Replacement Bimini - Sunbrella or other?

[Gym]

I just had Dallas Canvas (http://thedallascanvas.com) build a replacement bimini Canvas for my factory bimini poles. It was about $370 + tax for a Sunbrella Canvas with a boot.

That's a great looking Bimini @Joel Caron. Hard to believe you could get the old one copied in Sunbrella for only $370. Is this the place? http://thedallascanvas.com/ I think you told me they installed zippers to allow you to install the Bimini without dismantling the frame?

 

[Joel Caron]

Hi @Gym That is the place and the zippers make it very easy to attach or reattach.

 

[piney1]

My top is being made from the highest grade of Sunbrella right now, it will be black and have the extra zippers for ease of removal. They'll be using a kevlar type thread that is incredibly strong and heat resistant. Normal canvas thread lasts about 4 seconds under a heat gun before it snaps, this thread lasts nearly a miute. It is $140 per spindle but well worth it. Not sure of the costs yet but it shouldn't be too bad.

 

[zipper]

We changed our bimini last fall and had the canvass shop install new cockpit and bow covers on our ar230. The factory grey was getting worn. I still use the grey mooring/towing cover for winter storage. The change of color made a big difference in our eyes. The sunbrella fabric is "heavier" than the original, and the work she did was top notch. The bimini zippers on/off the frame it also has zippers to hang our sun shades on either side. On the bow and cockpit covers, if you are interested, she reinforced all wear points, installed vents with telescoping support poles and gaskets on the bow cover to divert water draining off the windshield.

We like the change and how it brightened up the Yamaha from the factory grey.

 

[Beachbummer]

Bimini top on my seadoo sportster is made from sunbrella and after 18 years since manufacture the printed seadoo lettering has disappeared. It looks brand spanking new, blue as the first day i see that boat, as if it was replaced with new material yesterday.

Sunbrella is awesome!

 

[captainhook]

Good timing on bumping this. I need new fabric for my bimini (and possibly the extended bimini) as well as a new cover. I considered custom as I read good things about Sunbrella and contacted a local canvas shop that was rated very highly online. After getting the run around she finally gives me a price of $1100 for the main bimini fabric replacement, $800 for the after/extended bimini fabric replacement, and a whopping $3900 for a custom mooring cover replacement. She said "our custom covers are always more than online and are built to last." Yeah, well, I can buy seven Yamaha mooring covers for the price of one of yours so I don't think that argument holds water.

I was going to ask if these were considered "normal" prices but reading this thread, they clearly are not. I wonder if it was just a "I don't want to do this job" price.

 

[txav8r]

I am often amazed what some shops and contractors get. That is why getting 3 or more bids is a good idea. Just remember, it is not always price. Here is an applicable example. I had a rub mark on my mooring and trailering cover and took it to a shop in Denton, TX. They were closest to me and close was more important for a small repair, than price. For a small 2"x6" patch, he charged me $60. On the way to Lake Powell, 1000 miles from me, my cover started to rub through where the windshield rubber bumper rubbed it. I always have noodles across the windshield and unknown to me, my noodle had fallen off in transit. Might be the proverbial, "off my noodle"! Regardless, I called ahead leaving Flagstaff and found a shop in Page, AZ, that said he could get me repaired same day. I pulled into the airport at Page to get the rent car, he met me there, took the cover from me to his shop, and called two hours later that it was done...after we had got into our RV spot and set up. I went to pick it up and it had not only had the rub mark repaired inside and out, but he had installed a padded vinyl all the way across the inside of the cover, where it contacted the windshield. He said to me, no need to mod the windshield with noodles anymore...and that will be $30 total. Some places just have the prices driven up, and some do quality work for a reasonable price. I asked him how long it took to do that work and he said literally, 15 minutes. I asked, Really? He said less than 2 minutes to find the material, 1 minute to measure it, 3 minutes to cut it, and the rest to stitch it on the cover. I think maybe it took him longer but I am not complaining! Finding a quality and reputable company is priceless. If your ever in need of a cover repair or upgrade in the Page, AZ area, heres a plug for a reputable shop...
Material Works
808 Aqua
Page, AZ 86040
(928)608-0575
It is reasonable to expect a new custom mooring and trailering cover to cost upwards of $1500, maybe more. It is a bunch of work creating a pattern even if from an old cover. I don't often plug someone, but the good ones I sure do!

 

[captainhook]

I typically do get at least three quotes for everything but it is a hassle getting quotes for a boat cover. This lady offered to come to me (I was going to bring the boat to her) and she had great reviews online. The pictures of the large fishing boats she is covering on her website and Facebook page must be putting her children through college if mine costs $3900.

I was expecting approximately $800 for the cover, and $300 for the bimini.