ridget bimini frame made from

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patrick and linda

New member
So, I received a quote from our local fabrication shops that specialize in ridget binimi frames, , made from aluminum tubing. The quoes was for the frame only, installed. $1500.00. So, being a retired type guy now, I went to Lowe's and priced out galvanized steel pipes. Lowe's will cut and tread pipes at no additional cost. All the materials, less a military 10% discount = $200.00 were am I going wrong using this type of material?
 
Even in Kentucky you are going to run into corrosion problems with galvanized pipes. The part where threads are cut are not galvanized, water will trap there, and start rust.

Even more important: Bimini tops are curved, so that water does not collect. The bend is only a few inches for the entire arc the beam of the boat, but it is important. The galvanized pipe will be much heavier than either SS or aluminum. Who is going to make the canvas part of the top for you?

The price seems a bit high for just a frame. You might look at some of the Bimini manufactures. I assume that you mean rigid tops, which implies that you may not want the usual Bimni, which can be folded down. Do you want one of the cantilevered frame tops? You can buy a frame and canvas kit from Taylor for just a little over $360, which would give shade--and cover the cockpit, with 7/8" aluminum tubing. There would not be an attachment to the top of the back of the boat--but that could be made by a local canvas shop.
 
Stainless or aluminum tubing is going to be better for our boats. If you use your boat in salt water, your results will be messy. We kept and used our boat in salt water and I purposely experimented with various metals to build things and all the galvanized parts I tried began to literally drip corrosion and make a mess of things within one week. I left a set of bolts in place for a season once and had to cut them off becuase the nuts were basically corroded in place and when I tried to remove them the bolts twisted and snapped. I like stainless and aluminum but keep them away from eachother unless you use a barrier treatment.

The stainless tubing on our camperback was in perfect condition after two years of living on the saltwater full time. Worth every penny.

Greg
 
Not sure, but I think the pipe is galvanized on the outside only. Heavier than aluminum, won't make bends like aluminum.

Fifteen hundred sounds high in aluminum. I paid about that much for a stainless dodger, including the Sunbrella, but smaller than your bimini, no doubt, installed, in 2008, on the northern Oregon Coast. Guy works out of Newport.
 
all good advice. yes i did mean rigid. i will continue the search. i appreciate all the advice. only boating on the inland water ways and new about the rust problem but thought if the parts were cheap enough i would simply throw the old away after rust became a problem and build again, didn't totally think this out about water shed from top of canvas! my goal is to provide shade to the cockpit on a permanent basis.
 
There are ways to put up shade without the frame especially at anchor or in the marina. --depending on what you want to do. Some folks have put an awning rail (Plastic) on the aft end of the cabin, then make a "shade" out of Sunbrella or other fabric and use rod holders for holding pieces of PVC pipe to hold the aft end up. You can make a "bow" for the aft end with PVC pile also. Many sail boats use a similar shade over the boom when at anchor--or even underway at slow speed (a real use for the Mizzen mast boom).

Are you going to do the canvas work yourself?
 
FWIW. I bought a stainless bimini frame for a full camperback from King Marine for $ 350 last Fall. Not too much over $200 for a quality product.

Karl
 
This is a simple design that could probably be done with PVC. Also check craigslist for used biminis and you could recycle the tubing.

DSCI0011.jpg


Also found this online - http://hardtotop.com/photo.php?searcha= ... china=type
 
It is not just the tubing--but the bending of the tubing. The Criag's list looks a little high on the price for tubing--but I have not priced any recently. A Bimini frame would take about 33 feet of tubing for a 3 bow frame (which I would recommend as a minimum.
 
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