Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

The sunshine is great but can get a little much. What are my best options with an extended Bimini cover?

I have a 22 Suntracker

Do I keep the current top and just add a second one that connects somehow?

[quote="Tom Krol"]The sunshine is great but can get a little much. What are my best options with an extended Bimini cover?

I have a 22 Suntracker

Do I keep the current top and just add a second one that connects somehow?[/quote]

That's what I've done in the past.

I had a new front top and frame made, and they modified the old top so that it zipped onto the new one.

They also modified my boat cover to fit around the new hardware.

[quote="Rick McC."][quote="Tom Krol"]The sunshine is great but can get a little much. What are my best options with an extended Bimini cover?

I have a 22 Suntracker

Do I keep the current top and just add a second one that connects somehow?[/quote]

That's what I've done in the past.

I had a new front top and frame made, and they modified the old top so that it zipped onto the new one.

They also modified my boat cover to fit around the new hardware.[/quote]

Rick, thanks! Who did you get to do this?

[quote="Tom Krol"][quote="Rick McC."][quote="Tom Krol"]The sunshine is great but can get a little much. What are my best options with an extended Bimini cover?

I have a 22 Suntracker

Do I keep the current top and just add a second one that connects somehow?[/quote]

That's what I've done in the past.

I had a new front top and frame made, and they modified the old top so that it zipped onto the new one.

They also modified my boat cover to fit around the new hardware.[/quote]

Rick, thanks! Who did you get to do this?[/quote]

I used a guy up in Crystal River that the guy I bought the Hurricane from recommended.

That was well over 10 years ago, and the cost was $1100.00, which seemed pretty reasonable, as the frame was made of stainless to match the original.

I now have a local marina about four miles away that can do reflooring, reupholstering, and custom canvas work on-site.

I'd likely get a few bids locally myself on the work and see where I'd be at cost wise. But I also like to cover my bases butt wise so I'd also like to check cost and availability of new. Here is one site I'm aware of that seems to have both decent cost and value. NorthStar Products Plus if your current top is in good condition there is a real potential to sell it and recover some of the replacement costs should you choose that direction.

If there's a good canvas shop nearby, I'd contact them. If you add another bimini, your mooring cover will need a bit of modification to still fit. My biminis connect with two zippers.

my boat came with an 8' bimini.... i simply bought a 10' one from pontoonstuff.com.... moved the 8' one towards the front, and added the 10' one in the back... they don't zip together... they overlap by about 10".... one up, or both up.... no 'zipper' hassles between them..

the next major purchase will be the electric bimini.......

I have been thinking about one of these.

http://www.koalaclamp.com/store/p10/Bimini_Buddy.html

[quote="PlaynDoc"]my boat came with an 8' bimini.... i simply bought a 10' one from pontoonstuff.com.... moved the 8' one towards the front, and added the 10' one in the back... they don't zip together... they overlap by about 10".... one up, or both up.... no 'zipper' hassles between them..

the next major purchase will be the electric bimini.......[/quote]

I did the overlap thing on my first two, which worked out pretty well, except in a hard rain. The next two I had custom made as a pair.

The pair made to zip together worked a bit better, but is more expensive, and more labor intensive to put up and take down (the zippers).

Have 3, covers completely (Love it) (custom made) Can have Center Back, Center Only, Center Front, or Center Front & Back.
Since the wife got a small touch of skin cancer - she now likes all three, or at least two up.