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I have a 2015 150 Super Sport. The Bimini canvas wraps/bunches up around the bimini poles and lays backward toward the stern, not quite to the transom. If I then run the motor up, for trailering, the motor cover touches the canvas. It actually depresses the bimini by not quite a half inch, not enough that I'm worried about bending the bimini poles. PROBLEM is this ... the motor touches the canvas and both motor and canvas now show wear from traveling with them in this position. There is almost a wear-through on the canvas; there is pretty good scratching on the motor cover.
I have not been using the bimini "cover", which goes around the canvas and the poles, to neaten them up and protect them. But if I had, then we'd be talking about wearing through the "cover".
Sorry I do not have pictures ... my boat is in storage at the dealer about an hour away.
Whaler "could" have moved the bimini forward an inch, or shortened the bimini by an inch, and this would not happen. I'm thinking the solution has to be tougher than the canvas and smooth and slippery ... a thin slice of ... HDPE or Corian or ...
ANY IDEAS?
ClevelandBill Ferry
m/v SHRUG
2015 150 Super Sport 60hp Merc
ClevelandBill wrote:
I have a 2015 150 Super Sport. The Bimini canvas wraps/bunches up around the bimini poles and lays backward toward the stern, not quite to the transom. If I then run the motor up, for trailering, the motor cover touches the canvas. It actually depresses the bimini by not quite a half inch, not enough that I'm worried about bending the bimini poles. PROBLEM is this ... the motor touches the canvas and both motor and canvas now show wear from traveling with them in this position. There is almost a wear-through on the canvas; there is pretty good scratching on the motor cover.
I have not been using the bimini "cover", which goes around the canvas and the poles, to neaten them up and protect them. But if I had, then we'd be talking about wearing through the "cover".
Sorry I do not have pictures ... my boat is in storage at the dealer about an hour away.
Whaler "could" have moved the bimini forward an inch, or shortened the bimini by an inch, and this would not happen. I'm thinking the solution has to be tougher than the canvas and smooth and slippery ... a thin slice of ... HDPE or Corian or ...
ANY IDEAS?
Bill,
It's good practice to install the bimini boot ("cover") when the bimini is folded closed. This protects it from all kinds of exposure, including wear and tear from abrasion. Think of the boot as a sacrificial cover. Replacing the boot is much less expensive than the bimini!
Given your clearance issues, one option you might consider is having a canvas shop sew a patch of heavy suede or leather over the area of the boot that will experience abrasion from the engine. Another option might be to add solid support legs in lieu of the rear straps for the bimini, so that when it is folded closed it remians in an upright position.
JRP wrote:
Given your clearance issues, one option you might consider is having a canvas shop sew a patch of heavy suede or leather over the area of the boot that will experience abrasion from the engine. Another option might be to add solid support legs in lieu of the rear straps for the bimini, so that when it is folded closed it remians in an upright position.
JRP the 'soft' patch on the boot would be a good Idea but you can't trailer with the closed (booted) bimini in the upright position so that isn't an option.
Bill I basically have the same hull type/length and instead of folding backwards I always store mine folded forward as I would have the same problem when going aft. I have forward railing so I bungy the frame off to the side rails. (which is also not ideal, BW did not put much design thought into the biminies on these smaller boats)
JRP the 'soft' patch on the boot would be a good Idea but you can't trailer with the closed (booted) bimini in the upright position so that isn't an option....
EJO,
I see biminis transporting like this on trailered boats regularly. It would not be my preference for a long tow, but there is no problem with the apparent wind from trailering -- the bimini material is secure under the boot and the folded frame is held solidly by the strut. Much less drag on the mounts, frame, and material than when motoring at high speed with the bimini deployed.
There is even a local guy here with a BW Ventura 18 who leaves his twin biminis fully deployed while trailering!
Is there some kind of clearance issue with this model and the bimini frame in a partially raked aft position? Or some other consideration peculiar to this model that I'm overlooking?
1) Add leather/suede. Great idea, and a better material than whatever I was envisioning. Thanks.
2) Use the cover. Another great idea, not done because of laziness, but you're absolutely right, I'd rather replace the cover than the bimini.
3) Fold forward. Yep, I'll see if that works on my boat/cover when I get her back ... in ... April? Early April?? I hope.
4) Wrap it up and leave it up. From the bow of the boat, the first bimini attachment is the straps, then the solid main arch poles, then the hinged support poles. My usual put-in is literally 1.5 miles away on a road that's 35mph. I have left the bimini all the way up for the trip home, but I never thought of leaving it unfurled and up. This sound real good for the trip there and back. I'll check height to see if this works for longer trips. Probably going to be ok. The cover, here, would be protective of the bimini top, unfurled, wrapped around the arch poles.
LOTS of great ideas, none of which I had come up with. THANK YOU ALL, as usual, for helpful suggestions.
ClevelandBill Ferry
m/v SHRUG
2015 150 Super Sport 60hp Merc
Just to be clear, I was not advocating leaving the bimini in its unfurled operating position while trailering. I was suggesting that you fold it up properly, cover it with the boot, but keep the frame in an upright raked position by substituting a pair of struts for the rear straps. Here is a link to a photo that shows roughly what I am trying to describe:
"I have left the bimini all the way up for the trip home, but I never thought of leaving it unfurled and up."
Here's what I should have written:
"I have left the bimini all the way up for the trip home (only from my local boat club because I don't exceed the speed in my car that my boat does on the water), but I never thought of leaving it unfurled (should have said "furled", is that a word?) and up."
The picture you linked looks a lot like my bimini, a whole lot. Some of the lengths are different and the bottom hardware, too, but otherwise, that's it, and that's what we're both talking about despite my failure to put it in words.
BTW, on the new Whalers they have this really cool attachment mounted on the boat that uses no pins or screws ... it is a shaft with a semicircle ground out of it ... you rotate the shaft to the "open" position and the "ball" that is the end of the bimini pole will pop out of the attachment. Or, put the ball into the attachment and rotate the shaft ... now there's no semicircular escape route for the ball. It's really nifty and once you teach everybody how it works, it works really well, is really strong, and really easy.
They come in "port" and "starboard" models. The easy way to use them is push the "pin" with one hand and turn the d-ring with the other 180 degrees. Both are shown in the "open" position, ready to be loaded with the ball tip of the bimini poles. You slide it in, then rotate the pin 180 degrees and they can't come out.
ClevelandBill Ferry
m/v SHRUG
2015 150 Super Sport 60hp Merc
Yes I too like that new hardware as I have that but must use the pin to secure the ball from sliding out.
Bill I forgot that the Sport has the two adjustable straps on Port and SB both forward and aft.
My forward straps are short and hooked to the center of my SS railing around the windshield of the CC, still I believe you can fold forward.
JRP when I do in the picture I forget and then I hit the garage top opening when parking so I always take her down.
Put her up at the launch (open or closed) and lower the bimini B-4 returning to the launch. Never hit the door opening ever since.
