New 'toon owner - question about bimini and boat cover

[leecallen]

Hi. We bought our first pontoon boat late last summer. It's in winter storage now (Buffalo, NY) but we are starting to get excited about summer 2015.

Our boat is a 2000 Princecraft Vantage, and it came with a full enclosure (I will try to insert a picture). After a few outings we decided we didn't like that at all, and took it off. Now we are trying to figure out what to replace it with.

My wife and my son love the sun; my daughter and I prefer the shade (red hair, fair skin). So that part is easy: we are planning to put a bimini on the back. I have done some searching here on the forums and I see the NorthStar products are pretty highly recommended, and I love their prices! So that's settled.

The original upholstery on the seats is in great condition because it has been protected from the elements by the full enclosure for all of its 14 years. But that protection is gone, and I am afraid the seats will be ruined by the alternating sunshine and extended periods of wet we get here.

The boat will be in a slip all summer, so the 'boat covers' that are made for trailers won't work. I have seen some nice covers that can be snapped onto the boat framework, but those are expensive, and I hear they can be difficult to install without access to all sides of the boat. I am afraid if it's too difficult to cover and uncover our boat each time we go out, we won't go out as often.

Am I blowing this out of proportion -- will the upholstery be okayj with the sun and the rain?
Are seat covers an option?
Should I consider a double bimini, or two separate biminis, and open up the front one when we are in the boat? The bimini's will not provide full protection against sun and rain.

Any thoughts, advice, or perspective will be very much appreciated.

Lee

[lakerunner]

You already have biminis. un zip the enclosure from it and your set

[leecallen]

They don't unzip in all the right places. For instance, in the picture I attached, the front bimini comes down to the front corners, and extends back to the rear bimini, without zippers except where it connects to the rear bimini.

And the old cover is showing its age -- it is faded, stiff, and shrunk. The previous owner warned us we should not mess with it.

[Seon]

I'd recommend two separate bimini tops. Retract one for the wife and guest who wants to soak in the sun and leave the other up for needed shade for you and your daughter.

[leecallen]

I agree that sounds great in terms of comfort and flexibility. And not too horribly expensive, either.

Do you think it would provide enough protection for the upholstery on the seats?

[Seon]

Do you think it would provide enough protection for the upholstery on the seats?

It would probably be comparable to a one piece cover if both are placed closed together; however the sun's angle will play a major factor.

[curtiscapk]

Double bimini and seat covers.

http://www.overtons.com/Boating-Marine/ ... ccessories

[leecallen]

Oh I really like that idea! And $50 each - that's pretty affordable.

But I have one L-shaped seat.

00V0V_ca8Uzy2Ootr_600x450.jpg (24.9 KiB) Viewed 3148 times

I have very primitive sewing skills, but maybe I could sew two of those seat covers together to handle that.

Thank you.

[smltooner]

Make sure and put "303" protectant on your seats.
This will protect them from fading and mold and mildew.
Great stuff.

[Seon]

I have very primitive sewing skills, but maybe I could sew two of those seat covers together to handle that.

Thank you.

That's exactly what I did...used the wife's sewing machine then taught myself to sew covers for my FF and made tote bags for my fishing gear. Then went out and bought a heavy duty machine to sew thicker material.

[leecallen]

smltooner: I have never heard of that! I will definitely get my hands on that stuff, thank you.

I dug (well, Googled) a bit more and found a site that has a huge variety of seat covers, including multiple covers for the L shaped seats:
http://www.pontoonspecialists.com/c-70- ... overs.aspx

I am going to need some exact measurements from our boat, and it isn't accessible right now. It's in a marina yard, shrink-wrapped, tucked between & behind several rows of boats, and surrounded by about three feet of snow. It's REALLY not accessible. So I am going to have to wait until May to nail this down.

But I have a clear plan, thanks to all of the helpful people here:

• Two biminis
• Seat covers

Thank you!

[curtiscapk]

you could by two bimini's from Pontoon stuff and mount the front in reverse. just don't zip them. It will save you some cash.

http://www.pontoonstuff.com/collections ... -boat-tops