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My Bimini top (purchased from Specialty Marine) came loose (the middle stainless hinges) from the gunwale on my 1976 Sport 15. I had it mounted using stainless wood screws and 3M 4200. No surprise it came loose since there is no wood located in the areas where the hinges are mounted. I remounted the hinges with larger screws (#10 instead of #8 that came with the Bimini) and 3M 5200. I suspect it still won't hold long-term and I'm considering re-mounting the hinges using well-nuts as outlined by Mills Canvas for their 13/15 Sun Top. My questions for the group are:

1) Are there other who have mounted their Bimini's the Mills Sun Top way http://www.whalercentral.com/download...owstart=15- I expect the answer is a resounding yes?

2) If so have you had any trouble with the Bimini coming loose?

3) Are there any particular tips or pitfalls using the Mills method?

4) Does anyone have a source for the 3/4" x 10-32" Well Nuts (Mills part number 16-1607-00) described in the Mills installation instructions? (3/4" x 10/24" brass/rubber well nuts are commonly available at my local Home Depot but I would prefer stainless if available).

Thanks in advance for the groups insight.

Bill

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I don't understand how that hinge came loose.

The top is usually held down by the 4 straps, front and rear, and not held down by the hinge.
The strap hold downs are on the inside of the vertical gunwale wall and usually do not pull out either.

I see on your personal page that you so not have the rear straps but instead have ridged uprights which many boat also have. I could understand those rear ones coming loose but not the center ones.

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i don't quite understand exactly which part came loose based on your description (no fault of our own, im not familiar with bimini tops).

why don't you mount in on the rails?

you get more head room, and the rails are secure in wood already.

plus you could slide it around with the rail mounts.

if i ever install the ugly side rails on my 16 custom, then ill install an ugly bimini top as well on those rails, for shade for my kids

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Joe I know I was surprised too. Both the fore and aft hinges have come loose from side to side wobble of the Bimini from the boat moving over wakes in the water etc. Since the hinges are stainless and not plastic they have no give and so the Bimini places a lot of stern to port back and forth rotary torque on the hinges.

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True but not as nice of an install from my perspective. If I didn't already have holes in the gunwale I might consider switching...

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For the stainless well nuts web search "Robert Smallwood of Lightning Stainless". I wanted to go with 316 stainless for bolts, nuts, washers for a project. He might have what you are looking for. Good luck with the project.

Garris

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It looks like you could install some tracks in place of the single mounting point. I have tracks on my Dauntless 15 and they not only spread the stress better than a single mounting point, they make for much easier stowage of the bimini when folded down. Just a thought...

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I have thought of that approach and it is attractive. Can you send me some closeups of your track system. Any input from the group on this approach would be appreciated - pros and cons.

Thinking on this option a little more I could replace the aft hinges with eye loops and place the fore hinges on short tracks. This way I would have the extra strength of the tracks which would also allow me to stow the Bimini folded all the way down and aft without hitting the motor rigging (a problem since raising my motor up)

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I'll try to take some pics of the tracks today and send them to your e-mail. When my bimini is up, I have it tracked all the way back, but slide it forward so it rests on my casting deck' ahead of the motor, when folded down.(see my personal page for pics when folded down)

Gary

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Gary - Thanks for sending the pictures. Are your tracks stainless?

BTW - Very nice boat.

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Does anyone in the group know of a source for stainless tracks?

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I don't see many manufacturers offering them.

Carver, Westland, Taco all offer aluminum.

The Mills bimini on my Outrage 17 came with stainless steel tracks. The aftermarket bimini on my Montauk 17 included aluminum tracks.

While stainless steel would be nice, aluminum would be fine and less expensive.

In reviewing the download, I personally, would NOT use the well nuts. I don't think they offer enough strength to hold the hinge. I say this having had my bimini tracks ripped out on several occasions (Montauk and Outrage) due to rough seas.

I would suggest using the hockey puck method for adding reinforcement to the hinge or track screws.

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Thanks Phil. Would really prefer stainless. I'll try calling Mills to see if I can purchase a pair. If they are cost prohibitive I'll go with alluminum. Is one of the 3 brands above superior in your opinion?

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Yes, they are stainless tracks.

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Excellent - Where did you get them? Did they come with the boat? Is your Bimini a Mills?

