I have a Bimini top on our pontoon. I replaced the tie down straps a couple of months ago and already one of the metal clips has broken. Walmart C^&p. The straps are also getting stiff and the adjusters suck. What can I make these out of that will be better?
Whats the straps made of ? Polypropylene is a no no, turns to dust in no time.
Suzi
I think the straps are nylon.
Polyester is the best, but is harder to find than polypropylene. Polypropylene is super slippery and disintegrates in months. Comes in lots of bright colors which seems to be what attracts people. Bonded nylon will last longer. Polyester can be found at TriVantage and comes in black and white (last time I looked).
June
Yes I seem to remember that Nylon does go hard, change to polyester.
I have some in blue June which costs more than the white ??? & fades real quick. So I only use it for bags & any repairs that really need blue.
Suzi
Nylon will shrink also I'd use a stainless hook is it the hook or the eye pad The loop the hook hooks on to that has broken. Even better what I would do is covet thebstrsps snd make support legs with thebmatching frame material. Is it the 1" square tubing Paul that will last best and give the best support.
Mike yes it is the 1" square tubing. I've thought about a solid support like you mentioned but am concerned with adjustments if the canvas stretches and shrinks.
As a matter of fact I can't seem to even get the top real tight as it is. I'm use to tops where there are straps between the cross members that can be adjusted to tighten the top but mine has none and has no cutouts for them in the sleeves where the movable tubing run through.
Paul - The solid supports are adjustable. The piece that goes on the frame (typically
called a jaw slide) has a set screw on it that you can loosen to reposition it. Generally
if you slide it up the leg of the frame it will tighten the top. If you slide it down the
leg it will loosen the top.
The main reason you can't get the top tight is because it's a pontoon boat top and
they're only made with a minimum level of quality. My guess is it will get tight at
the corners but sags from bow to bow. You might be able to add straps between
the bows to lift the center ones a little. Or the frame may be out of wack. Typically
the tops of all the frame pieces should line up when it is folded. Sometimes the
center bows are higher, sometimes lower, but almost always even with each other.
As described above, check the jaw slides. These connect the center bows to the
outer bows. If they have slid down there will typically be a wear mark on the outer
bow where the correct position was. Maybe it was never set up right. It's not the
first time something wasn't attached correctly at the factory.
If the top was ever taken off the frame it may have been put back on in reverse.
Not the first time that ever happened. I even saw someone put a top on inside out
once.
Shoot me a pic and I will see if I notice anything.
Keep in mind, I've never seen a factory top for a pontoon boat that really fit that well.
DBR,
This Bimini is part of a full camper top. I have adjusted the frame and it is tight but sags where the movable bows are. I will take some pictures of it this week end and maybe you or others can offer some tips. I will look into finding some square tubing to make solid supports. I kinda like the idea as there is no strapping to be eaten by the Florida sun.
Erhapmpaul the 2 smaller secondary bows are improperly adjusted. Are they s rewed in position permatly or is there set screws? It they are able to readjust that may have slid down the bows a bit this would make the tipmsag a but at them. If you push them up higher the top will push up the and remove the sag.
Some of the fancy solid support legs are adjustable with a inner tube and a push button to shorten or lenghthen them
Hey Mike.
The secondary bows are not adjustable. If I push them up the top does tighten but there is no way to hold them in that position. They are sewn into pockets with no adjustability that would tighten it up. I may just take the top off and add cutout and sew some openings in the pockets for straps to adjust them.
I have, on occasion, moved pockets for a customer. If there's a position within the existing pocket that works, you can sometimes just sew a seam a few inches forward of where it was sewn originally without removing the pocket and it'll work. I don't like to do it because of looks, but if the budget is way tight, it's better than throwing the whole thing out and starting over.
June
Sorry about my phone typing Paul. What I meat was if you move the position of the jaw slide on the secondary bows. This will somtimes acheave what you want and raise the bow taking the sag out of the. Top. Just loosed. The set nuts and slide booth side up equally
But I like
June idea also if moving the bow dosent work.
Soft weave Polyester webbing with sliding bar buckles works OK.
Put more bow into the bow to raise it up a little. Grab the middle with both hands and give it a good ole heave.
Quote from: Mike8560 on November 10, 2011, 04:12:39 pm
Sorry about my phone typing Paul.
No problem Mike, I've gotten use to it. Sometimes I can figure it out and sometimes well its pretty much gibberish :)
I do get the drift of the postings though and appreciate it.
You know Paul if I have one typo this intutive spelling it has can change a word entirely to gibberish unless ireread and catch it
Yea I know what ya mean Mike,
My eyes hurt when I try to read Mike's post's :o
Paul - Here's a quick sketch of what Mike and I are talking about.
If the angle is less than 90 degrees then you can slide the jaw up the main
bow and it will raise the center somewhat. If it's more than 90 degrees then
sliding it down may have the same affect.
Of course this is assuming you have the adjustable jaw slides. Over the years
I have seen some that are actually a channel screwed or welded to the up side
of the main bow.
