Biminies

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Wansworth

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It’s about time that thought was given from the design stage of a yacht to protection from the sun.Adverts retail us with bathing beauties gripping the wheel out on the further reaches of the vast cockpits but anybody who has sailed for a few hours getting shelter from the sun is a blessing.Obviously fixed biminies can also offer placement for solar panels and if considered at a design stage weight can be reduced certainly for yachts up to40foot.Slocum was an early looking for shelter man ,spent days below reading and moored up had all over canvas covers and a proper straw hat .There was a recent case of a couple disappearing at sea after they had made extensive network to support a Bimini and solar which some suggested could have been detrimental to stability.
 
On the few yachts I've sailed with biminis, nobody seems to think about visibility.
i usually have to stand up and crane my neck to see over the sprayhood but bend my knees to see under the bimini.
 
A full cockpit tent is a good, and probably cheaper, alternative to a bimini. On our old boat, we couldn't use it under way, but it transformed our use of the boat by giving us an extra room on a 24 footer. Big bonus, when it's getting chilly or wet, we were still sitting in the cockpit watching the world go by when everyone else had retreated below.

On our current boat, I'd love a full bimini, but curtains to enclose it would be a must. I'm still plotting, but haven't yet figured out how the mainsheet would work with one. I'd like an arch like the Legends, but suspect that the cost would be prohibitive on a 40-year-old boat.
 
You don't need a bimini, you just need something like a Tilley hat!

I also have a lightweight, white, simple sort of 'boom tent' sunshade, open around the lower sides and the ends, that I've used on several boats when tied up/at anchor etc. This being the UK, uncomfortably blazing sunshine is not too frequently a problem, but when it does happen this bit of kit is rather wonderful. Because the material is thin (like a sheet, and that's even quite possibly its origins) this tent is lightweight and packs away small (important on a small boat).

The 'tent' is a simple rectangle of appropriate size. One could knock one up in little time with a sewing machine and (for the deluxe model) a brass eyelet kit. It spreads/folds over the boom. There's a double layer of material down the centreline in way of the boom, along with ties, made simply of the same material folded in strips stitched to the centreline to attach it to the boom, which makes it secure and allows you to have it up one or both sides, or fold a quarter, half or whatever back along the boom if that suits the circumstances. Around the edges of the material there are brass eyes, with short lengths of cord spiced through those holes. The boat I originally had this on, decades ago, had unobtrusive little hooks fitted to the outside of the coaming and rear of the coachroof that these cords attached to. On subsequent boats I've usually been able to attach them to various winches, cleats or whatever, temporarily tying additional bits of cordage to the existing ties as need be.

I had it out only the other day, as in the process of a recent house move I'd found the mice had been at it in the shed and feared it was wrecked, but it turns out they had feasted on the bag itself, and had only destroyed a single boom tie (easily replaced), and very slightly nibbled one other. I'll post a pic of it later. (i used to have lovely picture of it up on my Hurley 22, when we were anchored on the upper reaches of the Fal for a few days in glorious weather, but that pic is now lost, sadly.)

Of course as a smug LM owner, I now have a full cockpit canopy as standard that easily and quickly folds up or down, and which the side and/or rear walls (which have windows) can be rolled up. So one can have it either as a full enclosure (making an additional room of the cockpit (with its two potential additional berths (there's even a de-luxe, thermal lined version of the canopy if you wanted to that regularly), as well as the fold-out table that can seat 6!), or as a bimini type arrangement.
 
Last edited:
Trailerable cruising yacht with twin bimini’s (one fixed, one fold out) and dodger. Not for ocean crossing but works very well inshore/island and inland waterways cruising and also works whilst using the yacht as a caravan on land during long road transits. Inflated dingy on the foredeck assists wind deflection around dodger and tilted forward bimini (solar on top) when towing at speed.
The yacht has towed thousands of kilometres/miles this way.
Not classically pretty but very practical here in hot sunny Australia. IMG_6317.jpegIMG_6441.jpeg
Central Bimini is folded away in more serious sailing conditions allowing full visuals on all sails. Narrow river cruising here just under furling genoa and silent electric outboard when twisting river direction brings the wind around onto the non sailing quadrant.
 
Stemar said:
A full cockpit tent is a good, and probably cheaper, alternative to a bimini. On our old boat, we couldn't use it under way, but it transformed our use of the boat by giving us an extra room on a 24 footer. Big bonus, when it's getting chilly or wet, we were still sitting in the cockpit watching the world go by when everyone else had retreated below.

On our current boat, I'd love a full bimini, but curtains to enclose it would be a must. I'm still plotting, but haven't yet figured out how the mainsheet would work with one. I'd like an arch like the Legends, but suspect that the cost would be prohibitive on a 40-year-old boat.
Click to expand...

My Bimini is incorporated into the full cockpit enclosure: spray hood, Bimini, aft section, side sections, spray hood to Bimini panel. The panels just unzip and the Bimini frame lifts out of sockets. Currently just rigged up spray hood.

The same arrangement is featured on some charter yachts on the WCoS. When this style of Bimini is stowed away, it does make for an unsightly roll of cloth on two spindly poles at the back of the cockpit, and associated windage. Other than that, very useful to have the combination in colder, wetter environments.
 
LittleSister said:
You don't need a bimini, you just need something like a Tilley hat!

I also have a lightweight, white, simple sort of 'boom tent' sunshade, open around the lower sides and the ends, that I've used on several boats when tied up/at anchor etc. This being the UK, uncomfortably blazing sunshine is not too frequently a problem, but when it does happen this bit of kit is rather wonderful. Because the material is thin (like a sheet, and that's even quite possibly its origins) this tent is lightweight and packs away small (important on a small boat).

The 'tent' is a simple rectangle of appropriate size. One could knock one up in little time with a sewing machine and (for the deluxe model) a brass eyelet kit. It spreads/folds over the boom. There's a double layer of material down the centreline in way of the boom, along with ties, made simply of the same material folded in strips stitched to the centreline to attach it to the boom, which makes it secure and allows you to have it up one or both sides, or fold a quarter, half or whatever back along the boom if that suits the circumstances. Around the edges of the material there are brass eyes, with short lengths of cord spiced through those holes. The boat I originally had this on, decades ago, had unobtrusive little hooks fitted to the outside of the coaming and rear of the coachroof that these cords attached to. On subsequent boats I've usually been able to attach them to various winches, cleats or whatever, temporarily tying additional bits of cordage to the existing ties as need be.

I had it out only the other day, as in the process of a recent house move I'd found the mice had been at it in the shed and feared it was wrecked, but it turns out they had feasted on the bag itself, and had only destroyed a single boom tie (easily replaced), and very slightly nibbled one other. I'll post a pic of it later. (i used to have lovely picture of it up on my Hurley 22, when we were anchored on the upper reaches of the Fal for a few days in glorious weather, but that pic is now lost, sadly.)

Of course as a smug LM owner, I now have a full cockpit canopy as standard that easily and quickly folds up or down, and which the side and/or rear walls (which have windows) can be rolled up. So one can have it either as a full enclosure (making an additional room of the cockpit (with its two potential additional berths (there's even a de-luxe, thermal lined version of the canopy if you wanted to that regularly), as well as the fold-out table that can seat 6!), or as a bimini type arrangement.
Click to expand...

LittleSister said:
To form the basis of his bimini, Wansy could make an offer for Dangerous Pirates mystery structure! 😁

View attachment 193419
Click to expand...
An offer you could refuse😂
 
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