I am not sure what the heck is the proper terminology for this thing that puts shade on your cockpit and keeps the wet stuff out, however I want to get one and plan on going to a boat canvas open house this weekend to see what they recommend. I know that a lot of you have had to have both good and bad experiences with this Bimini type cover and I would love to hear from you about what I should watch out for and what really works good. Help! Lee Murray (The Tully B) 25 cruiser
Top cover for open deck area
- Thread starter Tully-B
- Start date
Just to help your terms, a bimini is just the "roof" section of a cockpit cover. If it's one that also has sides, then in the C-Dory world it's a "camperback." The latter can also be called a cockpit enclosure.
With a camperback, you can have solid sides with clear windows, screened sides, and/or canvas privacy curtains.
There are some really good design threads here in the archives, which lay out the various considerations and features to consider (or avoid) when designing a camperback. I looked back and read them and took quite a few notes for future reference :thup (I have a bimini now; might like a campberback in future).
The framing for a bimini can be aluminum or stainless. Generally speaking, stainless is better and more heavy duty. I imagine (but don't know) that most camperbacks would have stainless framing.
Sunbeam :hot
With a camperback, you can have solid sides with clear windows, screened sides, and/or canvas privacy curtains.
There are some really good design threads here in the archives, which lay out the various considerations and features to consider (or avoid) when designing a camperback. I looked back and read them and took quite a few notes for future reference :thup (I have a bimini now; might like a campberback in future).
The framing for a bimini can be aluminum or stainless. Generally speaking, stainless is better and more heavy duty. I imagine (but don't know) that most camperbacks would have stainless framing.
Sunbeam :hot
When I bought the Tully B, I found her by going to the C-Brat forum. Now that I am looking to make improvements, I am back, and sure enough within minutes Sunbeam responded with very helpful information. Thank you Sunbeam, your information was helpful. Now that I know the correct terminology, I am going to install a Bimini cockpit cover. Question, what is the best way to fasten the cover to the cabin top and I noticed from various C-Brat photos that there is a rise of a few inches just aft of the cabin top, how many inches should this rise be? Lee
We have the bimini top only on Kerri On. I haven't wanted a complete enclosure yet as for our style of cruising we want to be able to view wild life close up and unobstructed. For periods when it is seriously going to rain we put up old west marine sales banners, which are quite heavy vinyl with grommets, these shed 97% of the rain and when done we stow them away in the rope locker. Works for us, we try to find dry areas to cruise. Having said that , the banners were up overnite here in Cottonwood Az as snow was forecast but only rained. As a matter of fact it just started again. I had the bimini made so a camper back would be an easy add on. When getting one, be sure to go over lots of albums for ideas, the main thing is think like a roof, overlap items downstream. Like top overlap sides and fronts overlap backs, I have seen a couple camperbacks designed to funnel water into the boat! Best
damen":2jjru7c6 said:
Just carrying on the C-Brat tradition :thup
damen":2jjru7c6 said:
I have a bimini on my boat and I like the way it is attached, which is as follows:
1) There is an "awning rail" attached to the cabintop (roof) just ahead of the after end (bascially a flat plastic piece with a round slot in it - you can find an image of it by Googling as they are used on RV's too).
2) Into this slips a piece of sunbrella with a bolt rope (slides into awning rail groove) on the forward side and two zippers on the aft side. This piece is maybe 1-2" deep, forward/aft.
3) The bimini then fastens to this joining piece with two mating sections of zipper.
4) There are two helper snaps on the bimini main section, on on each end at the end of the zippered section.
What you get from this is the ability to take the bimini on and off (or folded back and covered vs. not folded back) without having to slide the whole thing awkwardly out - you just unzip it. Having the two zippers such that each side unzips from outside to center means you can unzip it for ingress/egress - I don't use that normally but might if the boat were on a low tide vs. a high dock, or if I were taller.
The awning rail provides a nice continuous seal and taughtness at the forward and vs. individual fasteners there.
damen":2jjru7c6 said:
I think this is probably just a matter of how high do you need it for head clearance for you/others aboard. I notice that on Halcyon, for example, it was level with the cabin top. That looks sleek to my eye, but most folks are probably too tall for that to work well. I have mine folded at the moment because it's very windy right now, but I could measure it later if you haven't got the dimensions from others by that time. Mine looks to hump up about the typical amount.
