Racey
Maxwell Smart-Ass
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2007
- Messages
- 21,352
- Reaction score
- 45,587
It was 118 at Mead over the weekend and i had to boat with a customer. He had been asking about doing something like this for a while, so i finally figured i just had to pull the trigger.
Figured some of you on here may have thought about doing this same thing, so now you'll know.
As with anything, you never get to have your cake and eat it too, but after boating for a day in hot weather, and some decent wind, here's what i found
Pros:
Completely un-intrusive compared to a bimini
way easier to actually stand up in the boat
no obstructions in egress over the sides.
Floor bracket is smooth, flush with the top of the carpet, you don't ever notice it, and it's off to the side.
Stows away much easier than a bimini as the umbrella becomes a slim tube and can be put under the front of the boat out of the way
Cons:
Windy day, it will lift and suck away anything over 15mph, you could definitely put a rope through the top from the bow eye to the ski tow, and it wouldn't hinder movement much.
Other than idling you obviously have to take it down when you motoring.
Overall i like it, i'd absolutely do it again. It makes day boating much more enjoyable than having no shade, and apart from wind and having to take it down when running is better in almost every way.
Maybe i will build a nice custom umbrella with good hardware, this was just a cheapy from Lowe's, i built the mount oversized and turned a plastic bushing so if you ever lost, broke, or changed umbrellas you wouldn't be married to a specific size pole.
The mount fully sandwiches the floor.
Figured some of you on here may have thought about doing this same thing, so now you'll know.
As with anything, you never get to have your cake and eat it too, but after boating for a day in hot weather, and some decent wind, here's what i found
Pros:
Completely un-intrusive compared to a bimini
way easier to actually stand up in the boat
no obstructions in egress over the sides.
Floor bracket is smooth, flush with the top of the carpet, you don't ever notice it, and it's off to the side.
Stows away much easier than a bimini as the umbrella becomes a slim tube and can be put under the front of the boat out of the way
Cons:
Windy day, it will lift and suck away anything over 15mph, you could definitely put a rope through the top from the bow eye to the ski tow, and it wouldn't hinder movement much.
Other than idling you obviously have to take it down when you motoring.
Overall i like it, i'd absolutely do it again. It makes day boating much more enjoyable than having no shade, and apart from wind and having to take it down when running is better in almost every way.
Maybe i will build a nice custom umbrella with good hardware, this was just a cheapy from Lowe's, i built the mount oversized and turned a plastic bushing so if you ever lost, broke, or changed umbrellas you wouldn't be married to a specific size pole.
The mount fully sandwiches the floor.
