Bimini won't fold up while installed on tower!!!

[Ndawg12]

I have a T3 tower and I don't know about what type of bimini it is (the only tag on it just says Sunbrella). I'm pretty sure I know how all the arms move, to fold it up I would think you unkook the straps and the back fold up to the front. The problem is that the back bar of the bimini hits the the tower legs as I try to fold it forward. Should I loosen all the clamps and try and manuever to a position where it will fold freely? I hate moving those clamps aorund becasue every time I do I lose or scuff the paint on the tower. I attached a crappy pic but it's all I've got right now (the dude in the pic is not me, it's my punka$$ bro in law, just wanted to clarify that). But does it appear that the bimini is mounted too high???

Thanks for any advice.

Edited June 3, 2009 by nemire12

[georgia_dawgs08]

I have a T3 tower and I don't know about what type of bimini it is (the only tag on it just says Sunbrella). I'm pretty sure I know how all the arms move, to fold it up I would think you unkook the straps and the back fold up to the front. The problem is that the back bar of the bimini hits the the tower legs as I try to fold it forward. Should I loosen all the clamps and try and manuever to a position where it will fold freely? I hate moving those clamps aorund becasue every time I do I lose or scuff the paint on the tower. I attached a crappy pic but it's all I've got right now (the dude in the pic is not me, it's my punka$$ bro in law, just wanted to clarify that). But does it appear that the bimini is mounted too high???

Thanks for any advice.

is your in-law really that bad?

[Ndawg12]

I have a T3 tower and I don't know about what type of bimini it is (the only tag on it just says Sunbrella). I'm pretty sure I know how all the arms move, to fold it up I would think you unkook the straps and the back fold up to the front. The problem is that the back bar of the bimini hits the the tower legs as I try to fold it forward. Should I loosen all the clamps and try and manuever to a position where it will fold freely? I hate moving those clamps aorund becasue every time I do I lose or scuff the paint on the tower. I attached a crappy pic but it's all I've got right now (the dude in the pic is not me, it's my punka$$ bro in law, just wanted to clarify that). But does it appear that the bimini is mounted too high???

Thanks for any advice.

is your in-law really that bad?

Just a spoiled punk but a good tubin' victim!!!

[Bill_AirJunky]

Just to clarify, thats a Titan III. T3 was a tower made in the early days of retrofitting towers on boats. I believe they went banko some time ago.

So the bimini looks like a Titan, but I'm not sure. The lower mounting points look quite a bit higher than on my Titan II. You might run that by Titan to make sure.

My Titan bimini has two small thumbscrews on the main support, maybe a foot above the mounting point. I loosen this thumbscrew on each side, and I can lower the bimini so that when I fold it up, it will fit under the top of the tower & speakers. Then I can push it up in front of the speakers (sliding on that same joint) & tighten the thumbscrews when it's in place.

If you don't have that slider, I'm not sure what to suggest. Maybe have it modified? I can certainly get you some pictures of it to go off of.

[georgia_dawgs08]

I have a T3 tower and I don't know about what type of bimini it is (the only tag on it just says Sunbrella). I'm pretty sure I know how all the arms move, to fold it up I would think you unkook the straps and the back fold up to the front. The problem is that the back bar of the bimini hits the the tower legs as I try to fold it forward. Should I loosen all the clamps and try and manuever to a position where it will fold freely? I hate moving those clamps aorund becasue every time I do I lose or scuff the paint on the tower. I attached a crappy pic but it's all I've got right now (the dude in the pic is not me, it's my punka$$ bro in law, just wanted to clarify that). But does it appear that the bimini is mounted too high???

Thanks for any advice.

is your in-law really that bad?

Just a spoiled punk but a good tubin' victim!!!

Thats funny, I do the same thing to people that get on my nerves while we're out, haha

[wienrdog]

To re-inforce what Bill said...

It does look like a Titan bimini, but the area where the thumb screws would be are hidden on both sides in your picture.

Here's a pic of a Titan bimini on a Titan-II. You can see the thumb screw (about 3" from the rear bow connection) & how low the back anchors are.

[DUKENO1]

I have a T3 tower and I don't know about what type of bimini it is (the only tag on it just says Sunbrella). I'm pretty sure I know how all the arms move, to fold it up I would think you unkook the straps and the back fold up to the front. The problem is that the back bar of the bimini hits the the tower legs as I try to fold it forward. Should I loosen all the clamps and try and manuever to a position where it will fold freely? I hate moving those clamps aorund becasue every time I do I lose or scuff the paint on the tower. I attached a crappy pic but it's all I've got right now (the dude in the pic is not me, it's my punka$$ bro in law, just wanted to clarify that). But does it appear that the bimini is mounted too high???

Thanks for any advice.

Wow

That looks like what passes for "glass" on Lake Norman on a typical summer weekend!

[edwin]

No need to remove the clamps. Lower the top all the way, put it on the boot / cover, unhook one of the bimini legs and swivel the entire top around to the back side of the rear hoop.

[Ndawg12]

I do have the thumb screws on the front legs. It appears that the whole bimini is mounted too high. Is the bimini supposed to fold towards the back like how Edwin's is? It seems like my tower speakers would require the bimini to be mounted really low in order to do that. I would love to see more pics of Titan 3's with the biminis actually folded.

Duke, that pic was a lucky shot, it was the usually choppy Lake Norman most of the time. Too many ocean boats on a lake!!!

[Bill_AirJunky]

You should be able to mount the bimini wherever you like, nemire.

We usually mount ours it in front of the speakers.

[DUKENO1]

Duke, that pic was a lucky shot, it was the usually choppy Lake Norman most of the time. Too many ocean boats on a lake!!!

Yeah,

I avoid that lake if at all possible on the weekends. Not to shabby if you can get out on a weekday though....

[wienrdog]

Looks like they mount them differently on the Titan III vs Titan II. Edwin's picture and Bill's second & third pictures show the rear mounts are pretty high on a Titan III.

Edwin did say that he undoes a leg attachment point to get his bimini to the back of the speakers.

Your rear attachment point does look like it may be an inch or 2 higher than Edwin's or Bill's. It's hard to compare from the angle of your picture. Your's looks like it's about even or just below the top of the windshield, while their is a few inches below the top of the windshield.

[Ndawg12]

Looks like they mount them differently on the Titan III vs Titan II. Edwin's picture and Bill's second & third pictures show the rear mounts are pretty high on a Titan III.

Edwin did say that he undoes a leg attachment point to get his bimini to the back of the speakers.

Your rear attachment point does look like it may be an inch or 2 higher than Edwin's or Bill's. It's hard to compare from the angle of your picture. Your's looks like it's about even or just below the top of the windshield, while their is a few inches below the top of the windshield.

I think you're right, I guess what I'll do is just set the damn up and then adjust all the clamps until it fits right and opens and closes like I need it to. If my tower gets scratched up too badly then I'll just pull it off and have it sandblasted in the off season!!!