If you are considering a new bimini top for your boat, you have made a good decision. This kind of top will extend both the life of your boat and the equipment on it. So one of the primary reasons to choose a top is to protect your investment. Even more importantly, however, is that this top will make your boating experience more pleasurable. How?
By providing a welcome shelter from both the hot sun along with rain and hail. A top can easily be raised and lowered as needed. No wonder boat owners with Biminis often wonder how they ever got along without them! Now that you have a new top, you are faced with the decision of where to mount it. Before you decide, there are several things you should first consider.
The two main things you have to be concerned with are where the top will be when it is stowed and where it will be when it's being used. When you put your top up, you will find approximately half the covered area is located in front of the mounting point with the other half behind. If that is all you had to consider, your decision of where to mount your new top would be simple. However, you also have to consider the mounting location also has to work well when you bring the top down.
Most folks want to get the ultimate amount of shade from their top. When considering where to mount, therefore, it is important to understand the point where it will be mounted will be right in the middle of the length of the top. Mark off the spot where you want it mounted with a piece of tape. Then, to figure out roughly where the top will be when it is in the down position, measure the height of the top and then measure that distance back from your tape.
Ideally your new bimini should lie neatly across the transom. As long as it is out of the way, however, you should be good to go. If you find when you lower the top it will be in the way, however, you will have to come up with another solution. Don't worry --- there are hardware solutions designed specifically to remedy this type of problem. Bimini slides are one way many folks have solved this type of mounting problem. Slides employ a mounting block that slides back and forth inside a track.
When you mount the principal hinges to the mounting block, it enables you to move the top backwards and forwards along the length of the track. This allows you to have it in one spot when it is up while allowing you to move it to another spot when you wish to stow it.
Another option are bimini braces which are rigid supports that replace the straps in the rear. These metal poles are attached with a hinge to the deck on the one end and to the top on the other end. When raised, a clamp is placed in the right position on the bow before it is tightened down. Your addition can then be put in the fully raised position for stowage where it will remain completely out of the way. When you are pulling or stowing your boat, however, it can be laid down flat on the deck.
If you are considering one of these innovative tops, these suggestions should help you determine where and how it should be installed to provide you and your family with maximum shade and convenience.