We currently have a rather good cockpit tent, that has generous zip up sides and rear to allow all round views, plus a bit of a breeze through, but it does require the centre to be supported by a tie up to the boom, the front zips to the sprayhood, and the top section when the sides/rear are rolled up is rather smaller than you might expect from a normal Bimini....
So.... we got to thinking about how we might add a Bimini, but it raised a few questions....
1] Does it need to be useable while sailing?
2] Does it need to be useable without the sprayhood (breeze through and all that!)?
3] Should it be collapsable against the backstay, as its too much hassle to completely remove regularly?
4] How much of the cockpit should it ideally cover?
5] Do you have a radar arch as part of the Bimini?
Our options are to use the existing cockpit tent poles for a bimini, but then this would either make it just cover a small area of the cockpit over the helm position, or would require it to be fitted to the sprayhood, in which case we wouldn't be able to use it without the sprayhood being raised (or face the time consuming exercise of removing the sprayhood from its frame).... another options is to make a dedicated bimini with its own frame....in which case i'd rather get it right.... or finally, to save and fit a radar arch and fit the bimini from this (I like this option as the arch would serve many other useful purposes such as solar panel and wind generator mounts)
We're planning eventually to take this boat off long distance cruising, so would rather get it right now, rather than have a bimini that is only for 2 days a year in the UK, and then needs replacing when we clear off!
Thoughts and suggestions much appreciated... how do you rig and use yours?....
-------------------- Bored?.... why not read my blog .... its the developing story of the trials and tribulations of boat ownership!
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