Do you keep your bimini top up or down most times?

[Bugsbunnyboater]

I see a Lotta pics of people with there bimini tops folded down on the water.  


I keep mines open 100% of the time.  So what do most of you do and why?  

 

[djplourd]

I have a double bimini.  My wife isn't supposed to get too much sun so we always run with the stern bimini up.  Once in awhile we'll run with both up.

 

[Jack M]

Mine has only been opened twice .Once to see how it worked and to check it for critters 

 

[SEMPERFI8387]

We only open ours if extremely hot  and sunny where it's just too uncomfortable without some shade relief. That's maybe a couple times a year. Today just may be one of those days. 100 plus with the heat index, in the forecast.

 

[swiftm]

I need the shade and my wife loves the sun so it's up for me in the stern. 

 

[BigKahuna]

If the sun is out the Bimini is out. (Or up) 

 

[Dev75]

When it's just me out fishing I don't bother to open it but when the family is on board we open it.  We find that on hot days the shade it provides makes it much more comfortable for those who don't like to jump in the lake to cool off. 

 

[goldnrod24]

Up 95% of the time. It even fits in my pole barn with top up.

 

[chucktuna]

Didn't want to start a new topic, so I'll throw this question out here.


How do I tighten up the canvas to eliminate rainwater pooling? Like this:

 

[Indian_Lake_Bum]

Our bimini is normally down on the trailering legs and not up in the radar position as we have to go under a bridge to get to open water from our marina.  Once out on the water it all depends on temp and if we have guests on board as to if we open the bimini.  I'd guess it's open about 30-40% of the time we are on the water.


Last weekend it was open most of the day as we had events in the harbor that had us docked for most of the morning (10-3pm).  We like the fact you can be out on the water with the bimini for shade even on hot days and still enjoy boating without feeling like you are being cooked alive.

 

[Maynard G. Krebs]

Didn't want to start a new topic, so I'll throw this question out here.


How do I tighten up the canvas to eliminate rainwater pooling? Like this:

I haven't had to do this to mine but it looks like you have the same adjustable knob on the forward-most support. Sliding the whole arm up closer to the canvas should pull the bimini down more and provide more tension. Mark where it's at now so you know where you started from. If that doesn't work it would also be really easy to shorten the rear support, it's just attached with screws. I would remove the plastic insert and lop off a small amount of tube, drill a new hole for the screw, and test fit. Repeat as necessary.

 

[Havasu]

My double stays up all the time.  I only have to tow about 2 miles from my garage to the ramp.  Should I travel to Mead or Powell in the future then I'll drop them down for the long tow.  Right now, I boat exclusively on Havasu and having both bimini's up is a must.

 

[lakeliving]

I would say my Bimini is used more than anyone's. We keep the boat on a lift so it goes into the trailering position every time we come into the lift. Having a little one we open it all up as soon as we back out of the lift. So my boot comes on and off daily. 

 

[JTaylor]

We almost always have at least one bimini deployed, and when it's hot both of them go up.  That gives us a lot of flexibility on where we want to sit.  

 

[tcpip95]

Down here in FL, we pretty much deploy the bimini as soon as we hit the water.  Only time we run with it secured is if we're running in a storm.

 

[jrochin]

I use it all the time. 

 

[Alicedream]

Use it all the time.  Received a kidney transplant 6 years ago so have to be carefull with sun with my medications.  I would use anyway as it can get brutally hot in Missouri during the summer.

 

[ssc]

My double bimini has been up 100% since we picked it up from the dealer. Even with it up, if one wants to get some sun, there is plenty of sun up towards the bow. Did I mention it gets a bit warm here?


Cheers, Steve

 

[Chris F]

Ours is up most of the time. We put it down before docking on windy days

 

[Link]

Ours is up most of the time.  I like the shade my wife lounges in the front for the sun but on extra hot days she appreciates the shade as well