New Bimini 38 Sundancer - Progress Pics

[juggernaut1]

I bought the boat back in April this year and have made a few improvements to the boat, most notably is the new bimini setup which is still in progress - but just in time for our aproaching summer.

Thought I would post a few progress pics of my new bimini/canvas setup. Obviously different setup to what I see on this forum in the US - but our sun has a bite to it especially in summer hence the large amount of shade. I also went white on the top to keep the heat down and also to make a seamless progression from the hard top it attaches to. With the rear shade frame I tried to mimic the curve in the hard top. Arguably, I could have lowered the whole setup a couple of inches when looking from the side profile - but I love the internal space provided by the higher setup and actually makes the boat feel bigger than it did before.

The two stainless poles (removable) you may have noticed in the rod holders will host a further aft awning which will attach back to the main bimini through a sail track setup. This will deliver shade to the back of the swim platform and provide shade to the main cockpit area when the sun sets lower in the sky. The aft sides and rear cover were not fitted at the time of these pics. I've also had some mesh windscreen covers made up and you can see some of these have been fitted on each side of the boat. New clears are strataglass but were also not fitted at the time of these pics. I'll post final pics when I get a chance.

Boat is coming out of the water next week for it's annual polish (trying the Dulon polish system) and antifoul.

 

[Strecker25]

That looks amazing, well done!

 

[juggernaut1]

Thanks :smt001

 

[Quint4]

That frame is very well done....skills there. Very innovative cantilever......keep the pics coming.

Reminds me of the aft tops on the new Rivieras.



I did a similar aft top on my boat this summer:

 

[Zorba]

Very nice looking.

What are the other two SS poles positioned aft in the rod holders?


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[Gofirstclass]

That is probably the best looking bimini I've ever seen on a Sundancer. Like you said, it follows the contours of the hard top and just looks like it came with the boat.

We also live in an area where the sun is a scorcher so we're also big fans of bimini-provided shade. It makes being on the boat on hot days much more enjoyable.

 

[Quint4]

He explained the aft poles in his post.

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

Looks great, but one question. What prevents the top from lifting upwards in a strong wind? I assume that gravity holds it down and the attachment point on the hard top prevents it from falling down, right? I'd really like to get rid of the angled bar coming off the bottom part of my radar arch and your design looks very slick!

 

[Sublimetime]

It looks like the only attachment points are on the side of radar arch? what keeps it from coming down in rear, is it the tension provided by the fabric or am I not seeing a support. And I am not sure about the post of cantilever effect- as it looks like it is attached at the arch with a standard pin /post setup. what keeps it from blowing up and down.??

 

[juggernaut1]

Thanks for the praises.

Good questions re support - what you don't see in the pics are the support poles hidden by the rear most part of each of the sides. Incorporated into the sides is a flap of material which wraps around the poles and zips into place. That is, if I were to remove those sides, you would see the support poles.

We did consider a canter lever approach with tension poles coming from the top of the hard top to the rear of the bimini, which we do see in oz, but we're worried with cracking the hard top at the mounting points. This is also a coastal ocean going boat so the forces would be greater.

 

[Zorba]

He explained the aft poles in his post.

That he does. Thanks.


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[Perth_Lad]

The new bimini looks great. Who did the job for you ?

Regards

 

[juggernaut1]

Thanks - it was done by Mason Marine.

 

[Tifoso]

The new top looks fantastic!

I'm sure the boat feels much bigger now with the height of that bimini. Using White should certainly help with the heating effect. What material did you use?

 

[juggernaut1]

Cheers and yes the boat has the feeling of a bigger boat compared to the factory bimini. Colour also assists in this, being white it feels more like a natural extension of the hardtop from inside.

Material is Stamoid. In terms of heat rejection there is absolutely no comparison (obviously the colour has a lot to do with it too) - Stamoid has always been cool to touch even in our blazing sun - quite remarkable really - the black Sunbrella on the sides gets very warm in our heat. Also I am told its more waterproof than Sunbrella.

A further benefit is that it lets light whereas Sunbrella is solid - so you can leave the sides and rear on and its like daylight inside. Very easy to clean - bird poo just rinses off or comes off with a light rub. I was a little worried going white for the reason but have no regrets yet.

I'll snap the final job pics over the Christmas break and post on here.

 

[Havana Shamrock]

Nicely done, funny I was at the canvas shop this week discussing a similar shade and he recommended stamoid it's superior to sunbrella as it doesn't fade it's waterproof and very soft to the touch yours came out beautiful

 

[juggernaut1]

Few pics of the final setup....oh and a local visitor.

 

[Gofirstclass]

Our tops are made of Stamoid and I love it. Like Juggernaut said, it's easy to clean and stays cool to the touch. We're in a desert area where there is a lot of dust so the cleaning part is important. I give it a squirt with the hose when I start cleaning the front areas of the boat. By the time I'm down with the bow and move up to the fly bridge, the dust on the Stamoid has soaked loose and it squirts right off.

My upper bimini is 10+ years old and looks like new. Same with the aft bimini and it's 5 years old.

Juggernaut, that new bimini looks really nice.

 

[alwhite00]

Looks great. With the white color it looks like a hardtop at first glance.

 

[juggernaut1]

Thanks guys.

Loving this setup it in our hot summer. Would have otherwise gotten torched with the standard bimini.