Hard Bimini???

[Ross]

Lance the only time anybody can prove we were someplace

is when we rent a slip or mooring or use a credit card. I can go out for a week and not leave any trace. It is fun to see just how anonymous we can be. Dinks would be good for catching fresh water. Most of our boating is in fresh water so we don't concern ourselves with it.

 

[tweitz]

Hard bimini

When there is severe weather threatening, I always remove my bimini to reduce windage and risk of damage. Maybe that's why you don't see so many hard biminis.

 

[Ross]

Mid March is St . Paddy's day . Be sure to take a corned brisket

and some cabbage, and a little Jameson whiskey. Still a bit cold here to set sail freezing rain all day. Glad I am land locked.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

I have seen a nice......

I have seen a nice looking hard bimimi in Biloxi. The owner made the 'roof' from 2 layers on 1/8" Luan door skin that was cold molded to give it a bend. The bend gave it strength and rigidity. Then the wood was glassed over and had small radius gutters formed into the glass. The gutters were drilled and a hose was used to lead the water into a tank. The 'roof' was held up by S/S piping like the kind used in biminis. Actually it all looked pretty good. As for standing on the bimini....not necessary. Just make a nice set of wooden ratlines.Tony B

 

[Ross]

I had made a bimni for Bietzpadlin but the boom is set so low

on her that I didn't have room under the canvas to stretch. I used it for one season and took it off.It was nice for the shade and for keeping the rain off but too much in the way for comfort.

 

[LANCE ON CLOUD NINE]

two good points there

trying to make a top strong enough and light enough to still stand up to hard weather would be difficult. probably get easier as the boat gets larger and every pound added is not such a big deal. Ross, my wifes corned beef and cabbage is one of nature's wonders and I'll try to send pictures of our big feast in a little boat. See you all tomorrow

 

[Ross]

I think that you could make the top in corecell cored

glass and it could be light enough and strong. Moonsailor Check out this link: http://www.home.earthlink.net/~tigmaster41/ This man is on the wooden boat forum and uses the name pipefitter. He is based in Florida and I have seen pictures of his work.

 

[Ross]

I think that you could make the top in corecell cored

glass and it could be light enough and strong. Moonsailor Check out this link: http://www.home.earthlink.net/~tigmaster41/ This man is on the wooden boat forum and uses the name pipefitter. He is based in Florida and I have seen pictures of his work. Click on Aluminum outfitters tab on the left hand side of his sea skiff page.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

I think you should ......

I think you should give up the idea of standing on the Bimini. This could turn out to be dangerous if the boom should move and also it could make the boat unstable not to mention the difficulty in getting up and down. Ratlines would solve that problem and also look salty. When I lived at Point Cadet Marina in Biloxi, I had made ratlines for my boat and next thing I knew, I was making about a dozen more for other boats also made some nice belaying pin racks to match. I had the ratlines on one side and the belaying pins on the other. It was fun climbing the ratlines when we were sailing. Looking downward is a totally different experience.Also, its difficult to help with advice when I dont know what size and make of boat you have. A traditional style boat and a more modrn looking boat would require totally different designs for you project in order to make it visually attractive.I think I will make a hard bimini for my boat when the old one I have on here now finally gets played out.Tony B

 

[RichH]

Wavestopper

check out www.wavestopper.net/ for some ideas of 'hard tops'. Suggest that whatever you do you consider to make this completely removal .... for storm considerations where such a large bimini would create a LOT of wind drag during sustained super high wind conditions, etc.

 

[MoonSailer]

My Boat is a Pearson 323

My Present bimini is high enough that I can stand underneath with no problem. The boom is about the same height as the bimini but is a short boom that doesn't come back far enough to touch the bimini. A Pearson 323 is fairly undercanvased That is why we have a 160% genoa.  I really like the cold molding ideal. I can not survive without a bimini. It comes in handy with the sun in summer and helps keep me dry when it rains. My boat has pretty high toe rails and deck drains that could be used for rainwater. But I wouldn't want to drink rainwater off of the deck.  I was looking at arches and many have davits,solar panels and radar attached. It doesn't seem like too much to extend the arch enough to make a bimini. Since a bimini is a flat horizontal surface it should not add much windage to a boat. I guess I'll forget making it strang enough to stand on and go with rat lines.Thanks

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Bimini is a small spinnaker

When the boat heels over, the bimini will catch a lot of wind, however, it it nothing i ever concerned myself with and I have hit some fairly rough weather on all of my boats. I have never closed the bimini during storms whil I was on the boat. The only time I ever remove the bimini was when we were expecting hurricanes. In this case, the hard bimini could be put together with quick locking pins or.........make it strong and leave it on.The western eyewall of Hurrricane Katrina ent over Oak Harbor Marina in Slidell, La. The one sailboat with the homemade hard bimini had the bimini still in tact while the standard biminis were mangled and shredded.Tony BP.S. When you make the form for cold molding make your arch with a 1/8" drop per foot.Also, the pearson 323 should have no problem with a hard bimini and windage.

 

[Fred F.]

Bietzpadlin

I wish I had a dollar for everytime Ross mentions the name of his boat. Sheesh, we get it Ross. Your boats name is ...Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin BieBietzpadlintzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin BietzpadlinBietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin Bietzpadlin

 

[Ross]

FredF. And the name of your boat is?

My wife is Nancy, my sons are Dan and Kevin. I am proud of them all and I refer to them by name. My Dink is ATF for "Anything That Floats". ;D

 

[Scott B]

Ross, I just got it

Beats paddling ??? great name I love it !! Thanks Fred for pointing it out!!

 

[Ross]

My first sailing boat was an outrigger canoe

with a sprit sail. I steered with a paddle and had to paddle through my tacks.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Not to be confused with

automatic transmission fluid...

 

[Manny]

Or...

Alcohol, Tobacco,and Firearms! ;DSorry, i'm at work and bored!Manny

 

[Manny]

RichH

The Wavestoppers link was cool. I was surprised how nice the hard biminis looked.Manny

 

[Bob V]

If you're bored at work and on line

Why not e-mail the ATF and ask for their recommendation of a good wine to drink while smOking Marlboros and firing your Glock 10?;-)bOB v