Do I need a bimini in the Baltic?

[Mike Bryon]

In a couple of years I'm planning to fit a bimini for a trip south but wonder if I should bring the purchase forward for a Baltic cruise next summer. Would welcome advice.

 

[dunedin]

Not in my experience, for the Baltic. But like in the UK, a good hat is important when outside to reduce risks of skin cancer

 

[Wansworth]

Non scientific response would be yes,any prolonged exposure to sunlight not good for skin or eyesight

 

[Bobc]

Good for keeping the rain off.

 

[johnalison]

I would say that there was one year out of about a dozen summers there when I would have been glad of a Bimini, though there were many periods of fine weather, and on the whole the weather was much more settled than at home. In port, we got by with a cockpit tent with the sides removed and occasionally a parasol over the helmsman (me). If you have one, certainly take it, but I wouldn’t see it as an essential.

 

[westhinder]

We never felt we lacked a bimini during our three months in the Baltic last year, but we were glad we had our cockpit enclosure on several occasions. Even more so on the West coast of Norway, where rain spells are both frequent and heavy, even around midsummer

 

[ashtead]

Have a cockpit tent with removable sides then you can sail with sides removed and have some shelter. If you think it will be cold then have zip in panels at end of sprayhood if room permits. I assume though you are not bothered by cold or rain but sun/heat? Attached gives idea.

 

[mattonthesea]

At sea we would like a Bimini probably fewer times per year than we would like Aircon in England. That's four years of Baltic summer sailing

 

[geem]

One thing to consider that never crossed our mind when we had our sprayhood made in 2012 is that in a hot climate like the Med, navy blue, black or dark green acrylic canvas is a nightmare in the heat. It re-radiates the heat of the sun, such that sitting beneath it is very unpleasant. The up side, is that dark colours are more durable than light colours and don't show the dirt.

 

[davidaprice]

Local boats up our end of the Baltic (Helsinki) don't have biminis. You'll see them now and then on larger generic Ben/Jen/Bav boats, but probably because they're built for other markets. However there are certainly days when a cockpit sun cover (e.g. a suspended tarpaulin or parasol type thing) make the cockpit a much more pleasant place to be when not sailing. (And yes, days when a rainproof cockpit enclosure is nice, they're known here as 'grandad tents', few have or use them). Here's what we have and use (on a Maxi 999): Istuma-aukon aurinkosuoja

 

[johnalison]

One thing to consider that never crossed our mind when we had our sprayhood made in 2012 is that in a hot climate like the Med, navy blue, black or dark green acrylic canvas is a nightmare in the heat. It re-radiates the heat of the sun, such that sitting beneath it is very unpleasant. The up side, is that dark colours are more durable than light colours and don't show the dirt.

I don’t know how much difference the colour makes. Ours is light grey and can get pretty hot. Fortunately, we have an HR screen that has an opening centre section and this can be a godsend at times.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

A bimini can be folded away and re-deployed with ease. Cockpit tents are a pfaff and are very dependent on how far the boom extends over the cockpit and how high it is. Enclosures are more suited to cooler climates.

Fit it now and the worst that can happen is it sits there like a roll-bar, folded away in a zip-up cover. Best case it can be used to keep both the rain and the sun off the cockpit occupants. Your choice

I have a dark blue bimini and spray hood in the Med - it does get hot, but is only really noticable when there is absolutely no wind. Have sailed a friends boat with light grey canvas for a few weeks and it wasn't notably cooler. One advantage of a dark colour is that it doesn't reflect light as much, so the cockpit appears more shady than the lighter colours - light bounced off the water isn't then further reflected off the underside of the bimini.

 

[geem]

I don’t know how much difference the colour makes. Ours is light grey and can get pretty hot. Fortunately, we have an HR screen that has an opening centre section and this can be a godsend at times.

I was surprised how hot grey gets as well. Friends have a grey spray hood and it feels pretty similar to the dark blue one we had.