Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
I have the same boat, #411, but with a cock pit Bimini, on rail's. so it can be adjusted, for and aft. I have also, re-drill my boom block hole, Fwd, a little more than a foot. [ more room for a bigger Bimini}! and installed a 6 to 1 block. ( less work ) I had the foot of my main sail,(clue end only) re-cut, 8", so the boom is higher. ( clears the Bimini ) So, I'm watching this.
Thanks Tomas for the cool observation... I see the similarity too.
The plastics vendor suggested there would not be a plastic sheet product suitable and recommended building a fiberglass sheet - rather than go through the multiple steps to build a fiberglass hard top I'll stick with fabric.
Here is a photo of a sheet of Duta Skrim patterning material as procured from Sailrite spread over the frame. The Dura Skrim is adhered to the frame by a bit of Seamstick laid on tape as depicted in Sailrite bimini fabrication videos on youtube.
I am a bit concerned about how to sew the zippers as they approach the outboard ends of the bimini fabric. Sailrite basically says to migrate the path of the zipper about 1 3/4 inches and that will take up the slack as the fabric wraps around the end-curve of the bow.
The pattern and the material are just a little big for working in my studio so I had to relocate to the patio... did not like laying down the fabric on the concrete but then I declared it will be exposed to the elements for several years so go ahead. Perhaps could have laid down a sheet of plastic drop cloth under - maybe next time.
Then cutting the Sunbrella - hot knife is the only way to go as it locks the edges of the fabric while cutting. On smaller cuts that will be hemmed I will use scissors.
The Sailrite LS-1... it flat chews through that material... far easier to use than the older Pfaff 130 (in the background) that I used in the past. One piece of advise the loft gave me when discussing was to use lifetime thread... the argument was why would you sew with polyester thread that will breakdown in three years when the Sunbrella is guaranteed for eight? I agreed and purchased the PTFE thread from Sailrite - super expensive but still agree that the bite of the price is offset by not having to restitch that thing before its lifespan is over.
Laid out to see the progress...
And then down to the boat for a test fit. Choose to test fit as I had not done this task before and was unsure of how the fit would turn out. Fit is pretty good - I made a few marks and will compare them with the pattern as I finish sewing this bimini fabric.
Fit is decent... a little soft in the middle. Perhaps the fabric could have extended further over the sides giving an opportunity to stretch-tighten across the top... but it is serviceable as is.
Great crafting experience working with zippers and reinforcing.
The powerful Sailrite sewing machine made the task doable... using the less powerful machine - it could be done but would have been more tedious.
The mission was to have stand up clearance and broad coverage and both are achieved.
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.