My bimini also has a zippered cover (again, two zippers) so that I can fold it back (but still up on the frame) and cover it to keep it protected and from flapping. I took it down last night when the wind camp up and was glad for the two zippers, because it was easier to hold the center in place and zip out in both directions than it would have been to just start from one end and have that long cover flapping around while I tried to work with it.
Sunbeam
PS: Mine just came with "standard" brackets where the feet attach to the gunwale, but there are some nifty "quick release" brackets that I would choose were I re-doing it (which I may at some point). You can find them - and other hardware - in the Sailrite catalog (www.sailrite.com). Here is a link to the brackets I'm speaking of:
http://www.sailrite.com/Quick-Release-Deck-Hinge-Stainless-Steel
PPS: I found lots of good photos for ideas in the various albums - not sure if you've seen those.
You want to have at least 3" above the head of the tallest person in your crew--that will determine the measurement--6" is better. You want to have an "awning rail" attached to the top of the aft cabin house. That will have a zipper on the aft end. There should be a panel which is the "slope up" to the higher level, which can zip open from both sides--zippers on both the cabin side, and Bimini side--this will allow for easier boarding and for ventilation during the hot weather. You should be able to zip from the outer toward the center. You should be able to completely remove this panel easily.
It is best if you can have the frame (SS is all I consider in the C Dory 25) with 1" tubing for strength. You also want it to be self supporting--not with straps. So you will have SS tubings which go straight to the gunnel on the both front and back of the Bimini.
There are many other items you may want to look at--such as quick release, if you are going to be trailering a lot,: one of my boats had railings on the inside, so the Bimini would fold down, and lay inside of the cockpit for fishing or traveling.
Look at some of the albums I have several examples in the "Thataway" album.
You want edges of canvas, either hot knifed--or better bound with tape. You probably want "Sunbrella" in a color to match your stripe color or upholstery. Lots more to consider--I'll let others fill in their preferences. But there are also free standing frames, so have used, cantilevered off the back of the cabin bulkhead.
It is best if you can have the frame (SS is all I consider in the C Dory 25) with 1" tubing for strength. You also want it to be self supporting--not with straps. So you will have SS tubings which go straight to the gunnel on the both front and back of the Bimini.
There are many other items you may want to look at--such as quick release, if you are going to be trailering a lot,: one of my boats had railings on the inside, so the Bimini would fold down, and lay inside of the cockpit for fishing or traveling.
Look at some of the albums I have several examples in the "Thataway" album.
You want edges of canvas, either hot knifed--or better bound with tape. You probably want "Sunbrella" in a color to match your stripe color or upholstery. Lots more to consider--I'll let others fill in their preferences. But there are also free standing frames, so have used, cantilevered off the back of the cabin bulkhead.
ghone":3qc16xwx said:
Would you mind elaborating a bit on how you've got your side made/attached? I have just a bimini on my 22 and I brought along a roll of surplus Sunbrella with the idea of rigging some temporary/when-needed type of side curtains (green striped fabric... should be "festive"
). Since you have something that sounds simple and works, I bet I could glean some good tips.Thanks,
Sunbeam
Bill K":3dwudwlw said:
Well so far my trailering has all been really long distances, and I have taken the whole kit and caboodle down and laid it in the cockpit (I taped pool noodles over the aluminum "legs" to keep them from doing any damage). I pulled the little bolt-rope piece out of the track and just put it inside the boat.
That said, part of my reason for removing it all was that the "feet" were just screwed into the gunwales with no core protection, so until I took care of that I didn't really want the extra "working" on them. Now that I have them overdrilled-fillled-reinstalled, I may leave the framework up next time, and just put the cover on. It is a bit ungainly to remove the whole assembly. Also, the fabric over the after frame has no quick/easy way to remove it (but leave the frame up), so...
...a modification I think I might like is to make the fabric part more easily removable from the frame, by adding a zipper to the after channel. If it zipped off easily, then I could (easily) remove the fabric and trailer with just the frame up.
Lastly, although I've put on some long-distance trailering miles, I really haven't had my boat all that long, so my experience is somewhat limited (past boats with canvas only went 6 knots and not over land!). Others may have better ideas.
Sunbeam