Double power bimini install question

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Jayjoans
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Double power bimini install question

#1 Post by Jayjoans » Thu Jul 06, 2017 1:56 pm

I just received the 2 PWR-ARM biminis I ordered through PontoonStuff (thank you for the nice forum discount) and I have an installation question for those of you that may have a pair on your boat.

What is the exact distance between the actuators on the port and starboard rails? I'd like the biminis to be as close as possible to each other when fully opened, and not leave an unshaded strip between them.

I've sent this question to Schwintek, but for some reason they're not open today and I'd like to get started on this install tomorrow. If any of you have a dual PWR-ARM bimini setup and are happy with the location in relation to each other when they're both fully deployed, I'd very much appreciate this measurement.

Thanks,

JLester273
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Re: Double power bimini install question

#2 Post by JLester273 » Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:03 pm

I'm not sure the exact distance. I'm thinking if you install one you can get it all setup and then measure from the rear (if you installed the rear one) to the spots on the rail it mounts. Then mark the absolute front on the rail and measure up from that point that extra from the rear measurement.

Not sure if that isn't more confusing than I meant it to be.
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rockhound
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Re: Double power bimini install question

#3 Post by rockhound » Mon Jul 10, 2017 9:07 am

you will want a little room between them, as strong as they are they will move while under way, they will bang and clank together
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Jayjoans
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Re: Double power bimini install question

#4 Post by Jayjoans » Thu Sep 14, 2017 2:25 pm

Just an update on my PWR-ARM experience. I ordered 2 from PontoonStuff, they have been great to work with and the forum discount was much appreciated.

The first bimini I installed in the forward position, as I didn't have time to replace the OEM bimini over the aft of the boat before using the boat for a family vacation. That installation of bimini 2 would have to wait.

After HOURS of figuring out how to best install the forward bimini, running wires through railing tubes and getting everything dialed in, drilled and assembled, one of the actuators failed after the 3rd use. Mind you, the 3rd use inside the boathouse immediately after the installation, not the 3rd use on the lake. Since I had the 2nd full bimini available, I pirated an actuator from that bimini and then had to remove and replace the bad actuator. During installation we were VERY careful to make sure the wires were not dinged or pinched, but even after all of our care we found that there was a short in the wiring. I addressed this by attaching the actuators to their own battery rather than the grounded house battery. Not optimal, but it worked.

We used this forward bimini for a couple of months, probably 4 day trips to the lake. I had already decided to return the 2nd bimini, I was not impressed with the quality of the product and did not want to install the 2nd one as I had planned. PontoonStuff was great and took back the 2nd bimini (with the bad actuator) and provided me with a full refund.

On the way back from the lake this past Tuesday, the installed bimini which is forward facing in the radar position broke loose and flipped all the way backward slamming into my helm and throttle. The aluminum tubes snapped off at the actuators, the actuators stripped out of gear and the bimini flipped.

Now I have a broken bimini, holes in my rail where the actuators were mounted and minor damage to my helm.

I'm hopeful that PontoonStuff will continue their good service and refund me for this piece of junk too. I'm NOT impressed with PWR-ARM at all. Far too expensive for the quality. The OEM Sweetwater bimini has not moved at all, had been durable and reliable. Although powered biminis seem like the shizz, clearly there's a reason there aren't more competitors in this market.

I'll be ordering an old fashioned manual bimini now.

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PlaynDoc
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Re: Double power bimini install question

#5 Post by PlaynDoc » Thu Sep 14, 2017 5:34 pm

You wrote, "On the way back from the lake this past Tuesday, the installed bimini which is forward facing in the radar position broke loose and flipped all the way backward slamming into my helm and throttle. The aluminum tubes snapped off at the actuators, the actuators stripped out of gear and the bimini flipped."


I wonder if there's any instructions/warnings about installing it in that position? Or, if it's anything the manufacturer tested during development. It makes sense that this outcome is possible, given the force of the winds against the booted material. I can see where that could be lifted by the winds, and flung backwards, whereas the factory mounted one remains unscathed.

I don't have the electric ones, however, i'd sure like a pair. when they come back into the radar position, are there any clamps/pushbutton fasteners that keep them from bouncing around, like on a 'manual' Bimini, or do they just rest on the posts?

This is certainly an interesting post... I'd like to follow the story...
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Jayjoans
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Re: Double power bimini install question

#6 Post by Jayjoans » Thu Sep 14, 2017 6:13 pm

There are no warnings about installing it in this position. I've seen pictures of other boats with a dual power bimini setup. At least PontoonStuff new I purchased a pair, and I had also emailed Shwintek telling them what I was doing and asked if they could tell me the measurements of where I should install the actuators in relation to where the deployed bimini would line up. They responded very kindly that the best way to figure out where you want the bimini to open would be to clamp the actuators to the rail and move them around until you're happy. This means you're guessing at the beginning, then moving and re-clamping both actuators as you fine tune the location on your boat. A real time consumer and risk of marking up your boat as you clamp and re-clamp. I was hoping that they had figured out the telemetry and could tell me that the "bimini will extend in the open horizontal position exactly X' from the rearmost edge of the actuator", or something like that. Then the fine tuning is probably fractions of an inch rather than a guesstimate to start out.

I don't know if I just happened to have a bad run on the actuators or what, I read another buyer had an actuator fail too.

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