Emerging hole in bimini

[Quad]

So, this weekend as I was putting the cover on the boat, I noticed a stretch hole emerging in the bimini of our 2020 242SE.

Anyone else have this sort of thing occur? Any ideas to remediate?

Last year we noticed that the bow cover was also having some stitching issues and we used iron-on patches, which have been holding up well, but I'm not sure these are the best solution.

Any suggestions?

 

[I_squared_r]

It happened on my AR192 (fyi out of warranty). I brought it to a shop that does bimini's and they stitched a fairly large patch on it. The factory bimini is like tissue paper compared to the real stuff.

 

[Quad]

It happened on my AR192 (fyi out of warranty). I brought it to a shop that does bimini's and they stitched a fairly large patch on it. The factory bimini is like tissue paper compared to the real stuff.

Nuts.

I’m not sure how badly things are backed up in your area, but currently the boat upholstery shops around here are resistant to taking on new work because of the loss of manpower.

I may have to do this myself.

 

[SamN44]

I think I would use E6000 adhesive and a fabric patch to cover that. E6000 is great because it remains flexible after it cures.

 

[I_squared_r]

Nuts.

I’m not sure how badly things are backed up in your area, but currently the boat upholstery shops around here are resistant to taking on new work because of the loss of manpower.

I may have to do this myself.

Yeah the shops are like that here too. I'm borrowing my friend's sewing machine to do some cushions.
I had my bimini repaired 3 years ago. It's been holding up fine, but I rarely use it. I like too much the sun

 

[granpachuck]

So, this weekend as I was putting the cover on the boat, I noticed a stretch hole emerging in the bimini of our 2020 242SE.

Anyone else have this sort of thing occur? Any ideas to remediate?

Last year we noticed that the bow cover was also having some stitching issues and we used iron-on patches, which have been holding up well, but I'm not sure these are the best solution. View attachment 180012

Any suggestions?

I am dealing with this too, first time with this 6 year old Bimini. I suggest you check out Sailrite. I contacted them, and they were very helpful ,sending me some samples so I could see the fabric and also color match. They helped pic out the correct thread, and I will be adding some velcro strips that I think the bimini needs to keep it in place on my tower. I am not sure if I will be able to find a shop to sew it on, but if not , I will attempt it myself. Excellent customer service so far, and respond to emails same day. They did say they do not recommend adhesives on these fabrics, but also sell something called tear aid for temporary fixes.

 

[zipper]

Sew a reinforcing patch on it. It is only a couple of layers of thin shurlast. It is not like 4 or 5 layers of sunbrella. Many machines are able to punch thru 2-3 layers of that material, but threading Tenara thread on https://www.sailrite.com/Notions/Br...ng1PlP_-uQip0afP3iyEPA-NSL6_TvhRoCHUwQAvD_BwE the machine is expensive and the machine may not like it. If you need matereial for a patch, ask a canvas shop to look in the scrap bin. I would send you some material but we have no gray Sunbrella in stock. If you were only closer, it wouild be an easy fix for Willow. You could probably order a swatch from sailrite and use that for a patch. They are usually big enough to fold a hem and sew a small patch over a small tear like that. Again, you will need UV resistant thread for this job.

 

[granpachuck]

I am dealing with this too, first time with this 6 year old Bimini. I suggest you check out Sailrite. I contacted them, and they were very helpful ,sending me some samples so I could see the fabric and also color match. They helped pic out the correct thread, and I will be adding some velcro strips that I think the bimini needs to keep it in place on my tower. I am not sure if I will be able to find a shop to sew it on, but if not , I will attempt it myself. Excellent customer service so far, and respond to emails same day. They did say they do not recommend adhesives on these fabrics, but also sell something called tear aid for temporary fixes.

I wanted to follow up on the material I ordered from Sailrite. I ordered some bimini material, as well as some for the original mooring cover. The cover had a 5 foot tear under the area where you would put the cover pole in the bow. I went to a local auto interior place, and they did a great job. I will give them the bimini another time, but I wanted to see the results on this cover since its a spare. I plan to use it for trips, and winter storage. Hopefully this will add a few years of life to my current cover.

They did 4 rows of stitching, and I am very happy with the finished product.