Question:
Does anyone know a vendor for economy bimini tops? West Marine and Overtons
have them from about $300.00 up. And I need 2ea for my pontoon project. I just
hesitate on spending $600 + on a boat that I have les than $1500 in. I'm also
open for ideas on home fabricated alternatives that'll provide around 16 feet
of coverage over a flat deck.
Answer:
-Build frame from PCV or lumber etc and use Visqueen Plastic wide rolls from
hardware store that come in huge rolls of varying widths etc and in black or
clear or in between. I believe it comes in different gauges or thickness.
-I saw a boat that had one of those square outdoor lawn tent's from K-Mart
mounted on it as a bimini top. I'd be surprised if he paid over $50.00 for it.
I laughed like hell because in looked funny on a runabout but it is square and
about the size of a pontoon boat. It might not look too bad on yours.
-You may want to check this site:
http://www.websweeper.com/boater/bim.htm
We can make a better deal on 2 units. The least expensive
is the 50/50 poly cotton.
-A friend of mine who has a 40' pontoon houseboat built his out of galvanized
fence rails. He used the fence hardware for joinery. The rails for the top
have a small bend at the center 3-5 degrees. With the ends coupled to the
side rails. To anchor the verticals he made up a plate with a post that the
vertical slips over then pinned the vertical to the anchor post. He also
used a 45 degree support at the aft verticals to stabilize. This bimini
covers only 2/3 of his bridge. He had a top made for it last season but
before that he used blue plastic tarps with bungies to keep it secured and
tight.
Looks good! Cost for materials, well most of the fence stuff I gave him from
a security fence that was taken down and was just taking up space in the
stock yard. If the fence stuff is to big, you might look into using
EMT(electrical metal tube), you can get this stuff in smaller size. 3/4 or 1
inch might work for you. If you select EMT then you could use the plastic
bimini fittings to construct your top bows. The bending will require some
skill with a bender, some job shops will bend for a fee. You could get a
bender from a local builder supply and practice a bit. The problem is to
keep your 90s' parallel for the bow ends.
