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Rohan · 11-09-2016, 09:16

I have been looking to purchase my first boat, and am finalizing some decisions.

I really like certain boats like the Dehlers, but they have the traveller going right through the cockpit. I know this gives the helmsman more control and I assume it's a racing design.

But here's the problem, that makes it more difficult to have a bimini. I'm not so worried about rain, but the problem in the sun. Without a bimini, sailing is often pretty darned oppressive and miserable in the middle of the day, and forget using that nice cockpit table for lunch with the sun beating down. You can have a narrow bimini of sorts, but it's not very useful for shade, and it would probably have to be custom made.

Yes, you can wear sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat, but in heavy winds that hat is going to keep coming off without a chinstrap (which isn't stylish). I wear a baseball style cap which holds on, but it only shades the eyes to the front.

Anyway, my question is, can I live without it for long term cruising? To the other members of this forum with similar boats, how have you handled this problem, or do you even consider it a problem?

landsend · 11-09-2016, 09:24

At the moment I'm a short time cruiser.Couldn't live without the bimini. Or some kind of shade on fly bridge and cock pit.

donradcliffe · 11-09-2016, 09:29

If you want to go full time cruising in the tropics, the bimini is a necessity. In a similar situation, we had a dodger, a bimini, then a transition piece which went across the traveler area. The transition piece zipped to the dodger, but was velcroed to the bimini so that it could pop loose if there was inadvertent gybe/tack.

redhead · 11-09-2016, 09:36

1) Uncomfortable in the extreme. Everyone needs to "get out" of whatever - sun,
rain, wind.

2) Unhealthy. Recently someone on CF posted a picture of an insulated beverage
holder that had sat in the cockpit under cover of the bimini for x
number of years and showed the effects of indirect sunlight - the cooler was a
miserable looking faded, shriveled ghost of it's former self. Imagine if there
was no cover at all.

3) A covered area in the cockpit enlarges your living area by that many square
feet - whether it's because it's a beautiful day/night, you just need some pri-
vate time, fumes from all that varnish work, etc ( Oh I'm sorry, that's me with
the varnish work) - why give up that extra living space?

4) You need a cockpit cover IMHO.

travellerw · 11-09-2016, 09:40

Wouldn't even consider living in the tropics without a Bimini. Even then, its not enough you will end up with other sunshades on the sides of the Bimini!

UNCIVILIZED · 11-09-2016, 09:42

Pretty boat. And she is which one?

As to the problem. Since you'll be cruising, 98% of your steering will be done by the AP or a vane. Including some of it with the remote, so... Put a bimini over the rest of the cockpit & call it good.

Or, get a stiffer boom & move the mainsheet forward. Also a longer one to facilitate moving the traveler aft of the helm might be possible. Talk to the company, & or a few riggers. And if it works, at worst, you'll drive a bit more when sitting outboard. Which is the norm anyway. Not standing like the guy in the pic is doing.

Keep in mind too that for the 95% of the time that you're not sailing you'll have an awning up. Or a couple of them, to include the foredeck if it's truly hot. Ones with some side coverage if you're being smart about things.

Stumble · 11-09-2016, 09:43

I couldn't imagine living aboard a boat without a Bimini. But this isn't a unique issue to you, I would contact Dehler about how they have resolved it in the past. But you could put a pretty big Bimini on that boat. Just bring it back to the mainsheet. You will be exposed at the helm, but that is a trivial amount of total time onboard.

SV DestinyAscen · 11-09-2016, 10:01

We sailed with a couple who bought a new Dehler 38 about 2 years ago, and genuinely felt sorry for the owner because he had imagined a sleek sexy boat and instead to make it actually practical, the sprayhood was massive and he didn't a have bimini.

I think what made it worse was his wife preferred the Bavaria competitor, and it had a better layout for practical coverage sprayhood and bimini.

bgallinger · 11-09-2016, 10:05

The bimini is a must have!

Cheechako · 11-09-2016, 10:14

To me a Bimini is a necessity. Also I hate travelers that you have to step over in the cockpit... is that what you are talking about? The cockpit is my favorite spot at anchor, You just cant be there in the lower lattitudes without a bimini, and it may be stuffy below also.

goat · 11-09-2016, 10:18

I'd put a solar panel over the helm station, then use a boom tent when you're anchored.

Sent from my XT1058 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Sea Dreaming · 11-09-2016, 10:24

Even in Colorado we could not do without the bimini. Think of it as safety gear, it helps keep the sun off, but also helps prevent dehydration and sun stroke.

Rohan · 11-09-2016, 10:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stumble

I couldn't imagine living aboard a boat without a Bimini. But this isn't a unique issue to you, I would contact Dehler about how they have resolved it in the past. But you could put a pretty big Bimini on that boat. Just bring it back to the mainsheet. You will be exposed at the helm, but that is a trivial amount of total time onboard.

That's not a bad idea.