What's up guys! With the arrival of our first baby boy eight weeks ago I have searched countless forums over the past couple of weeks for ideas about custom Bimini tops for my aerial tower. With the baby now on board we figured we would need some shade next summer to keep little Jace cool. I decided to construct a bimini that would be rigid and not fold up (I live two miles from lake so wind at highway speeds are not an issue) I would build a frame and have a canvas made with eyelets in it so that i could use rope to fasten it to the frame trampoline style.
The boat is a 2004 bayliner 205 (I know not the coolest boat) but it serves the purpose of affordability for our family! The tower is an aerial airborne tower that I recently added.
The materials
2-10' 1" emt
2-DIY Bimini clamps
2-DIY speaker/mirror clamps
1/4 rope from tractor supply
Canvas stitched with eyelets by local seamstress $175
2 3/4" support poles from previous stock bayliner Bimini
I am currently finished building the frame for the top which is 63" wide an 5' long! I am an electrician so I have pipe bending skills. I used a one inch bender and bent two 90's on each stick of pipe to make the length from side to side 63". I then layed the pipe on the floor and cut the 90's back so that they would measure 5' from front to back. After Welding the pipe together I grinded down the weld and then sanded the pipe with 80 grit sand paper then 220 then 400. Th pipe was very slick after sanding so I then spray painted with rustoleum metallic spray paint which made it look powder coated! Here are a few pics of my boat and the frame that I have fabricated! I should be finished with the project middle of next week when my clamps come in and my top is back from seamstress. I will post more pics when finished.
Last edited by brucegoose23; 09-24-2011 at 7:41 AM.
|