Do you put your bimini down?

[bonkle]

My bimini is a royal pain to put down due to the backstay. its a 3 bow and seems to be stock on the boat... or was at least chosen well, albiet a bit narrow. I'd rather it mounted to the rail to gain 8" or so shade on the sides. To put it down, I unzip the canvas from the front bow, fold the middle to the back, and wrap the canvas around the middle/rear bows. I then tie the front bow to the backstay to keep it from flopping into the boom. I plan on taking it to a welder to add 1-1.5' of height to it so I can stand up underneath (don't worry, no boom conflict). That'll be a couple hundred and I'm wondering if that wouldn't be better spent on a new bimini I'd be happier with.

My main question is how often does anyone stow their bimini? It is basically a permanent fixture or do you like to put it down? Is it a hassle to stow like mine? I'm thinking I'd enjoy to putting it down at night (half a sunset cruise is at night you know).

 

[dlochner]

Our Bimini and dodger go up in the spring and come down in the fall. The side panels and connector pieces go on and off as conditions dictate.

Why not have a canvass guy come out and take a look and give you an estimate?

 

[Justin_NSA]

When we bought Bella Luna, we were told the bimini had to stay open or be removed completely. Closing it was not an option they said. After 2, expensive to replace zippers broke due to wind, I took another look at the setup. It looked like the bows were installed backwards. By reversing them, replacing the forward stainless supports with straps, and also changing the rigid aft supports with telescoping ones, I was able to collapse the bimini about the split backstay. A member, handy with a sewing machine made us a new cover that accommodates the backstay(s).
My point is, do whatever is possible to close and protect your bimini. Otherwise, the harsh elements will make for costly repairs.

 

[Parsons]

Had one of those three-bow systems on a Catalina 36, and only moved it twice a year - up and down. It was built high enough to stand under and out to almost the lifelines on the side, so was not a pain like yours. On one of our occasional long distance race, some crew wanted to put it up for "performance" (this was a Catalina 36 cruising boat, so very comfortable but not something where a little aft windage mattered). Anyhow, I made them do it with the promise that at the end of the day they put it back. That's the last time someone suggested moving it around mid-season! It's not terrible, but honestly, why bother.

 

[kloudie1]

Mine stays up except when a hurricane is lurking in the area.

 

[JBP-PA]

I have a cover. I put the three bows together and cover the canvas with a cover. I cover it whenever I'm not in the boat for a few days. I only have to remove it from the center bow.

 

[bonkle]

I’ll have to get a canvas guy to look at it. I suspect that this one was a poorly designed custom or just used. The rear bow is the one that attaches to the boat. Front bow connected to rear, middle connected to front. Middle folds nicely to front but front is 2’ higher than rear when folded. Backstay between front and middle. Just no elegant way to put it up. It might do better if it were mounted backwards. I should have taken a pic when I folded it. Felt like a real goober, but I wanted to be able to stand on the maiden voyage home.

 

[TimFromLI]

Do I put my bimini up? Mine only goes up when cruising other wise it stays down. I am 6'2 and it really obstructs my view of the sails and surroundings. We do beer can racing every week so it's mostly down. It's 3 bow and it has a cover like JBP-PA has. I can't make it any taller since it already is rubbing on the boom. It's not too much hassle to put it up but I prefer to sail without it.

 

[SycloneDriver]

I leave mine up. I have to remove some hardware to take it down and that's a bit of a pain. When it's up it helps protect everything in the cockpit from the sun, like the wheel cover & instrument panel. I had to replace the wheel cover last year and I'm in the process of replacing the bimini canvas now. I think the bimini canvas lasted 13 years, as far as I can remember the previous owner left it up too.

 

[JBP-PA]

I can't make it any taller since it already is rubbing on the boom.

Mine has telescoping tubes. The tubes mounted on the boat are slightly smaller than the frame tubes, so the frame fits over them. When sailing, it's down all the way, at the dock or anchor, I can slide it up another 8 inches or so. Still not standing room though. It is held in the up position with clips like these.

 

[NYSail]

We love the shade these days.... goes up and never comes down. In fact this year, the center piece never came down either. Plenty of head-room and does not interfere with visibility while sailing.

Greg

 

[BarryL]

Hi,

I hate my bimini, except when I love it.

I love sailing. When the bimini is up I can't really see the mainsail so it's hard to trim the sail. I also like the warm sunshine.

When it's the middle of summer, or it's raining I love it. The shade is a godsend. I can stray mostly dry during a hard rainstorm.

