sticker shock for dodger/bimini

[mainesail]

For what it is worth the canvas and dodger windows in post #13 still look and perform today in 2020 as they did back in 2015. The dodger & canvas are now 12 years old and are barely discernible from a brand new one.

[Ron Hill]

Guys : I like to sail without looking thru the front dodger window (windshield).  For years I has it zipped out and stored below and then zipped it in when rain or WX dictated.  I never liked it exposed and rolled up.

I finally thought of leaving it zipped in on the top and pulling it underneath the dodge.  It is protected and readily available to be zipped in on both sides.  I made some shock cords the go around the back dodge grab bar to hold the windshield in place until needed.  Works great and the windshield looks new and clear after 6/7 years!!   

A thought

[KWKloeber]

Kevin

When the guy did the window in the Bimini to see the windex, he did it zippered.  It's attached but one zip holds it closed, the other zip holds it when open (rolled up.) Very cool system, Velcro on a separate piece just doesn't work well (IMO).

[Jon W]

Hi Kevin. I'm going thru this myself. When you really look at a well constructed bimini, you realize there is a lot of work, time, and skill required to make a quality bimini. In other words it's expensive.

FWIW - My Bimini is going to be 75"L x 81"W x 78"H. It will extend ~ 8-12" past the aft pushpit rails and end before the boom so a connector piece can attach from it to the existing dodger. The frame has 3 bows, 2 aft struts to the pushpit, and 2 forward struts to the gate stantions. It will use Sunbrella, Tenara thread, and Strataglass 40 gauge (with a cover) to see the top of the mast, and a zippered section with cutouts for the split back stays to pass thru.

My bimini bids with Sunbrella, Strataglass 40 gauge window plus cover, Tenara thread, zippers/fasteners, and 1" OD 316L SST .065 wall thickness tubing attached to the pushpit were anywhere from $3,200 to $4,200. I believe different labor rates drives the variation. Sunbrella material seemed to always be ~8 yards. This price does not include a connector piece from the bimini to the dodger, nor the solar panel attachments to the bimini.

As is the nature of things, I suspect there are people who only paid $1,200 for a bimini.

[captran]

4 years ago we had Churchhill Brothers in Anacortes.  It was about 5,000, but it included all new stainless because we wanted the dodger taller and the bimini we wanted in a configuration where it attached to the back side rails, and we had Eizen glass for the dodger, so it is clear as a window.  The one thing about the Eizen glass is that it can get scratched by dacron sails or a flogging jib sheet, so we were disappointed it didn't stand up to normal use.  (we dropped the main the first year (and long ago removed the flaking dutchman system so the sail sagged before we could flake it which caused the first scratch.  but boating certainly has gotten much more expensive.  Remember when the Davis mark 2 plastic sextant was $25.  ?  LOL