and putting everything on the boat, then drilling the holes. Much better solution.

 

[BulldogTim62]

Gene, this site offers a 46" and a 54", which I see you got.
Did you have to do any cutting on it to shorten it, or was it good to go as is?