Hi all,
I'm about to start building my hardtop
bimini for my IPY Packet cat 35.
Besides sun/rain protection
solar is going up there the other big reason is to move the mainsheet up there as well. Where it sits now is right behind the helms persons
head. Not comfortable. Having tried to hire naval architects without success the
current plan is to use 2.5" SS going about 7' up, 10 feet over and then back down again. The SS will be attached on the horizontal bottom with bolts and the vertical edge will have 6 bolts in reinforced wider area with G10
backing plates epoxied to the
hull.
I contacted a person with a
Lagoon 44 who just has 2 poles going up. The poles are 3" (80mm) and probably connected with a crossbeam which may be connected to the
bimini structure. The
mainsail on the
Lagoon is around 750 sq feet. which is greater than my total sail area. My Main is 229 sq feet.
I'm fairly confident that 2.5" SS would be more than strong enough to handle the loads. 2.5"
aluminum would be better from a weigh perspective as would 2" SS but now I'm not so confident.
If you have 35-40 footish cat with the traveller mounted above please let me know what size/material tubes you have and any other structure support facts you know. I spoke with a couple who have a Mahe 38?
Hurricane damages. Bimini missing. Looks like it was held on by 1.5" SS poles. Some of the poles were still attached.
Another question for those that have a hardtop bimini is
solar panels. When reefing do you ever have issues with the sail getting caught up in the
solar panels?
Last question. What mods do you have on your hardtop that like, dislike, wish you had?
Long post, thank you for reading and any input you may have.