Biminis - Plastimo/C J Marine/Tec Sew/Comfort Afloat...

V1701

V1701

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Hi all,
Has anyone tried one of these Plastimo biminis? If so would like to hear what your experience with them is/was. I've just had a quote for a bimini from C J Marine which came in at nearly £1200 plus VAT! :eek: Was hoping it would be more like £600 - £700. Also going to get quotes from Tec Sew & Comfort Afloat, both based in Gosport which is where my boat (Jeanneau Sun-Dream 28) is at the moment. Anyone have experience of these companies or would recommend others? How much did you pay for your bimini?

Many thanks,
David
 
Comfort afloat

I have used them three times. First for a cockpit hood which is still going strong after 10 years, Ok new windows and some stiching renovation. And twice for cushion covers. Not the cheapest but good quality work and delivered when then said it would be.
For bimini work why not leave it till you get to the sun as I expect it will be cheaper then.
 
djbreeze said:
Hi all,
Has anyone tried one of these Plastimo biminis? If so would like to hear what your experience with them is/was. I've just had a quote for a bimini from C J Marine which came in at nearly £1200 plus VAT!
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I've got a Plastimo bimini by another name - you definitely get what you pay for!! It's obviously cheap and flimsy, (but it did serve a purpose keeping the sun off across the Med.).


If I had my time again, I'd be paying the £1k+ for a proper job. Might even pay more for a "bimini" with zip on side panels to make an "extra room" in the cockpit, whether it's protecting from sunshine or rain :)
 
I'll second the comments about Comfort Afloat. Quality work and done on time, though they had plenty of time to do my jobs. They aren't cheap, but skilled workmanship isn't and my spray hood looks as good as new, apart from the kind attentions of the local gulls 4 years down the line.
 
DaiB said:
For bimini work why not leave it till you get to the sun as I expect it will be cheaper then.
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Not my experience. Using the same logic we didn't buy a bimini until we reached France and Spain. Prices were considerably higher than we would have paid in UK, ours was 2000 Euros in Barcelona six years ago. The one we bought was off the shelf, so not perfectly suited to the boat, requiring expenditure of a further £150 to get it right. A custom one would have cost a lot more.

We had a quote from a Brit with a business in Palma Mallorca, he put us on to the Barcelona company as his made to measure price would have been completely uncompetitive.
 
We have just used TecSew for a new Sprayhood and Cockpit enclosure and not regretted it at all.

We spoke to a few other suppliers including C & J but TecSew were the only ones who took time to listen to us when discussing what we wanted to do, our expectations and the type of sailing we did and then they went on to make a couple of good suggestions. We found the other suppliers told us what we wanted and were only interested in selling off-the-shelf products.

The new sprayhood and cockpit enclosure is fantastic, the quality is great, the service was spot on, the price was competitive and we are over the moon with the whole thing.

I have nothing to do with TecSew but would highly recommend them to anyone.
 
Thanks for replies, now have 3 quotes in, TEC SEW and C J Marine weighing in at £1200 odd, Comfort Afloat gave me a ballpark of £600, as two posters reported positive experience of C A products I may well give them a try over Plastimo £250 cheap n cheerful...
 
P4Paul said:
We have just used TecSew for a new Sprayhood and Cockpit enclosure and not regretted it at all.

We spoke to a few other suppliers including C & J but TecSew were the only ones who took time to listen to us when discussing what we wanted to do, our expectations and the type of sailing we did and then they went on to make a couple of good suggestions. We found the other suppliers told us what we wanted and were only interested in selling off-the-shelf products.

The new sprayhood and cockpit enclosure is fantastic, the quality is great, the service was spot on, the price was competitive and we are over the moon with the whole thing.

I have nothing to do with TecSew but would highly recommend them to anyone.
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I have just had a new Sprayhood and bimini cover from TEC-SEW and my experience was excatly the same - Superb company to do business with.. This statement is worth repeating:-


The new sprayhood and cockpit enclosure is fantastic, the quality is great, the service was spot on, the price was competitive and we are over the moon with the whole thing.

