I had a request from one of the guys to share the details on how my bimini is configured. Thought I'd post it here rather than e-mail - add to the "knowledge base"
One thing to note, which won't be obvious in all of the photos, is that my bimini and drop curtains are separate. They mount so close to each other that they look like one unit. These were all on the boat when I bought it so I don't know who made them but it's a really nice setup.
The bimini has a slotted channel mounted permanently to the rear top of the pilothouse roof. A fabric "connector" slides into this and has a zipper on it's rear edge to connect to the traditional bimini top. The front section of the bimini tapers from the narrower end where it connects to the pilothouse out to the main section which covers the entire (wider) cockpit area.
Here's are overall shot from the stern:
The rest of these shots were taken as I prepared to shrink wrap the boat. The bimini itself has been removed from it's frame (which I streached the shrinkwrap over - great for working on the boat over the winter) and you can see the connector and it's fittings.
View from the rear of the still installed connector:
Connector track from the front:
Connector detail. It wraps around the radar arch and snaps to the sides of the pilot house. If you look closely you'll see that the two snap "posts" are fairly long. This allows the drop curtain to wrap around and snap onto the posts AND the connector snaps onto the same posts:
Finally a shot with the connector removed. You can see the channel along the top and the drop curtain snaps just under the edge of the roof:
Overall I really like this setup. This top was up through wind in excess of 60mph during the remnants of Ernesto last year and had no problems at all! (Boat in on a mooring so it was facing into the wind). The way the connector is set up rain and spray just roll along the pilothouse, onto the bimini and drop of the back. I get very few drips between the end of the roof and the bimini. This is further enhanced by the zipper on the back of the connector being set slightly forward from the edge of the fabric so there's a "flap" that covers the zipper and prevents water from dripping through the zipper.
Any questions just ask!
p.s. - The boat is in the process of being renamed - but it's bad luck to tell it to you before I go through the ceremony!
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