[Andy b]

Hi guys,
Can any of you post me up some pictures of 18'/20' Mariah bowriders with open bimini's.
I have the full camping set on my Diablo (the type that snaps to the top of the screen)
I would like the option of just putting up an open bimini for shade.
Can you give me any feedback on this type of cover, how stable are they under way?
would they attach to the pins on top of my side screens or would they be fitted to the hull?
Many thanks
Andy

[mikeyt]

Shade? i thought it rained 90% of the time in Blighty.

Here's mine, no problems whatsoever with stability while underway.

[Andy b]

Originally Posted by mikeyt

Shade? i thought it rained 90% of the time in Blighty.

Not always mikey

[SEMIJim]

Andy,

There are essentially two kinds of open bimini: Those that must be folded down when under way and those that can stay up. The ones that must be stowed have a solid strut at the middle attachment point, and straps fore and aft. The ones that can stay up (and you often see left up, but rolled) have solid struts center and aft, with straps forward when they're deployed.

We're considering an open bimini for our Barchetta. The kind that can stay up whilst under way. Thing is: A good one, that's designed to fit the boat properly, using Sunbrella and good hardware, is kinda spendy. I think we were quoted around $800 to $1000 for our boat.

We're kind of in a Catch 22 situation: We're reluctant to spend too much more money on the boat, because we haven't used her much. (We nearly sold her last season, for that reason.) But part of the reason we haven't used her much is we also had a sailboat, and we used neither boat as much as we should because The Admiral can't handle high heat, humidity and sun.

So... Sell the boat because we haven't used her much, or assume that, with the sailboat gone and adding a bimini to her we'll use her enough to make sense to keep her?

Heck, if I had my way she'd get (in no particular order):

• Open bimini
• Completed canvas for convertible cover
• LED upgrades for nav and interior lighting
• Dual battery system
• VHF radio with DSC
• Chart plotter with sonar
• The two rear speakers

Jim

[ColoradoDiablo]

Dang Jim..........800-1000 bones for a Bimini seems way high to me.
You can get Stainless Steel frame/hardware and Sunbrella Material 8' long at Overtons for 600.00
I'd do a lot more searching Jim.

[Andy b]

The reason I ask is I’m looking for something to put up at the beach for shade.
The stability under way thing is just me being lazy!
Like I say I already have the “sports cover” bimini and was maybe thinking I could get an open bimini to either extend the shade cover over the pad or to go up in place of the closed fronted cover when moored up at the beach.
Something like this
TRIBAL Speed/Sports Boat bimini sun canopy to fit 46" High 85-90" wide BLUE | eBay

[SEMIJim]

Originally Posted by ColoradoDiablo

Dang Jim..........800-1000 bones for a Bimini seems way high to me.
You can get Stainless Steel frame/hardware and Sunbrella Material 8' long at Overtons for 600.00

Okay. Now take the cost in materials and add the labour of a custom canvas guy, which includes:

• Measuring for and fabricating a custom frame to exactly fit the boat
• Adding to the boat the attachment points for frame and straps
• Measuring, cutting, and sewing/attaching material to frame
• Guaranteeing the work

For that money, he'll make it exactly however high and however long we want it, subject to his judgement on what makes sense and what he feels is a reasonable design, of course. IIRC, his quote also included modifying the mooring cover he made for the boat to accommodate the bimini frame and attachment points.

Originally Posted by ColoradoDiablo

I'd do a lot more searching Jim.

Already searched extensively. This guy is one of the most reputable canvas guys in the area. He was one of about a half-dozen we interviewed, four years ago, when we were searching for somebody to make the boat a mooring cover. For the mooring cover: He was neither the most expensive nor the least--but somewhere near the middle. (IIRC, the mooring cover was about $700, plus-or-minus.)

That mooring cover he made for the boat fits perfectly and looks terrific. Plus he delivered on-time and on-budget, even tho is was during the boating season, here.

Jim

[SEMIJim]

Originally Posted by Andy b

Like I say I already have the “sports cover” bimini and was maybe thinking I could get an open bimini to either extend the shade cover over the pad or to go up in place of the closed fronted cover when moored up at the beach.

The open biminis I've seen never extend either far enough forward nor far enough aft to cover bow areas or aft sun pads, respectively.

Consider their construction and where the aft attachment points would have to be, in order to fabricate an open bimini that would shade an aft sun pad.

I could be wrong, tho...

Jim

[Andy b]

sorry jim I should have worded it better.
I ment to put it up behind the sports cover as an extension to it.

[mikeyt]

Originally Posted by Andy b

sorry jim I should have worded it better.
I ment to put it up behind the sports cover as an extension to it.

Ahhh...now i understand what you are trying to do. I had all of our canvas custom fit and i have a full camper style but as our guy said, i can make anything you want. A good canvas shop should be able to construct a rear bimini extension that either snaps or zippers onto your existing top and depending on how your existing support pole assembly is, he might be able to run the extension supports from them rather than drilling for new attachments on the rear deck. If you look at mine you can see that it wouldn't be that hard to make up two extension poles & a cross brace for the rear similar to how the front of my bimini is supported.