Anyone have an Ameriseam Bimini on there 26?

[Pat Corbisiero]

Im thinking about buying an Ameriseam Bimini for my 94 26. I have wheel steering and stearn rail seats. Im torn between the shorter one which is 3ft 6in I believe or the 6ft one. I want to be able to sail with it up so I think the smaller one is the right choice. My wife likes to be in the sun all the time but i like to be able to to get out of it sometimes while were out. So if anyone out there has one I'd like to here your pros and cons. Happy Thanksgiving

 

[G. Ned Christensen]

My bimini experience

Dear Pat,When I bought my 95 H26 last year, it already had a bimini installed. It had been used in the Phoeniz, AZ area, so I imagine they needed it. I don't know the make of mine. The frame fastens to the stern rail seat and the lip at the hull/deck joint. It comes up so far that it does interfere with the main sheet. I can get by if I shackle the top of the main sheet to the reefing slider on the bottom of the boom rather than the regular attachment point. I kind of think a shorter one that doesn't come so far forward might be better. Mine works well while motoring or at anchor, but is kind of a pain while sailing. I have found it helps, not only with sun, but here in the northwest, with rain also.Happy sailing,Ned ChristensenSecond Wind

 

[Larry Barnes]

Bimini on 26

Hi,I bought a H26 w/bimini already installed. It's truely a wonderful thing to have. Especially in the climate where we do our sailing. Can be rainy, off and on, but still warm.Anyway, the Bimini can be deployed fully all we have to do is move the snap shackle, for the main sheet, to the forward eyelet underneath the boom and this allows it to clear the forward edge of the Bimini. We can't point quite as high because the angle of the main sheet is on a forward bias but with a few degrees off the wind it is possible. This way the canvas on the Bimini isn't fluttering in the wind because it remains taughnt. If you want to see a picture of it deployed it in the owners photo forum. The name of the boat is "Cntrl Sea". The picture title is "the morning light"Have a great Thanksgiving!PS. I do have a life, Thanksgiving was back in October here in Canada.

 

[Dave Oberholtzer]

bimini

I have a '96 26 with wheel steering and have a six foot bimini(I am not sure of the maker) which stands about 6.5 feet off of the deck of the cockpit. I am able to sail with it up using the foward sliding attachment point on the boom (z spar boom) and the mainsheet attaches to the boat just aft (2 inches or so) of the conpanion way inside edge. The privious owner through bolted a piece of jib traveler track and car, about 16 inches long, just aft of the edge of the companion way but still up on the step before you go inside. It is a very small profile (only 1/2 inch high with a small car). This way you get a small main steet traveler and are able to sail with the bimini up all the time. The old hook for the mainsheet on the deck is now a harness tether hook which works very well for the kids on hot days.the whole system seems to work very well.Dave Oberholtzer"Hydrotherapy"

 

[Mike Pajewski]

Go for the seven footer.

I have a 96 H26 with stern seats, tiller and six foot Ameriseam Bimini.The dealer installed the Bimini as an accessory a year after we bought the boat. I relocated the eye on the boom forward so I can sail with the bimini up. I too can't point as high and I am considering the traveler on the bridge deck. It is nice on hot sunny days, but there are some negatives.- You can't see the mainsail or the windex. I find the boat easier to sail with the bimini down. Get a clear window installed.-The six foot bimini really makes the stern rail seats unusable. When it is up, you have to squeeze up between the aft straps and the rear bow. Your head is higher than the bimini. It is not very comfortable. With the bimini down the bows sit right in the seats, cutting them in half. At our old marina, one of the other 26's had the seven footer. It interfered with the boom a little, but with solid rear supports, he could still use the rear pulpit seats.- The 26 is tricky to board from the dock as it is. Add the bimini bows and straps and it becomes a real challenge to squeeze through.- Putting the sail cover on is a lot trickier with the bimini up.- Our Ameriseam bimini bows have come apart twice now. They are joined in the center with white nylon plugs that are drilled and have pop rivets in them. The rivets pull out of the nylon.- Since moving to the NE Wisconsin, we are considering leaving our Bimini off next season ang getting a cockpit awning for shade at anchor.Mike PajewskiHunter 26 "Loon"