I have nothing to do with TecSew but would highly recommend them to anyone

A first rate company

Michael
 
I would suggest that you give very careful thought to what it is that you require from your "bimini" and where you will be using it; eg is it just to shade the helm as you sail in the Med sun or is it also as a sunshade for the cockpit on passage or with side panels etc when at anchor; what windows do you want in it etc etc. They all require very different solutions and hence different costs. Whatever version you require if it is to be used in the strong sun I recommend the best quality that you can afford including metal deck fittings and 316 stainless frame and fittings plus Sunbrella type fabric and uv resistant stitching. Not all firms provide them as routine.The hot sun eats fabric and plastic at a great rate, even the best types. Prices in the UK are likely to be better and delivery will probably be faster than southern Europe, especially if you buy now.
I have bought from CJ Marine in the past and their quality is good and their prices reasonable for what they provide. No connection etc etc.
 
Comfort afloat

Stemar said:
I'll second the comments about Comfort Afloat. Quality work and done on time, though they had plenty of time to do my jobs. They aren't cheap, but skilled workmanship isn't and my spray hood looks as good as new, apart from the kind attentions of the local gulls 4 years down the line.
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Well I WON'T second that. I had a bimini made for an Oceanlord last winter, order placed in October with detailed requirements - it was a nightmare.

Final usable form (but unsatisfactory) was just delivered by July 1 after around 6 major changes, start of our annual cruise.

PM me if you want more details
 
The price you have been quoted is about right. It will not be cheaper "out there". I have just ordered a spray hood in Corfu and the price is about 10% more than quotes in UK (CJ). Worth it because I get exactly what I want fitted to the boat with the best material (Sunbrella).

With a bimini, if you want to use it all the time (which you will) you need the best you can afford. Also you need to sit down with whoever is making it to ensure you get what you want - there are different ways of laying them out and you need an experienced person to help you.
 
djbreeze said:
Thanks for replies, now have 3 quotes in, TEC SEW and C J Marine weighing in at £1200 odd, Comfort Afloat gave me a ballpark of £600, as two posters reported positive experience of C A products I may well give them a try over Plastimo £250 cheap n cheerful...
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I recently got a "ball park" figure for some sail and sprayhood refurb and washing, from a sailmaker:

"Well under £500", became £640. Next time, I want a "quote" !!!
 
djbreeze said:
Thanks for replies, now have 3 quotes in, TEC SEW and C J Marine weighing in at £1200 odd, Comfort Afloat gave me a ballpark of £600, as two posters reported positive experience of C A products I may well give them a try over Plastimo £250 cheap n cheerful...
Click to expand...

Following my post re Comfort afloat - I had a new spray hood and complete frame not to the standard size, made my C&J Marine - not the cheapest - but delivered , fitted, and satisfied when they said they would. Feeling a bit poorer last year, I took the cheaper quote - and regreted it. Cost in mileage alone to show them what to do would probably have made up the difference. No appologies, 2 meetings when they didn't turn up (60 mile round trip and day off work - would not do Saturdays) and an unsightley but workable solution finally received, after threatening to dump it back on them and sue them for the deposit!

YOU GETS WHAT WHAT YOU PAY FOR..... (Normally)
 
Agh, now I don't know what to do & am inclining towards either the cheap n cheerful Plastimo or going the whole hog and forking out 1200 quid...
 
djbreeze said:
Agh, now I don't know what to do & am inclining towards either the cheap n cheerful Plastimo or going the whole hog and forking out 1200 quid...
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Advice from David36 is well worth considering. Don't underestimate how hot it can be under Med or tropical sun. We bought our bimini with zipped side screens. Later we added an aft screen that is attached with hooks and bungees. This is most used late in the day when the sun can shine straight into the accommodation, making it unbearably hot for food preparation and later sleeping.

We also made a bridging piece that connects the bimini and sprayhood, which has a removable forward screen. When we anchor after sailing we can achieve complete sun protection in the cockpit in less than a minute, while keeping breeze through the forward screen. The sprayhood also has removable screens that gives further protection.

Other than this we carry a full awning in off-white, covering everything between the mast and back of the bimini. This is invaluable in ports and harbours where there is little breeze. Even with this we have measured temperatures well over 40C in the cockpit on many occasions.

April030.jpg
 
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djbreeze said:
Agh, now I don't know what to do & am inclining towards either the cheap n cheerful Plastimo or going the whole hog and forking out 1200 quid...
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Fork out the 1200 squids..... I am not sure that my flimsy result would stand any significant wind..... you don't want to be taking it up and down because of the wind - it needs to be robust....
 
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