This project was the result of two events. Since the Hard Bimini has been installed for four years, it was well worth the effort. The two events are unrelated, but significant. The first event was for protection. Our good friend Jim Bates was sailing on a mutual friends, Paul Furstenburg, boat. They were going from Florida to the USVI. During the trip, a chain plate snapped and the main mast came tumbling down. Paul's boat has a hard Bimini, and the aft support, just above Jim's head had a huge dent in it where the mast hit. If the support had not been there the mast would have hit Jim's head. The real first lesson here is make sure your chainplates are in good shape. I can safely say I have fixed the chain plate problem. Please check the Chain Plate Replacement Project. The event was also a great reason to have a hard Bimini Installed.

The second event, is simply weather. We have had a Sunbrella Bimini since the first year we owned DREAM AWAY. For my way of thinking a Bimini is an absolute necessity sailing on the Gulf Coast or in the tropics. Two big problems with a cloth Bimini, they all eventually leak, and you can not stand on them. The leak that broke the back was our last Harvest Moon race. The Bimini leaked so badly, it was difficult to tell if you were just standing out in the rain or not! We decided that we would replace the cloth Bimini with a hard Bimini.

Now the easy part was done, we made a decision. The next phase was to actually get the Hard Bimini done. Two things made the project go pretty quick, and inexpensive. The first thing was that I decided to make the top out of Starboard, rather than build the top out of fiberglass. If the Starboard did not work out, I could build the top out of fiberglass at a later date. The second thing was a bit of luck. The shop I was using belonged to a good friend who had emigrated to New Zealand, so I had tools and plenty of space. Another space in the same building was being rented by DockSide Designs. Brian and Dustin running the business were just getting into an aluminum welding business. We came to an agreement. They would charge me the shop rate for the welding and I would pay for the material. All I had to do was the fitting and the fabrication.

Clever me, I really took advantage of those two. Not so. The fabrication was not a big problem. It involved cutting and shaping all of the pieces. The fitting was the problem. I had taken very careful measurements, so we bent and crowned the frame to match the size and crown of the boom gallows. I now loaded the bent frame on my suburban, and drove to Watergate Yachting Center. We then moved the frame to the boat, and a couple of jigs and other devices to get the measurements correct. We had to measure where and how big to make the supports, the size and angle of the support feet, and also measure the attachment points of the frame to the boom gallows. Now the frame is loaded back on the suburban, and taken back to the shop.

So now I had to fabricate the legs, leg feet and the attachment plates. When I finished that, Dustin tacked up the frame, to go back to the boat again, and check the measurements. Now I have a frame that is approximately 100" X 100" with two four-foot legs hanging off each side. It was a joy just getting the frame onto the roof of my Suburban and lashed down. Next I drive back to Watergate Yachting Center. The frame was not very heavy, but there was no way I could carry an object that size. So I rounded up some help, and got the frame to the boat. Just sit the frame on the boat, make sure it all fit, and we are good to go. Did I mention that DREAM AWAY is a sailboat with all kind of standing rigging, booms, lifelines and such? I had to get a little more help, move a few things and then the frame was on the boat, what an adventure. No matter, I am sure that all of the measurements were perfect and the frame would fit perfectly.