Bimini

by Dave Jones (NT37-212)

After owning Sir Tugley Green with its bimini made by Jeff and Deb DeVries, our new 37, Sir Tugley Blue, seemed naked without one, so one of our first priorites was to design and add one.

Plans were hatched while the boat was still docked at Bay Breeze in Traverse City and a mock-up made using 3/4" pvc conduit. For a nominal cost this allowed us to get dimensions of the frame worked out so we could get the 1" stainless tubing and many SS fittings ordered, and bows bent. Unfortunately, 37-212 had lifelines on the starboard upper deck to accomodate a crane and we had to get a solid rail installed in their place. We ended up with a 4-bow design that covers the entire upper deck and folds forward to rest on the forward supports or flat on the top of the stack. All materials were purchased from Sailrite, Inc. in Indiana.

Some minor modifications were made to the original mock-up dimensions as the frame was installed to get heights, etc. just right but extra material was added in tubing lengths to allow for changes. Patterns were carefully made for the cover using a DVD produced by Sailrite. It provides a very description of building a 3-bow bimini and was invaluable. I sewed the cover up using Sunbrella marine fabric spending about 40 hours in total. It's a large piece of fabric to move around a sewing machine.

The cover was successfully mated with the frame and zipped on and looks great - now we just need some sun to be able to enjoy the shade it will provide.