Bimini damaged

[jdonalds]

Hi all,

Took the boat out today for a dual purpose ride. One was to meet up with Hidnos who was on Shasta today. The other was to get out on the water for a nice ride on a really nice day.

We failed to meet up with Hidnos due to an error I made navigating. I even referred to the GPS and still made the mistake. I hope we can meet up another time.

The whole trip was about 32 miles. On the way up the Sacramento arm of Shasta Lake, about 10 miles into the ride, we were on the PerfectPass cruise control going 30mph with a small headwind when the Biminy was damaged.

Apparently the forward straps that attach the leading edge of the Bimini were rotten enough to part. I suppose one parted, putting all the strain on the other which then immediately parted too. The Biminy then slammed back and the upper connecting plastic slide bracket on the port swing arm that holds the Bimini frame up broke. The starboard arm was spared. So we took the Bimini down and now I have to order parts.

I guess the moral of the story is make sure your forward straps are in good condition. We use the Bimini about 98% of the time we are boating so the straps do get some time in the sun, but I would think not enough to make them rotten. I had replaced both of them but perhaps the straps I selected, not Yamaha OEM parts, weren't of the correct variety of material to stand up to the hot dry air and incessant sun here.

 

[itsdgm]

Great advice. Sorry about your damage @jdonalds mine are original, I'll have to take a look at their condition. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Magic]

Hopefully the damage is minor and you can get it fixed and back up in no time.....

I learned that you always should twist the front straps to keep them from oscillating in the wind which weakens them and makes a lot of noise.....

 

[jdonalds]

I'm glad the swing arm "pipe" isn't damaged. Yamaha wants $220 for it.

Good advice Magic. I did always twist them.

 

[ratchetdu]

That sucks... I will definitely be more concerned with mine now. I just had the cover off and washed the boat yesterday. Noticed one of my straps is frayed too, but wasnt a few weeks ago when i had the top up for maintainence.??

As fort the broken plastic slide piece, I too just broke mine. Pulled on the arm wrong while putting bimini poles in place. Looked online and saw one similiar at Bass Pro. Called the store, and they stock them regularly. About $3 (stainless version available for about $12) and 10 mins to switch it out. Hardest part (still easy) was drilling the rivet out of the existing piece and steel pole. Replacement one screws back on using existing hole. Seems sturdy now, and held up fine all day in windy conditions while cleaning the boat. OEM piece was listed on one of the yamaha sites for like $32 btw...

 

[jdonalds]

One of the parts I need is F0R-U3188-00-00 called a "Base, Awning Bracket" shown as part #28 in this diagram. The part is listed as Obsolete. Does anyone have a clue about this part or a replacement part? Can I use part #27 in it's place? Part 28 is plastic and part 27 is SS but they look similar in design.

https://www.yamahapartsandaccessori...0_(Blue)_-_FRT1100AE_-_2006/BIMINI_TOP_CARPET

 

[Gym]

I had the same strap problem at the end of last season @jdonalds. Only one strap broke and no damage to the bimini top or frame. I bought replacements from a local West Marine. They are a double strap as opposed to the single strap OEM but they should be fine when twisted.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I'm not in a place to find it now but ALL Bimini hardware and poles are standard parts that can be ordered from places other than Yamaha. Poles will come in straight stock but are easily bent to a custom radius using a conduit bender or similar homemade set up.

The first sign of the straps and any other fabric breaking down is starting to see dust the color of the fabric. Once this dust is seen, failure is not far away.

 

[HidnNOS]

@jdonalds ODDLY ENOUGH my bimini was also damaged. Cruising, both straps simultaneously snapped blowing the top back causing the second pole that runs side to side to break the stitching from the center of the bimini. The time with my family FAR outweighed whatever the cost will be which I will assess in the coming weeks. Sorry we missed you, as a reference the Sac arm is crazy long. We drove from our exit quite a while before we crossed the main body of water, by boat that must be a LONG ways! Thank you again for your time and help with where to go etc.

With much appreciation,

Don

 

[HidnNOS]

7am this morning, ahhh

 

[Ronnie]

I'm not in a place to find it now but ALL Bimini hardware and poles are standard parts that can be ordered from places other than Yamaha. Poles will come in straight stock but are easily bent to a custom radius using a conduit bender or similar homemade set up.

