Is this bimini too tall?

[TBGixxer]

I have a 21' Seadoo Challenger and need a bimini top (of course I've checked all the ones offered at iboats and have one in mind as well). I found another site that has a 7' long bimini top which I think would be perfect. I would like a little longer than 6' but though 8' might look to big for the boat. My concern is that this company only makes the bimini tops 52" tall, no shorter. My gunnels are about 3' tall so we're looking at a total height of about 7'4". What are your thoughts on this height? Ideally I wanted a 46" tall bimini. Also, the companies website (northstarproductsinc.com) keeps referencing pontoon boats but they say it will fit any boat. Sound right? Thanks in advance for your replies...

 

[Beeched]

Re: Is this bimini too tall?

If you move around the boat a lot, as in fishing it would not be too tall. The one on my boat is just at 7' from where I move about to the lowest I had to duck under and it was a real pain. Hope this helps.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Is this bimini too tall?

You can cut down the main bow on bimini's to make them shorter. A 52" tall bimini could be cut down to 46" (depends if there is enough tube to chop off, should be). IE: remove main bow's end eye, lop off tubing with a hack saw, reattach the end eye. How much tube you need to cut off depends on the angle of the bimini, 6" lower off the deck could be somewhere around 8-12" less tubing off the main bow.

 

[TBGixxer]

Re: Is this bimini too tall?

I asked the company about cutting it shorter but they said that if I altered the height it would not fold down for storage. Is this the case?

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Is this bimini too tall?

I asked the company about cutting it shorter but they said that if I altered the height it would not fold down for storage.

Not sure, if they say you can't chop it down there has to be a reason??? You can't alter the hinge points, so maybe the front bow attaches very low on the main bow, leaving no extra tube available to cut off the main bow. If that's the case, you can't cut it down.

Look at the bimini Beeched posted up, all you would have to do is chop off the end of the main bow, where it attaches to the gunwale. There's nothing in that area that would affect how the bimini folds.

Do you have a link to the bimini you are looking at?

 

[TBGixxer]

Re: Is this bimini too tall?

I think I know what you're talking about and from this picture there isn't much to cut off...
Link

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Is this bimini too tall?

Yup, you can't cut that one down.

 

[TBGixxer]

Re: Is this bimini too tall?

Beeched...
Do you find that the tall bimini shades the boat well through out the day? I can just imagine it being too tall and shading the water during early and late hours.

Anybody else have any input? Everything about this deal is perfect except the height.

 

[Beeched]

Re: Is this bimini too tall?

I either follow the shade around the boat or follow the sun. As far as early and late, it hasn't bothered me as I normally don't put it up until mid morning and take it down late in the afternoon once it starts cooling off. Has worked great providing enough shade the rest of the day to keep me shaded.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Is this bimini too tall?

I just bought a bimini and height was my main concern. Check out this thread as the guys were talking about their height preference. I bought a short bimini and am in the process of monkeying around with telescoping the legs, so I can have it high or low. For family time I want it low for max sun protection, but for fishing I want it high and out of the way. It's a work in progress.......

 

[kevincave]

Re: Is this bimini too tall?

i just bought a 35" 8ft long on iboats. it takes some searching. for an 8footer you have to look at boats over 17 ft........

 

[tschmidty]

Re: Is this bimini too tall?

You said you had gunnels and the bimini you showed was for a pontoon, different story. You will most likely be able to cut down the bimini at the main attachment point. As long as you don't alter the hinge point of the other bow you will be fine folding it down. Although I am a big fan of the supports and keeping it up out of the way. This really applies mainly to a 3 bow. Finding a 4 bow that you can cut down will be harder. I think you might like an 8 footer, when it's a 10 degrees out every little bit helps. If you can find a good position for it, I think it will look OK.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Is this bimini too tall?

I found when the tops high the afternoon sun does stream in. You can't really help this because if you want to stand up sometimes while driving like I do in the rain it's a trade off. So I bought those plastic towel clips made for the bimini frame and clip big towels off the frame to block the hot sun when we are lounging around in a cove. One other note: You show your location as Tampa. If you are going to be around any salt (even in the air) you should order a stainless frame and fittings which kicks the price higher.

Most of those cheap China made aluminum frames snap very easily like if someone grabs a part of the frame and uses it to pull your rig into the dock . . . ask me how I know this

 

[TBGixxer]

Re: Is this bimini too tall?

Great advice guys, thanks! I considered an 8' but was worried about looking huge on a 21 footer. I'll reconsider. Also, I am upgrading the hardware to stainless steel but didn't think about the tubes. I'll look into that too.