Opinions/help needed

I recently purchased a Bimini top at a garage sale for my flat-bottom boat. I'm not quite sure yet how I'm going to mount it to the boat or how far forward or how far back. Here are some pictures of the fittings on the end of the mounting poles. Also since the sides of my boat are angled I'm not sure what brackets to buy to mount the top. Any advice?

Should the white collar slide up more?


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Is there a brand of hardware i should use?


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You need a track kit pretty sure they're universal

I don't think we have many bimini users here, so it might take a while for someone with experience with them to see this.

JMichael said:

I don't think we have many bimini users here, so it might take a while for someone with experience with them to see this.

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Is there a reason no one uses them?

Most people (read, fishermen) don't like then because they get in the way of the activity. Others, me included love them for times when I'm just loafing or if I get caught in a shower.

Use some imagination and based on the size of it you could use side slides and configure it to cover as much or as little of the boat as you want.
The best place for hardware is West Marine. It usually comes in either stainless or aluminum.

I've had one on every boat I've owned and am about to put one on my new 1860 AlumaCraft. It will be configured to mount in the Versa Track and be adjustable front to rear so I can cover the front or the back half of the boat. I see the wife on the back deck, covered while I fish from the front. It will fold and be stowed on the rear deck right in front of the engine.

Bailey Boat said:

Most people (read, fishermen) don't like then because they get in the way of the activity. Others, me included love them for times when I'm just loafing or if I get caught in a shower.

Use some imagination and based on the size of it you could use side slides and configure it to cover as much or as little of the boat as you want.
The best place for hardware is West Marine. It usually comes in either stainless or aluminum.

I've had one on every boat I've owned and am about to put one on my new 1860 AlumaCraft. It will be configured to mount in the Versa Track and be adjustable front to rear so I can cover the front or the back half of the boat. I see the wife on the back deck, covered while I fish from the front. It will fold and be stowed on the rear deck right in front of the engine.

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Which slide system did you use? And did you mount the slides on top of the boat rail?

Look at some boats like yours that have a top. I expect you have a simple top that has a front and back with no snaps for windshield or side covers. You don't need a track and hardware is not expensive. I use hamiltonmarine.com and they will likely send a catalog if you ask. See page 254 canvas hardware, use a deck hinge like #124052 or #124050 these will anchor the posts, allow quick take down or put up. There is slack in the fittings to allow for different angles of mounting. With posts mounted, heavy nylon string can hold in the front and in the back, you only need the tubing too hold some shape to it.

Al U Minium said:

Look at some boats like yours that have a top. I expect you have a simple top that has a front and back with no snaps for windshield or side covers. You don't need a track and hardware is not expensive. I use hamiltonmarine.com and they will likely send a catalog if you ask. See page 254 canvas hardware, use a deck hinge like #124052 or #124050 these will anchor the posts, allow quick take down or put up. There is slack in the fittings to allow for different angles of mounting. With posts mounted, heavy nylon string can hold in the front and in the back, you only need the tubing too hold some shape to it.

Click to expand...

I'm a confirmed bimini top user and this answer is correct. You don't need a track system and the hardware comes in nylon, aluminum, some kind of metal alloy, and stainless steel. I try to stay away from the nylon hardware because heat and sunlight makes it brittle over time. My wife is fair skinned and likes the shade and when we fish it tends to get in the way but it folds down in less than a minute. Unless you have a real good one (perhaps with stainless steel poles and hardware) they tend to not do towing or fast boating very well and they can slow a boat down in any wind since they tend to act like a sail. It was 90 degrees and sunny this last weekend and the wife and I spent the day successfully jigging for crappie fishing at a local lake...without the bimini top we would have either gone home early or not gone since I burn pretty easy too. Spend a little time at a boat ramp on a busy weekend morning and you'll see exactly how it's done...and any boater would probably be happy to talk to you about their experience with their top.