Bambi's Bimini
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- Published: Wednesday, 14 February 2018 03:54
Bambi and her husband upgraded sailboats late last season and decided over the winter to invest in a new bimini so that it would match with their dodger and sail covers. Using the existing bimini as a pattern, we ordered material, seamed it together and learned to sew zippers in place.
Writing this article and looking back, it's amazing how something that looks so simple turns out to be way more complicated than it needs to be! To share a one example, just for fun, you might think it's be a straight forward process to use the original as a pattern - WRONG! Here's why, first, if you look carefully at the picture above and zoom in tightly to the starboard aft corner (that's the back right corner closest to the camera) you might be able to make out wrinkle lines - there are four pleats on each corner, which I carefully replicated. Upon further investigation it appears pleats aren't necessary if the material is cut correctly in the first place. With that said, there is a rather complex set of instructions to be followed, fortunately they are easy to find on the Internet if you know where to look - like this Building a Bimini video from Sailrite on building a bimini for boats for example. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20 and regrettably I made the foolish mistake of working from the original - without first seeing it installed on the frame. Alas, yet another learning opportunity!
