I used the search and was surprised I didn't find a thread about Bimini tops.  My boat will be a family run about as much as it will fish.  After the first full day on the water, it's clear that a Bimini is needed.  But, I don't know enough to make a smart choice.  My instinct is to get a 54" high, 4 bow and 10' long if I can find it.  But, at 54" do I need partial side walls?  Do you leave your Bimini installed all the time?  When it's down, do you put it in the back or in front of the windshield?  How hard is it to fish around?  What brand?  What brand of fabric?  Is Sunbrella worth it?

 

I have Brocraft mounting blocks that fit my rails.  

My wife had one on her boat.  I was always in the way whether up or down.  It would only provide decent shade between 11 am and 1 pm with the sun right overhead.

9 hours ago, MontanaBasser said:

I used the search and was surprised I didn't find a thread about Bimini tops.  My boat will be a family run about as much as it will fish.  After the first full day on the water, it's clear that a Bimini is needed.  But, I don't know enough to make a smart choice.  My instinct is to get a 54" high, 4 bow and 10' long if I can find it.  But, at 54" do I need partial side walls?  Do you leave your Bimini installed all the time?  When it's down, do you put it in the back or in front of the windshield?  How hard is it to fish around?  What brand?  What brand of fabric?  Is Sunbrella worth it?

 

I have Brocraft mounting blocks that fit my rails.  

 

What kind of boat do you have? I have a 18' Lund PVB and I used https://www.nationalbiminitops.com/ to buy my bimini top. You can enter your boat brand/year/model and it will give you some bimini top choices. I went with the 46" high because I'm not standing all the time in the cockpit. I do have to duck a little getting under the top when coming from the bow, I'm 5'11". I don't leave the bimini installed all the time, even though it collapses nicely, it takes up room on the gunnel and rear deck. I also have the brocraft mounts so it's pretty easy to install and take down.

 

I had one, but removed it. It was always in the way. Hit it,  snag it,  just did not really work for fishing.

If there was even a light breeze, you now had a very fast sail boat. The relief from the summer sun was nice, just not practical for bass fishing.

9 hours ago, Junger said:

 

What kind of boat do you have? I have a 18' Lund PVB and I used https://www.nationalbiminitops.com/ to buy my bimini top. You can enter your boat brand/year/model and it will give you some bimini top choices. I went with the 46" high because I'm not standing all the time in the cockpit. I do have to duck a little getting under the top when coming from the bow, I'm 5'11". I don't leave the bimini installed all the time, even though it collapses nicely, it takes up room on the gunnel and rear deck. I also have the brocraft mounts so it's pretty easy to install and take down.

 

How long is that?  I'm putting it on a 21ft Alumacraft Competitor 

7 hours ago, rboat said:

I had one, but removed it. It was always in the way. Hit it,  snag it,  just did not really work for fishing.

If there was even a light breeze, you now had a very fast sail boat. The relief from the summer sun was nice, just not practical for bass fishing.

If this was purely a fishing boat, I'd be right there with you.  But, if that were the case, my wife probably wouldn't be right here with me.  She has been very understanding of my midlife crisis purchase thus far.  I'd like to keep it that way.  

4 hours ago, MontanaBasser said:

How long is that?

 6' long, it covers the entire cockpit area and then some.

Brother got an aftermarket bimini top for his Lund Alaskan. It goes up fairly easily and can withstand 45 MPH (his boat hit 38 MPH max). He really likes it, especially when we have Dad in the boat. Keeps it in the boat 100% of the time. We used it a lot on the Canada trip last summer. Kept the rain off us. 

 

I got the Lund version for my Adventure. I think it was ~$1,300. It sits on the floor and tucks under a lip and is really out of the way. Stays in my boat all the time. I've only had it up once in the year and a half i've owned the boat. 

My bimini came from:  https://www.boatcoversdirect.com/products/bimini_tops/

Enter your boat mfg. and model.  

 

I got the Sunbrella model for my boat and ordered the a taller size, 54".  I used Railblaza track mounts.  I'm very pleased with the result.  My wife is the happiest,

Every time I glance at this topic, my mind keeps reading that you’re looking for a bikini top.