All's well that ends well and as usual, Bennington stepped right up. That's the good news.
When we bought our boat, the option that made me most leery was the power bimini. It just seemed like a problem waiting to happen. I was assured by the selling team that they had had zero problems with the option and that I would love it.
I do love it. We go under bridges frequently, and I'm forever adjusting the height of the bimini when it is closed in the boot and in the radar position. It's a great option and I'm very often very glad I have it.
In spring, it started to sound like it was binding as it went up. I called the dealer, they were not particularly concerned and gave me a very easy fix.
The way the system works - there's a screw drive inside the actuator that lifts and lowers the bimini arms. One actuator unit on each side of the boat with an electric motor in each actuator.
The fix was to disconnect one motor and bump the switch down momentarily, basically resetting the alignment of the two arms by moving only one actuator for a brief bump on the switch.
That worked. No more binding. Everyone was happy.
This weekend the entire screw drive mechanism inside the port actuator snapped. The unit is a closed unit, no way to fix it. Nothing can be done except to replace the actuator. They come in pairs...so both had to be replaced.
We have a big weekend on the boat coming up, so Bennington overnighted the parts...thank you very much Bennington...way to step to the plate and help a guy out. Very much appreciated and a big fan of your customer service.
Out of curiosity, I asked the service manager how much that pair of actuators is - he said they are about $800. Oh holy hell...
The boat's not even a year old - and an $800 part failed. And it's an $800 part that made me nervous to begin with.
I don't run fast with the bimini open, in fact I very rarely run fast. But to avoid problems in the future, I think I'm going to make a habit of putting the bimini down on the trailering struts whenever I'm running fast or in very chopped up water. That's just not as durable a unit as I hoped it would be. Lots of torque on the screw drive...and I have proven - it does snap.
When we bought our boat, the option that made me most leery was the power bimini. It just seemed like a problem waiting to happen. I was assured by the selling team that they had had zero problems with the option and that I would love it.
I do love it. We go under bridges frequently, and I'm forever adjusting the height of the bimini when it is closed in the boot and in the radar position. It's a great option and I'm very often very glad I have it.
In spring, it started to sound like it was binding as it went up. I called the dealer, they were not particularly concerned and gave me a very easy fix.
The way the system works - there's a screw drive inside the actuator that lifts and lowers the bimini arms. One actuator unit on each side of the boat with an electric motor in each actuator.
The fix was to disconnect one motor and bump the switch down momentarily, basically resetting the alignment of the two arms by moving only one actuator for a brief bump on the switch.
That worked. No more binding. Everyone was happy.
This weekend the entire screw drive mechanism inside the port actuator snapped. The unit is a closed unit, no way to fix it. Nothing can be done except to replace the actuator. They come in pairs...so both had to be replaced.
We have a big weekend on the boat coming up, so Bennington overnighted the parts...thank you very much Bennington...way to step to the plate and help a guy out. Very much appreciated and a big fan of your customer service.
Out of curiosity, I asked the service manager how much that pair of actuators is - he said they are about $800. Oh holy hell...
The boat's not even a year old - and an $800 part failed. And it's an $800 part that made me nervous to begin with.
I don't run fast with the bimini open, in fact I very rarely run fast. But to avoid problems in the future, I think I'm going to make a habit of putting the bimini down on the trailering struts whenever I'm running fast or in very chopped up water. That's just not as durable a unit as I hoped it would be. Lots of torque on the screw drive...and I have proven - it does snap.