Bimini Location

[Dave-in-RI]

This past season I bought a 2010 Sun Cat with boom end mainsheet. It came with a new, factory, never installed bimini top, which I was reluctant to install for aesthetics and its tendency to block that comfy rear corner beside the tiller. I'm curious if anyone was successful in installing it further to the front, so that it doubles as a companionway cover. It looks like that's how they are on Horizon Cats, but I'm not sure the side deck shapes would work. I personally would want to add shade for guests (my wife & kids) more than me at the tiller (I like to see the sail anyway), and could maybe fold it forward vs back. It's all put away for winter now tho.

Pics attached not mine, but show the location differences I'm talking about.

[bruce]

Hopefully a Sun Cat sailor who has played with the bimini position will be able to help, but looking at the photos I don't see a problem. In fact it looks like the SC bimini frame can just be slid forward on the track, and the fore and aft straps adjusted, to pretty much match the position of the HC bimini.

It looks like both tracks are mounted about 14" from the cabin bulkhead. (For scale, Com-Pac uses the same elliptical port on both boats, #RA00P0448, 3X13, which I assume is in inches). The SC track looks a bit longer. It would be easy to mount the tracks to thin stock, 1/4" plywood for example, and temporarily mount them to the coaming on both sides with double-sided tape to test the layout before drilling holes. You could fasten the forward strap to the handrail if necessary, as it is on the HC, certainly in the testing phase. The aft mount wouldn't need to change, just lengthen the strap.

Since SCs can be found with both mid and end boom sheeting, Com-Pac may design the bimini for both versions. Not a concern for you, install it where you want it.

[Dave-in-RI]

Looking forward to testing this soon (it feels like a year since I wrote the post in December-- a long, cold-rain winter with not enough snow to get me through). In other news, I just picked up this week a 2018 Duxbury Dory center console skiff with 25hp Suzuki. Had to go to Martha's Vineyard to get it, but I think it was worth it!

[Dave-in-RI]

It's bimini time! I got the instructions from Com-Pac and am sharing them for posterity. Obviously they're different for mid-boom or end-boom mainsheet, and they're both here for people to review. Matt Hutchins said 1" stainless sheet metal screws and bedded with a marine grade polyurethane caulking such as, 3M 4200, Bostik 920, etc.

Follow-up from Hutchins when I asked why three eye straps and why after was on top vs side: "Ignore the middle eyestrap in that picture, I think that particular boat had the mainsheet moved aft so the bimini had to be moved and that was a strap for the old mainsheet location.. The front strap is on the side so it can be mounted flat rather than in the corner radius where the combing meets the bulkhead."