sn196 factory bimini, who makes them?

[jsragman]

does anyone know who makes the factory bimini's with the solid pole front ends? would like to get one for my 05' 196 and trying to avoid factory prices.

thanks,

mike

[NigelC]

RE: sn196 factory bimini, who makes them?

Not sure about the ones with solid poles. There were two supplier options last summer here in the UK when I ordered for my '99. I went with the cheaper "Westland" in the end and I am happy with the result. This still uses Sunbrella material but has straps instead of poles. I believe the solid poles come with the stainless steel frame option.

[TRBenj]

Re: sn196 factory bimini, who makes them?

does anyone know who makes the factory bimini's with the solid pole front ends? would like to get one for my 05' 196 and trying to avoid factory prices.

thanks,

mike

Id like to know as well. The solid front poles look sweet, and would add a lot of functionality for me since I cant fold my bimini in front of the windshield.

Someone must know.

[M3Fan]

RE: Re: sn196 factory bimini, who makes them?

The "factory bimini" basically looks like bimini that's been reversed with the solid poles in front. Of course, that's not the end of the story- the center hoop also pivots off of the secondary rather than the primary hoop so that part has been reversed. The solid poles can be purchased separately, like from here : http://www.gmitopdesign.com/accessor...upport_poles-e. Maybe I'm over-simplifying here but you could at least try replicating the look with a regular bimini flipped around.

[TRBenj]

Re: RE: Re: sn196 factory bimini, who makes them?

The "factory bimini" basically looks like bimini that's been reversed with the solid poles in front. Of course, that's not the end of the story- the center hoop also pivots off of the secondary rather than the primary hoop so that part has been reversed. The solid poles can be purchased separately, like from here : http://www.gmitopdesign.com/accessor...upport_poles-e. Maybe I'm over-simplifying here but you could at least try replicating the look with a regular bimini flipped around.

Joel, I guess my question was twofold- where to find the support poles for my bim, and where to find an entire top for a boat that doesnt have a bim yet. Thanks for answering the first part- I may add the support poles sometime in the future. I want to keep it mounted forward, by the way- which should be easy enough to do.

Heres a pic of the factory bim, for reference:

[M3Fan]

Re: RE: Re: sn196 factory bimini, who makes them?

The "factory bimini" basically looks like bimini that's been reversed with the solid poles in front. Of course, that's not the end of the story- the center hoop also pivots off of the secondary rather than the primary hoop so that part has been reversed. The solid poles can be purchased separately, like from here : http://www.gmitopdesign.com/accessor...upport_poles-e. Maybe I'm over-simplifying here but you could at least try replicating the look with a regular bimini flipped around.

Joel, I guess my question was twofold- where to find the support poles for my bim, and where to find an entire top for a boat that doesnt have a bim yet. Thanks for answering the first part- I may add the support poles sometime in the future. I want to keep it mounted forward, by the way- which should be easy enough to do.

Heres a pic of the factory bim, for reference:

I think the key is that when the support poles go up front, the main hoop has to be flipped. If you kept it facing forward I don't know that support poles in the front would work as well, hence it being flipped around on these guys.

[MikeC]

RE: Re: RE: Re: sn196 factory bimini, who makes them?

A bimini top is not a factory installed item, dealers use their own supplier for the bimini top and boat covers. I would check with a couple of dealers and see where they get their tops. When I needed a new bimini, my local dealer actually beat the price of ordering it directly from TowerBiminis. You can check with TowerBiminis, they used to make a non-tower top and they do excellent work.

[TRBenj]

Re: RE: Re: sn196 factory bimini, who makes them?

I think the key is that when the support poles go up front, the main hoop has to be flipped. If you kept it facing forward I don't know that support poles in the front would work as well, hence it being flipped around on these guys.

Thats the only way Ive seen it, but with flexible joints I dont see why it couldnt be reversed. Granted, the support poles would be at a steeper angle when the bim is folded forward, but it should still work.

[jsragman]

getting closer

well i now know the city of the supplier for the particular bimini i am looking for and have left a couple of messages at marine upholstery places there. i will get back to this thread when i have some more details and see if there are others who would like this style of bimini, maybe we can do a group buy and get a good deal if i find the supplier.

mike

[M3Fan]

RE: getting closer

Tim, it would work, but probably not as well as the flipped version since with the flipped version your solid poles are not mounted to an articulating component. But yes, it would work either way. Outstanding illustration.