Bimini Done: Canvas Work Tougher Than It Looks

The new bimini and the connector canvas zips to the dodger to cover the entire cockpit. The fabric is Sunbrella and the color is toast.

Virginia finished the bimini and it looks great. Although it was easier than the dodger, sewing it was much tougher than she anticipated. She had the Sailrite video and followed it step by step, but it was still difficult. The bimini video is somewhat confusing and was not as good as the Sailrite dodger or enclosure videos.

The canvas connector piece easily zips on and off even with about 10 knots of wind.

In addition to the bimini she also finished the piece that zips to the dodger and the bimini to connect them covering all 10 feet of Oceanus's cockpit.

The clear vinyl window is the perfect size and in the perfect place to give the helmsman  a view of the masthead.

The bimini features a clear vinyl window so the helmsman can see the masthead wind indicator. The patterning material Virginia used was not clear enough to see through, so marking the window was a bit of a guess, but it turned out perfect. Standing behind the wheel, when I look up the masthead is right in the center of the window.

The bimini has about $70 of zippers.

After she finished sewing the bimini, but before we put it on, Virginia sewed the zippers along the back and sides that will attach the side curtains for a full enclosure.

The bimini frame was our Christmas present to each other. Notice there are no straps to get in the way.

Virginia started sewing in junior high. Over the years she's sewn several boat canvas projects, including to full covers for two of our smaller sailboats. But the dodger and bimini were very complicated and difficult to get a tight fit.

She used a hot knife to cut out all of the pieces so there was no chance that they would fray but she didn't like the look of the raw edges, so where ever they showed, she sewed binding tape over them. It makes for a very elegant looking bimini.