The first sign of the straps and any other fabric breaking down is starting to see dust the color of the fabric. Once this dust is seen, failure is not far away.

X2, i found this out with my 1st yamaha mooring cover.

 

[jdonalds]

@jdonalds ODDLY ENOUGH my bimini was also damaged. Cruising, both straps simultaneously snapped blowing the top back causing the second pole that runs side to side to break the stitching from the center of the bimini. The time with my family FAR outweighed whatever the cost will be which I will assess in the coming weeks. Sorry we missed you, as a reference the Sac arm is crazy long. We drove from our exit quite a while before we crossed the main body of water, by boat that must be a LONG ways! Thank you again for your time and help with where to go etc.

With much appreciation,

Don

What a coincidence Don, blowing out your Bimini at the same time as we did. It's about 13 miles from Shasta Dam where we launched, to the HW5 bridge that is being replaced where you were fishing. When the lake is full it's about 17 miles to the boat-able end of the Sacramento arm from the dam. When we reached the marina at Lakehead I turned right but should have turned left around the marina. I'm a slow learner. I've made that mistake before.

The longest stretch on the lake is from the dam to the small inlet dam at the end of the Pitt river arm. Its almost 30 miles. We went there several times on the jet skis but the gas consumed is about 1/2 that of the boat, and we could run at 50-52mph so the 60 mile round trip didn't take all day. It is a big lake.

I've ordered the parts for the Bimini repair. It was actually $9 cheaper to order them from boats.net, including shipping, than for my son to buy them at his work which is a Yamaha dealer. That was even after he applied a 15% discount.

I think the next challenge will be putting things together. I've looked over the Bimini and it seems I may have to drill out some rivets for some disassembly to install the new parts.

My boat has been trouble free for 4+ years so I guess it was time. My ladder is at Windline for repair, I'm waiting for cushion material from Will at JetBoatPilot so I can have my local upholsterer recover the cushion the flew out on the road. I also found a large nut that must belong to a cleat. I hear those cleats are hard to get at to put those nuts back on.

 

[jdonalds]

I received the cushion material from Will at JetBoatPilot.com, and then took the seat into the local upholsterer. He did a great job and the seat is once again like new and in the boat. The material is just a shade whiter but honestly you don't notice it in the boat. It turned out great and the whole thing was less than $100. A replacement cushion would have been about $280.

I also received all of the Bimini parts from boats.net. I had to drill out a few rivets but the repair went well. One SS screw I ordered was about 1/4" short so I bought one at the local ACE hardware. The Bimini is back in like new condition, with new OEM front straps too. I didn't check close enough and ordered two copies of the strap part number not realizing there were two straps included in a single part number. So now I have two new straps and two spares which is fine.

I haven't received the repaired ladder yet from Windline. As soon as it is back the boat will once again be lake ready and I can't wait. High temps have been in the middle 80's to low 90's recently with full sun and little wind.

My wonderful wife is going to crawl into the stern port storage compartment to remove the small panel way back in there so we can see if the large nut I found is from the stern port cleat. She is less than 1/2 my weight and only 5'6" so if anybody in our house can do it she can. She claims not to be too mechanically inclined but I think she'll do fine. She's a trooper for volunteering to do this as boating isn't high on her list - although she's liking it more and more.

Boating season is just around the corner.

 

[jdonalds]

Windline sent me a BRAND NEW LADDER! Awesome. That is the kind of company that will get my repeat business every time.

My ladder was such that it tilted in towards the transom when trying to board the boat. My wife complained about it so I knew I wanted to get it fixed to keep her happy. Boating isn't really her thing but she's warming up to it. The bolts that passed through the top of the tube had elongated the hole through which they passed. I thought of simply cutting the top of the tube off, perhaps an inch or less, and drilling new holes.

There was no note in the box about why they didn't just fix my seven year old ladder. The new one just came UPS today. Nice. All this cost me was the USPS Medium Flat Rate shipping cost.

So if any of you are thinking of getting a new ladder please consider Windline. Wouldn't you like to have a company like that behind your purchase!

 

[Gym]

Nice. Thanks @jdonalds

 

[itsdgm]

@jdonalds glad that you're Bimini is back in ship shape and that windline made good on their warranty. Their warranty is solid. I think I'll be replacing my Bimini straps this season too.