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No idea where they came from. They were on the boat when I purchased it 2 years ago. Bimini canvas was made somewhere in michigan, don't know the manufacturer. Probably not be the original canvas.

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If you find stainless slides please post your source. I looked for them several years ago when I had a Montauk and now I would like to have them for a 15ft. I am restoring. Good luck. 1988 15ft. SS / 60 Johnson

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For fun (before working on the boat, more fun) I plugged in a generic "stainless steel 316 track sliders" as a generic search for the bimini track. View the images in that search. Looks like there is something available that you can adapt or use.

Garris

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It is amazing stainless tracks aren't commonly available.

I may leave the hinges I already have installed but reinforce the way they are mounted. I was planning to replace my rub rail. While I have it off I could install reinforcing stainless plates threaded or with nuts underneath the deck. Another option is to use small wood blocks. It would require cutting into the edge of the gunwale but it could be fiberglassed and would be covered by the new rubrail.

Thoughts from the group?

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Found a complete 23" stainless bimini slide mount kit on e bay fo $49. Don't know anything about the seller, but states the kit is new for a tracker boat. I believe the manufacturer is Dowco (sp?).

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Gary - Thanks for finding this. Not quite the quality I would be hoping for...

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Wlagarde,

I made base mounting plates for my Bimini top. I cut some 1/4" aluminum plate to about 2-1/2" wide x four inches or so. I mounted the plates to the top of the gunwale with four flathead machine screws drilled and tapped into the top of the gunwale. the plate was set in 4200. The Bimini base was then mounted to the top of the plate, drilled and tapped through the plate and the hull. It is a nice clean installation and has held up well. I also made support bars to stop the side to side wobble (see my personal page for photo). I can take a photo or two of the base mount later today and send it to you if you like. Drilling and tapping a machine screw into fiberglass has always worked better for me than a sheet metal screw. The trick is to use two sided tape or 3M 4200 between the fiberglass and what you are mounting. It takes most of the vibration load off the mounting screws while sealing out water and everything stays tight.

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Another good idea. I particularly like the idea of support bars to stop side to side wobble. I could potentially use this approach to support the main harp by linking it to the side rails on each side. This might even eliminate the need for reinforcing the hinges. Please do post close up pictures of your installation.

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Wlagarde

I don't know if linking the Bimini to the side rails will help much. In order to be of any benefit the support needs to go from the base bow on the Bimini up high in the corners to a point on the gunwale on the opposite side of the boat in both directions as to form an X. I guess you could use the opposite rail as an attachment point instead of the gunwale. I would use nylon straps on a boat like yours and keep them fastened for traveling. They should be easily removable as they will surely be in the way when you are trying to move around the boat. Not as ridged as stiff support bars but a great improvement to eliminate side to side wobble. I emailed you close ups of the mounting plate as I always have problems posting photos

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Well I finally settled on reinstalling the deck hinges for my Bimini using well nuts as described by Boston Whaler. The end result was satisfactory and in fact allows for some give in the hinge as the Bimini sways side to side as the boat moves over wakes, etc.

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I posted pictures of the Bimini hinge installation on my personal page: http://www.whalercentral.com/infusion...r_id=30321

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The well nuts didn't hold either long term. I ended up using an allen wrench inserted into a drill to dig out a cylindrical area of foam beneath each screw and filled the area with West Systems Six-10. I then redrilled the holes and tapped with a 10-24 thread and used 1-1/2" stainless oval heal machine screws. Worked like a charm.

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I know it's a little late for you since you've already mounted your bimini, but your comment about drilling and finding no wood beneath the fiberglass prompted me to offer a tip to avoid that in the future.

Use a regular ol' stud finder to locate where the wood is. Get it calibrated in a place where there's not supposed to be any wood, then move it forward along the gunnel. You will be able to tell the beginning and end of each of the wood pieces. I marked them with a grease pencil when I was drilling some holes.

Works like a charm.

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GFC that is good advice for sure along with using the wood locating diagrams provided by Boston Whaler: http://www.whalercentral.com/download...?cat_id=12. Unfortunately the 15' hull does not have wood located in the area where the Bimini hinges mount on the gunnel. The good news is that the technique I just used appears to be rock solid but time will tell...