MONTAUK 17 Bimini Top Length

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
rmoreau
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MONTAUK 17 Bimini Top Length

Postby rmoreau » Wed Aug 31, 2022 7:40 pm

Q1: for a 1983 MONTAUK 17 would an 8-foot-long Bimini Top be workable?

For anyone who has used an 8-foot-long Bimini Top on a MONTAUK 17, please respond to this thread.

BACKSTORY: [On a 1983 MONTAUK 17] I have a Carter-brand Bimini Top of dimensions 6-feet length x 67-to-72-inches width x 54-inches height. It is rigged with sliding tracks mounted on the gunwales. The arrangement works well, but I need more sun protection.--Rob

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Phil T
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Re: MONTAUK 17 Bimini Top Length

Postby Phil T » Wed Aug 31, 2022 8:15 pm

If I had to do it again, I would go to an 8-foot-long Bimini Top.
1992 Outrage 17
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Jefecinco
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Re: Re: MONTAUK 17 Bimini Top Length

Postby Jefecinco » Thu Sep 01, 2022 10:17 am

An 8-feet-long Bimini Tops would give lots of coverage. I see pontoon boats using two large Bimini Tops.
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jimh
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Re: MONTAUK 17 Bimini Top Length

Postby jimh » Fri Sep 02, 2022 11:45 am

Having the height of the Bimini Top just high enough for the helmsman to stand under will help the canvas create more shade on the boat

Wm. J. Mills & Co. refer to longer tops as SUN TOPS.

If you do not need the top to connect to other components of a weather canvas system, I don't see a problem fitting a longer length top. The only drawback may be the stability of the top when underway in high winds and high seas. A longer top usually adds another frame to the rigging. Too many canvas frames can impede access to the cockpit when the top frame rigging in the stowed position.

Mike Brantley
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Re: MONTAUK 17 Bimini Top Length

Postby Mike Brantley » Sat Sep 03, 2022 12:17 am

https://photos.app.goo.gl/YotjdpfaAV1MhqdN6

I am uncertain of the length of my bimini but will measure it soon and report back. It is a four-bow model rather than the three-bow bimini tops I see on most Montauks on the water and pictured online. The link above is to a picture of my boat. The photo made me tighten up on all the straps because the top looked a bit "frumpy" in the picture.

This top was already installed on the boat when I bought it. It is made by Westland and provides good shade.

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Phil T
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Re: MONTAUK 17 Bimini Top Length

Postby Phil T » Tue Apr 25, 2023 4:49 pm

A second Bimini top could be bought and the two tops attached with a zipper.
1992 Outrage 17
2019 E-TEC 90
2018 LoadRite 18280096VT
Member since 2003

PhilD
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Re: MONTAUK 17 Bimini Top Length

Postby PhilD » Wed Apr 26, 2023 4:34 am

Two-foot-itis applies to bimini tops, not just boat length!

I have a 6-foot top on my 9-foot skiff and sometimes I'd like an 8.

On a Montauk 17, I'd get a second bimini or maybe a sunshade for the bow.

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Re: MONTAUK 17 Bimini Top Length

Postby jimh » Wed Apr 26, 2023 9:42 am

I am very glad that the Wm. J. Mills & Co. FLYING TOP on my REVENGE is of rather modest length. I would not like a longer top because I think it would become unstable at high boat speeds, particularly when heading into the wind. If you are making 25-MPH into a 20-knot head wind, the wind on the boat will be over 45-MPH, and that is a lot of wind on a large Bimini top. The design of the Mills FLYING TOP on the REVENGE has the top supported by fixed poles at the aft end and by short straps at the forward end that attach to the windshield frame. This creates a very stable and sturdy mechanism for holding the top in place, and those vertical aft poles are very useful as handholds. And, like all weather canvas from Mills, when the top is deployed there is considerable tension placed onto the Sunbrella fabric, so it never flaps around in the boat wind.

The canvas artisan who made a bespoke mooring cover for my boat suggested adding a large sun top for use when the boat was not underway. His design for the sun top would attach at its forward end by zipper to the aft edge of the FLYING TOP, and then be supported at the aft end by using two poles that fit into rod holders and were tilted astern. That sounded like a good idea to me, but his proposed cost for creating this big shade top was quite impressively large, too. So I did not commission him to make one.

Actually, we have a large umbrella style sun shade gizmo (that we won as a door prize at a Boston Whaler sponsored rendezvous event--it was the last door prize, and it was passed over by about six or seven other participants who had earlier picks of which door prize they wanted. This large umbrella-style sun top is a Taylor Made "Anchor Shade." We sometimes rig this top in the cockpit when sitting at anchor on a really hot and sunny day. The problem is that in our boating territory, having a hot and sunny Summer day when we actually happen to also be aboard the boat and also happen to be at anchor is somewhat uncommon. So the number of times we have rigged-out this sun top is probably less than ten.