Bimini Tilted Forward?

[Tomahawk Tooner]

We'll be taking delivery of our first pontoon in about 6 weeks. 8520 Sylvan Mirage 4pt fish. One thing I didn't like about the layout of the boat was that the starboard rear fish seat was quite a ways under the Bimini and would interfere with casting a fishing pole "overhead" from that chair.

Before we bought the boat I asked the dealer if the bimini could, while still closed, be tilted forward. He said he wasn't sure but we tried it worked fine by just hooking the front frame member into the front bimini mount. Other than it looked "different", it certainly addresses the casting concern. It changes the profile of the boat and looks more like a forward swept wake board bar/rack.

Anyone see any issues with running the bimini tilted forward while underway on the water? The only issue I can see is that the rear frame member (the one that normally holds it tilted back) doesn't have a "C" clip to hold it but I see those can be bought and added if I find it bounces around too much.

[mpilot]

From a force perspective it's pulling up on the rails rather than pushing down. I have to believe the rails are able to withstand more force being pushed against it, but I'm not sure how much force there would be and if it would cause a problem.

On the other hand people with double bimini tops must have to tow in the forward position. Every manufacturer I know of has engineers on site at the plant and they should be able to lead you in the right direction.

[teecro]

As commented above many pontoons have 2 Bimini tops and for the most part the forward Bimini is mounted in reverse so this tells you that they can stand both pushing and pulling forces up to a point; I've seen many Bimini tops that had speed ratings for when they are open. Another thought to keep in mind that while some Bimini tops have 4 struts pinning them in place many have 2 struts and 2 straps some self supporting Bimini only have 2 struts in the rear and some Bimini tops have no struts what so ever and use 4 straps only. Meaning they can only be open or folded down IE no radar position.

[Bryden24shp]

That's how my front bimini is mounted on the Manitou. It rests in a forward position. You may want to talk to Sylvan to make sure, but I don't think there would be a problem.

[Tomahawk Tooner]

Thanks for the replies... guess I'll try it and monitor it closely.

[joe20toon]

I thoroughly enjoy my 8520 Sylvan Mirage 4pt. I've never needed to tilt the Bimini forward. I'm going to try it next week. As for the starboard rear seat, I temporarily removed it. Most times I'll fish up front and usually have less than four people on board.

[jwachevy]

We'll be taking delivery of our first pontoon in about 6 weeks. 8520 Sylvan Mirage 4pt fish. One thing I didn't like about the layout of the boat was that the starboard rear fish seat was quite a ways under the Bimini and would interfere with casting a fishing pole "overhead" from that chair.

Before we bought the boat I asked the dealer if the bimini could, while still closed, be tilted forward. He said he wasn't sure but we tried it worked fine by just hooking the front frame member into the front bimini mount. Other than it looked "different", it certainly addresses the casting concern. It changes the profile of the boat and looks more like a forward swept wake board bar/rack.

Anyone see any issues with running the bimini tilted forward while underway on the water? The only issue I can see is that the rear frame member (the one that normally holds it tilted back) doesn't have a "C" clip to hold it but I see those can be bought and added if I find it bounces around too much.

[teecro]

Anyone see any issues with running the bimini tilted forward while underway on the water? The only issue I can see is that the rear frame member (the one that normally holds it tilted back) doesn't have a "C" clip to hold it but I see those can be bought and added if I find it bounces around too much.

As in tilted forward and completely down? That should be no problem at all as long as it is not bouncing around too much. I moved the 7 foot 3-bow Bimini from the back of my boat and installed it in reverse and installed a 8 foot 4-bow in its place. The only issue I have is simply because my boat is only an 18 footer that when I located the forward Bimini to have a slight overlap with the aft Bimini that when completely folded down for storage it sticks well outside the playpen gates and makes my storage cover fit much tighter. Depending on how laid out I'm sure you can add either a "C" clip, storage strut or as in my crowded case I'll just be adding a rubber bumper to lend a little support when down for storage. Otherwise I keep our's closed in radar position until more shade is needed.