My bimini can be folded up, no canvas has to be undone but I do need to remove the screws in the rear support legs, then fold it up, tie it up and put the cover on it. it takes me about 15-20 minutes to do it. I always have it closed when racing, It was up for the entire month of August, and was really REALLY great during my two week cruise. I put it away in September and it will stay there until June.

I'm always thinking of ways to make it easier to put away but I haven't really come up with any great ideas.

Barry

 

[stickinthemud57]

Hi,

I hate my bimini, except when I love it.

I love sailing. When the bimini is up I can't really see the mainsail so it's hard to trim the sail. I also like the warm sunshine.

When it's the middle of summer, or it's raining I love it. The shade is a godsend. I can stray mostly dry during a hard rainstorm.

My bimini can be folded up, no canvas has to be undone but I do need to remove the screws in the rear support legs, then fold it up, tie it up and put the cover on it. it takes me about 15-20 minutes to do it. I always have it closed when racing, It was up for the entire month of August, and was really REALLY great during my two week cruise. I put it away in September and it will stay there until June.

I'm always thinking of ways to make it easier to put away but I haven't really come up with any great ideas.

Barry

This is my situation as well. I would just keep it on the boat folded and in its cover except that it hinders access to the lazarette and is rubbing the finish off of my pretty new tiller. I made a rack for it that I have mounted to the wood railing at my slip. I'll post a picture later.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Mine can be folded up around the backstay as well, but like others it’s not easy to do. We have a sun fella cover that goes over it to keep it bundled neatly when it’s folded. I’ve folded it a couple times for races, but it’s not easy and is best done with 2 people. For the most part now it stays up from spring to fall unless a named storm is approaching.

 

[capta]

Not once in 13 years did we put our Bimini down. We lived in the tropics and saw no need to do so.

 

[JBP-PA]

...I do need to remove the screws in the rear support legs...

Can you replace the screws with toggle lock clevis pins? That would save getting out tools and a bit of time.

 

[RoyS]

If you cannot stand up straight with the bimini and you are not happy with the design then you should toss it and have a new one custom made that fits. Expect to spend about 4K.

 

[sail sfbay]

Stays up all year round.

 

[stickinthemud57]

If you cannot stand up straight with the bimini and you are not happy with the design then you should toss it and have a new one custom made that fits. Expect to spend about 4K.

WIth my 26S, I had to chose between stand-up configuration or being able to sail with the bimini up. This is due to how far aft the boom comes. I opted for the former, trimming the uprights as needed.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

I prefer sailing without a bimini. But that's really not an option if you want your boat to be comfortable. I guess there are 4 ways to address this issue.

• Set it up and forget it ... just deal with it for the entire season no matter what your activity.
• Take it off the boat completely when you want to enjoy the sunshine or you are racing for performance. It's really inconvenient to remove it for those few perfect days when you don't need or want it ... and where do you store it when you take it off? If you can solve the storage problem and you don't mind the effort, this would be the way to go.
• Bundle it about the backstay with a cover, as many biminis are designed. If you really do want the sunshine, this would probably be the most convenient way to do it. I found on my Starwind 27 that I could do this put I didn't like it this way, especially after adding a backstay adjuster! I preferred to simply remove the bimini on race days, put I had help. Leaving it laying around somewhere was always pretty sketchy though.
• Folding it down to the gunnels, like a power boat does it typically. Actually, I don't know how this would be accomplished on a sailboat, but if there is a way, perhaps somebody will show their design.

On our boat, we set it and forget it ... especially because I have full headroom under the bimini and a full enclosure with either vinyl or screens. In the summer, the screens repel the greenheads and lets the breeze thru, and usually it is cooler than without screens. We typically have more wind than breeze so the screens actually cut down the wind strength for a more comfortable breeze inside the cockpit when relaxing. In the shoulder seasons, the vinyl enclosure creates the most comfortable cockpit room that you can imagine. Sue loves it because the cockpit is her living space. So basically, the fact that the enclosure makes the boat far more comfortable, we have no desire to take the bimini down ... ever (except in the winter). I have been leaving the full enclosure in place during our coastal storms. I've found that even in sustained winds in the 30's knot range and gusts into the 50's I have not experienced any additional stress at all. I've stayed overnight in a few of these storms and had a dry cockpit and no additional strain on the dock lines. I would definitely feel less confident about this in a named storm but we haven't crossed that bridge yet.