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Bimini Top blew off in wind and sinks

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BlueCreek

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Yesterday while on the lake a gust of wind (20mph) came upon us and literally blew the bimini off of our tritoon boat. We were cruising about 20 mph and THANKFULLY noone was riding behind the boat, and no boats following us. I'm afraid it may have pulled a small child down with it. It took all of 10 seconds for the heavy bimini to sink in the 40+ ft. depth area of the lake.

The "legs" on the top often came loose, but rarely simultaneously. We have adjusted the brackets to no avail, constantly re-securing the leg/brace to the boat. I've read many have had trouble with the overall design.

I plan to never have the top up again while pulling anyone behind the boat. The top hopefully is covered under the lifetime structural warranty? Please advise.
 
On your '07 do you have the black plastic quick release clips, or are yours hole and pin?
 
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I'd break out the anchor and try and recover the bimini by dragging the bottom. I've accidentally recovered two anchors this way - hooked the loop at the end of the rode that folks forgot to secure before throwing anchor.

Seeing the condition of the quick release clips would be very interesting!
 
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As a side note, if you lose something of value in the water take a quick GPS reading, if GPS is not available try to line up between the shore line four markers (assuming you can see shore; houses, towers, notable trees, etc.) a pair front to rear, and a pair left to right. You are putting your position in the middle of the cross hairs.

You can then contact your local dive shop; they always have people hanging around looking for a reason to make a dive. Usually about $50. is reason enough to go diving.

My 2 cents....

Steve
 
The quick release clips were "as good as new". No cracks or otherwise compromised.

I'm not in the area now to be able to try and locate it.
 
Did the pivot arms break the pins or rip the brackets off the rails? Did the front arms release from the pins and then the canvas parachuted and carried the arms away with the canvas?
 
The front arms (bracket) released on both sides simultaneously, and the entire unit (frame, arms, canvas, wiring etc..) parachuted into the air. It happened so fast. We did not have the pin/hole assembly, only the quick release. At this point I think the pin/hole would have to be a more suitable option. Will not ever be using the bimini while pulling anyone.
 
I thought you meant just the fabric top, but you mean the top AND FRAME ?? Wow..... :eek:

Bennington does rock though, covering under warranty..... just keeps reminding me why I'm ordering from them.......
 
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We have the black quick-release connectors (2012 boat) and they are very tight fitting. I have to pound them pretty good with my fist to get them unhooked.

I recognize yours are 5 years old, but just curious if yours were tight when new, and they slowly got loose/worn over time? Or were they loose from Day 1? I'm sure this is something a lot of us will want to keep an eye on.

Thanks for posting. That could have been deadly with a couple kids on a tube. The frame could have rode the tow rope all the way back to the tube before you even thought about slowing down. Scary.
 
Also, to seat the clips in place, we have to pull the leg down fairly hard to get the clip to snap into place. I think that amount of tension helps keep it from coming loose too...
 
kaydano said:
Also, to seat the clips in place, we have to pull the leg down fairly hard to get the clip to snap into place. I think that amount of tension helps keep it from coming loose too...
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Our boat is 6 years old and still have the same clips. The top is adjusted tight so you have to pull down on the legs to clip them. I've never had a problem with them coming off even at speed (30+).
 
We had to pull fairly hard as well to lock them in place. They still often came loose. But I beleive it was the combination of a jarring of waves, gust of wind, at the right angle that caught the canvas with such a force, blowing in the direction to release the arm, lifting it off of the boat. In the five years we've owned the tritoon, we have driven often in wind/rain and never had any problems with the bimini, other than one of the legs coming loose at times. Never both at the same time alongside gusts! Please, please make sure yours are secure.
 
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BlueCreek said:
We had to pull fairly hard as well to lock them in place. They still often came loose. But I beleive it was the combination of a jarring of waves, gust of wind, at the right angle that caught the canvas with such a force, blowing in the direction to release the arm, lifting it off of the boat. In the five years we've owned the tritoon, we have driven often in wind/rain and never had any problems with the bimini, other than one of the legs coming loose at times. Never both at the same time alongside gusts! Please, please make sure yours are secure.
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What model/hp boat do you own? Any pics, just of the boat in all its glory, don't want you posting any topless photos on here! Haha

Derrick
 
BlueCreek said:
Yesterday while on the lake a gust of wind (20mph) came upon us and literally blew the bimini off of our tritoon boat. We were cruising about 20 mph and THANKFULLY noone was riding behind the boat, and no boats following us. I'm afraid it may have pulled a small child down with it. It took all of 10 seconds for the heavy bimini to sink in the 40+ ft. depth area of the lake.

The "legs" on the top often came loose, but rarely simultaneously. We have adjusted the brackets to no avail, constantly re-securing the leg/brace to the boat. I've read many have had trouble with the overall design.

I plan to never have the top up again while pulling anyone behind the boat. The top hopefully is covered under the lifetime structural warranty? Please advise.
Click to expand...
It's good advice to be cautious on windy days, whether it's your bimini top or whitecaps over the bow. WE WOULD LIKE OWNERS TO BE AWARE that bimini top fittings on 2007 model year boats were subject to a safety recall in January 2008. In all likelihood, this boat did not get replacement fittings as required in the recall. We will cover this incident entirely, no questions asked. We continually improve our products and have had not issues with the newer fittings used in 2008 to present. Thanks, TB
 
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Team Bennington said:
It's good advice to be cautious on windy days, whether it's your bimini top or whitecaps over the bow. WE WOULD LIKE OWNERS TO BE AWARE that bimini top fittings on 2007 model year boats were subject to a safety recall in January 2008. In all likelihood, this boat did not get replacement fittings as required in the recall. We will cover this incident entirely, no questions asked. We continually improve our products and have had not issues with the newer fittings used in 2008 to present. Thanks, TB
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We were totally unaware of the recall. Wow. Glad you have made improvements and am greatful you are covering this incident. Team Bennington rocks. :) I should mention that I love our B Boat. It ALWAYS starts, never any issues there. Remarkable, and the first boat I've had that actually consistently runs well.
 
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