z5 vs. stock bimini

[Swoks]

Wife is demanding a bimini in the boat this year. I have a 2012 SAN 210 with the FCT5 tower. Is the Z5 worth the extra cost over the stock one? Thanks.

[josemolino]

It depends on the use:
If you want extra storage & premium quality go for the Z5 but is bulkier and lies lower.
If shade & premium quality go for the stock
If shade & price & good quality go for an aftermarket one at 1000$ cost, (i.e.towerbiminis.com and you can choose multiple color combinations ). Your wife will love this because is simple and nice looking

[OKWAKEBDR]

Typical answer...it depends...

I have the same boat with a Z5, and I love it, but I never have to put my tower up and down.

Advantages: looks better (my opinion), useful for storage, better shade coverage
Disadvantages: can't put it up and down easily, aftermarket speakers may not fit without modifying the Z5, can hit your head (I'm 5'7" and I never hit my head on it, but taller people can).

[ddipert]

I have a z5 on my 2010 230 with ftc3. We do have a low bridge that we need to lower the tower for. It's a little bit of a pain but doable most of the time. If the lake is high we don't go to the to the other side of the lake.
Normal water height we clear the bridge by 6". I'm 6'2" and have hit my head on the bimini several times you get use to keeping your head down, now I maybe hit it once a month. It's $$ but we like it better then the standard bimini's.

[jonsquatch]

Typical answer...it depends...

I have the same boat with a Z5, and I love it, but I never have to put my tower up and down.

Advantages: looks better (my opinion), useful for storage, better shade coverage
Disadvantages: can't put it up and down easily, aftermarket speakers may not fit without modifying the Z5, can hit your head (I'm 5'7" and I never hit my head on it, but taller people can).

That just about sums it up perfectly. I love mine and can't see not having it. But it costs a ton and keeps you from being able to mount Rev 10's unless your a midget. I am 6' 4" and I have probably hit my head less than most people, but thats only because I know I can't stand up under it, its not even close and being that its as sturdy as it is I use it to hold on to while maneuvering around. I think everyone who has been on my boat has hit their head on it at least once, including those who "claim" to be over 5'.
Where it gets most people is as they step into the boat from the rear deck. Since it is lower and rather large it offers amazing shade and the ability to toss a 5th wakeboard and a pair of surfboards up there makes up for the fact that the 210 doesn't have compartments big enough to store them. It is also nice not having to take down the bimini before and after the trip and you don't have to worry about how windy it gets while you are out as long as you keep the trailering straps in the boat. The opposite side of that is it makes a pretty good sail so you have to account for that if its windy at all as it makes it harder to dock, trailer, or pick up riders and puts more strain on dock lines than if it wasn't there.

If I had to fold the tower down to put the boat away I would think twice about getting a Z5 as that would be a pain and the bracket does affect how far you can fold it. If I ordered a G21 today I wouldn't think twice about adding one.

[Ben.randell]

not having to fold away for trailering is a huge advantage for us.
It also allows speakers to be mounted above the tower which would be difficult to do with stock bimini (see photo).
Also, the stock bimini has large brackets near the tow point which actually snagged my rope during my dealer demo


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[ronskal]

I have the Z5 on my 2010 210 and love it. I do not have to put the tower down for my storage unit, that is the big issue with the Z5.
In Texas, shade for us is paramount and the Z5 is tops for shade, storage. Quality is tops but so is the price. You get what you pay for. You do have to duck under it to move about but shade for us is the priority.
Tows very well, just cinch down the towing straps and you can roll along 65-70 MPH. Might have to re-tension it once during a 200 mile tow.

[jonsquatch]

I found a good example of how I have to "duck" under the Z5 on my boat.



As I said its not a problem of hitting my head on it as I can clearly see I won't fit. I actually have the problem of hitting my head on the over the top style a lot, but most people won't. If it was higher I wouldn't get the same excellent amount of shade and the storage can't be beat.

Tows very well, just cinch down the towing straps and you can roll along 65-70 MPH. Might have to re-tension it once during a 200 mile tow.

That has been my experience as well. I had one strap go bad on my and the replacement I got is even better than the original as its not as long, it just barely fits which means it really cant get loose, wish I had 2 of them. I have >15,000 miles on mine towing mostly on the interstate, I think for a lot of people this would be a lifetime of towing. My weekly trip is between 170 and 240 miles one way depending on the lake not including any extraneous stops, Powell is 420 one way and the dealer is 140 miles one way. Only time I really need to adjust the straps are on the way to/from Powell, or if its really windy coming home from the lake when I stop for gas, or when someone new the straps on.