Hope you can get a pic this weekend.
(https://sn2files.storage.live.com/y1pDu7f5KT4SPz2cehAukz04hqhAckQTlS5tw7KL56nTCXSfP3qrV_2CrhOZ8vcn4PIugm906WOWO0/Fame%20sketch.bmp?psid=1)
All good advice. You might find 'shimming' out the middle bar will help. ie making the middle bar longer to take the slack out of the stretched canvas. 7/8" round tube fits inside 1" square I think? You probably only need an inch or so.
DBR is right though factory pontoon canvas that fits nice does not exist.
Here is a link to the pictures I took today. I hope it works as I haven't used Picasa in a long time.
https://picasaweb.google.com/109419934950870065700/Bimini?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCISnuNbwhaf7wwE&feat=directlink
Looks like the center bow need to be higher reposition I think higr in the main bows. And the front straps I don't see them but need to be tighter also Pullung from as high as posible though to get a good pull the side gates look in the way.
Paul are you on. Canal or the moat anyway look like a boat lift guide post there.
Nice day for s cruise hey ?
The front straps are there and yes the gates are in the way of a better pull but they are tight. No matter how tight I get them the sags don't come out. I adjusted the read end posts and it helped but its still saggy in the front section. I think the pocket for the secondary bow is to far back. Sewing it closed a little would help to hold the secondary bow forward a little but it would be very tight around the bow. There are zippers on these pockets though so I could get the bow back in.
just thinking the same after looking again. Inthink the easiest thig would be to hold upmthe bows with somme stealing tape to make it looks better them mark to deposition the pockets. It there a second bow on the rear frame? As far as te strap it would be best to have them close to the canvas if not to make a hole it the canas s pocket to have the forward strap pull fromas close to the top. And I'd pull at a 90•
angle from the frame even if I had to have a eye pad forward of the gate to pull better.
If you need advise we all will help if you just rather make a new canvas.
This top is part of a full camper canvas. I doubt I could ever make a new one to work with the rest of the sides, back and front drop sections.
Paul I find that you will probly never use them here I havnt made a pontoon enclocure encephalitis I moved to Florida. I did make a screen enclosure. Do you have a full cover or seat covers for the boat or do you use the e closure to cover them?
Sorry Paul but nothing is right on that setup. Where did you get it? Did it come with the
boat? Are you the original owner of the boat.
1) The back frame is obviously an add on. The hardware is different.
2) Wrong setup. From the angle of the tops I can tell both frames are intended to be mounted
on the same plane. Meaning the top of the rail. Since the rail cuts off at the rear this can't
happen.
3) Even without the camper top the bimini is not right. The bimini is the starting point and must
be correct before any consideration of the camper.
4) The zippers in the pockets tell me this is a remake. I have never seen a factory bimini for a
pontoon boat with zippers in the pockets.
5) Assuming this is a remake, it's possible the frame was taken apart and not put back together
correctly. Try swapping the center bows and/or rotate the top.
The top came with the boat. I am not the original owner. There have been a few things about the craft that was kinda halfA*% if you know what I mean. It is possible the last owner took it off for some reason and put it back on wrong. It wouldn't surprise me ;D
I'll probably pull the boat this winter for a month or so and will try to make the top fit better as per your suggestions. I'm not all that disappointed with it except the fact that it puddles water when it rains. The top stops the sun so for that I'm happy.
Thanks for all the help guys I really appreciate it.
FYI most pontoons insee do have zippered pocket due to most having a anchor light installed on the rear of the top and without a hole for the light and zippered the top could not be installe don the frame therfor the zippers
If you wernt so far north Paul and winter being the busy season I'd run up to help.
Mike,
Thanks for the thought but I will figure this out at some point. Like I said it isn't that bad where it has to be fixed right away. I can live with it for awhile. I just don't like things not being right. It bugs me and I WILL get it right. :)
There is an easy fix maybe
if you push up on the secondary bows can younger the top to lookg good. No sag ? And if so are the bows still inside the pockets ? If so rather then remove the canvas and reposition the pockets you could ad straps from bow to bow as you said you are used to.
ShT is the canvas made of? Make a small slit in the mIn bow pockets and inslall a strap with an adjustable buckles Make a loop T the end and slip
it throught the slit wrap
it around the bow a d back through the loop then through buckle Nd around the smaller bow and back to he buckle. It's not the right way if was making a new one but you can install it on The boat without taking the frame apart to install the. Strap
Update to an old post. I have been doing some work on the boat while its cold, and tried all the canvas today. Never put it all on before. Turns out the main Bimini was in fact on backwards. So that was part of the problem just like your canvas guys said before. Looks pretty cool with the complete camper on. Don't think it will stay on during the summer but it might get us out a month earlier for some cruises.
that will do it , i was called out to a dealor who couldnt figure out why the windows wernt lining up with the top on a big sea ray I took a quick look and told them to take the canvas bimini off the frame and turn it around problem solved.