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Yeah I like the fact they are adjustable. And those also have a way to tension them downwards because of the little plastic loops at the end. You'd still need to figure out a way to keep them from folding towards each other. You could probably gorilla glue one of the small magnets to the plastic piece at the end, and then still be able to use a tension rod with metal ends or a dowel rod with a magnet on the end.
Here's a thought...Pick up an aluminum pole. Cut to desired length plus a little extra. Squeeze/hammer the ends down and drill a hole for the end of the support pole to fit thru. This will keep the support poles at distance. You could always place a cap over the ends to keep the horizontal/aluminum pole in place. Better yet, tap the ends and screw on wing nuts to keep in place. Maybe, just maybe, you could travel at cruising speed. As I stated, just a thought.
I liked that idea too Dean, and wanted to go that route originally. My bimini however slopes down in the rear, and I didn't see a way to mount the extension poles horizontally from the top of my tower. I'm sure it can be done; I have a friend with a machine shop so I could probably get him to fabricate some custom brackets, but I'm not sure how good of a design I could give him...the specs have to be pretty exact.
Just thought of this ? You could drill a hole thru the lower tower bar for this idea. Won't be easy (I know) and obviously can't be too big to weaken the tower but hey, every action begins with a thought. If successful you only need to secure the end to the front bar of the tower. They sell rubber grommets to put in the holes you just drilled. This will keep from water getting in there and from damaging the poles (probably noise too).
Could something like this be modified for the spreader pole? The shortest pole is 9' but people talk about modifying it in the questions section. Might not be to bad. It might just require taking out a section or two.
Could something like this be modified for the spreader pole? The shortest pole is 9' but people talk about modifying it in the questions section. Might not be to bad. It might just require taking out a section or two.
Could something like this be modified for the spreader pole? The shortest pole is 9' but people talk about modifying it in the questions section. Might not be to bad. It might just require taking out a section or two.
I would think it would work fine as long as you can attach a magnet to the ends, or have something on your support poles for the spreader pole to lock into. The one I linked is flexible as well. 6' is not that long of a stretch, and the poles don't need much to keep them apart. They are only holding up a short span of fabric.
It's a tent pole so it should flex a fair amount. I like the ability to break it down so it's not too big to store.
Oops, my bad - I think you were talking about the poles I was suggesting, not the one that it would replace in Chatt's setup. I think they would be rigid enough since it would not take much to keep the poles spaced properly.
I would think it would work fine as long as you can attach a magnet to the ends, or have something on your support poles for the spreader pole to lock into. The one I linked is flexible as well. 6' is not that long of a stretch, and the poles don't need much to keep them apart. They are only holding up a short span of fabric.
I was thinking the ends might fit into the plastic loops on the extension poles I listed previously. As you can tell by my suggestions, space is a premium on my boat so that's why I'm looking for the most compact solution.
I’ve been messing around with a somewhat similar project using a Lycra beach shade and I could never get the poles to stay put in the wind. The fiberglass stabilizer rod is a great idea!
I updated the google doc. The stabilizer rod I chose is a no go. The description said it was fiberglass but it's very flimsy, more like cheap plastic and the joint was bad. I'm still playing with ideas, but the tension straps I'm using are working pretty well without the rod.
I updated the google doc. The stabilizer rod I chose is a no go. The description said it was fiberglass but it's very flimsy, more like cheap plastic and the joint was bad. I'm still playing with ideas, but the tension straps I'm using are working pretty well without the rod.
Does it tend to fold inwards, and that's why you tried the stabilizer rod? Everything's been too low (water, temp) to even take the boat out, and I'm tackling some other stuff before looking into doing this, so your experience with this is invaluable in ironing out the kinks.
I know when I did landscaping, we used some pretty long fiberglass rods to mark things for snow removal, but I don't think they were more than 5' long, or if they even came longer than that.
Does it tend to fold inwards, and that's why you tried the stabilizer rod? Everything's been too low (water, temp) to even take the boat out, and I'm tackling some other stuff before looking into doing this, so your experience with this is invaluable in ironing out the kinks.
I know when I did landscaping, we used some pretty long fiberglass rods to mark things for snow removal, but I don't think they were more than 5' long, or if they even came longer than that.
Update: note the answer below was before I found an answer for the tension rod. See the updated post at the start of the thread.
Yes, the tarp tends to sag just a bit in the middle. I thought I'd use the tensioner rod to keep them pushed outwards. The cleats on the rear of the boat sit wider than the tarp support poles, so if I tension them good there's just a slight sag in the tarp but nothing major. It would be pretty easy to figure out a simple tension rod to firm it up really nicely, but what I had originally suggested just didn't work.
