On Bennington's website for the new 2026 QX it lists both cladded arch with powered bimini and a carbon fiber arch with powered bimini as optional features. My dealer tells me at least the cladded arch with an integrated powered bimini will be an available option on the R series as well. Not sure about a carbon fiber arch. Has anybody seen one yet in real life or a video or pictures?
2026 New Powered Bimini on Arch option
- Thread starter Shakemon
- Start date
Shakemon - Yep the powered bimini is new on the QX (my dealer confirmed too), but I have not seen any images yet.
Also looking forward to later this month when they launch their new build tool on the website (to replace the janky/buggy one that's been on there forever). I'm guessing it will accompany more info on things like Toontint, etc too.
One other note for anyone looking at the new '26 QX on Bennington's website: No, it will not have "dual raised helms" - that is a typo...
Also looking forward to later this month when they launch their new build tool on the website (to replace the janky/buggy one that's been on there forever). I'm guessing it will accompany more info on things like Toontint, etc too.
One other note for anyone looking at the new '26 QX on Bennington's website: No, it will not have "dual raised helms" - that is a typo...
Vikingstaff
Moderator
Regular powered bimini, or the new powered bimini on the carbon fiber arch that can be added to some 2026’s?
The 2019 SSBXP would have had a regular curved power bimini option. I actually have it on our 2017 SSBXP. We love it. Really, that is the same REGULAR power Bimini option out there now.
The issues would likely be the cost mark up at this point since it wasn’t ordered with boat originally, labor costs as it fits totally differently than a regular bimini, and assorted parts.
The supports motor attachment pivot point and rear arm points are different than a normal bimini. You cannot just take the one off and put the other up in its place.
You would also have to get the wiring ran and connected to helm/bimini/electrical. Between just the cost of the bimini & parts itself after the fact, and then labor to redo it, I’d imagine it would run a pretty penny.
Here what the regular power Bimini on a SSBXP looks like (our boat is a 2017). I couldn’t find any pics of it actually deployed as we don’t put it out much. Sorry.
Bill N
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Your are also gonna need to modify your mooring cover.
Vikingstaff
Moderator
Didn’t even think of that Bill. Yes, they would. Good catch.
Just a follow up now that I've had my new 2026 RXSBA a few weeks now. I did get the new for 2026 power bimini that attaches to the power folding cladded arch and so far, like it a lot. Because we always park the boat on our shore station with canopy cover and we always want the bimini deployed when we're boating, each and every time we pull off the shore station, the arch goes up and bimini gets deployed, then the opposite when we pull back onto the shore station. It sure is nice to press a button to fold up the arch then another button to deploy the bimini. I guess I'm the Beta tester for this new type of power bimini and hope it doesn't break. The one thing I don't like about it is there is not quite as much shade coverage when the sun is angled from the side. The manual bimini (no arch either) on our old boat curved downward along the port and starboard edges which provided a bit more shade.
