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2020 A22 stowing the bimini top


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Am I the only one having a hard time stowing the bimini top into the boot on my 2020 A22? Its like trying to put 10lbs of crap in a 5lb bag!  No, but seriously, it seems that it needs a strap to hold everything in place before you can get the boot in place and zipper it. It seems to take me 20mins or more to get it properly stowed. anyone else having the same problems?

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It's a pain on the 2019 too. I wrap it around itself while it's a bit above the windshield and then move it back to the tower to put the cover over it. Takes a while and isn't easy but I don't know of any other way.

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The cover is definitely big enough on the '19, it's just the process of wrapping it around itself and then starting on one end with the cover and working your way to the other end that's a pain and not very fast. But it is what it is, we love having a bimini (didn't have one on previous boat).

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Yeah, we try wrapping it before zipping up the boot. but starts to unwind by the time the boot is halfway on. im thinking of getting some velcro straps to hold everything together before installing the boot

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I would like to see a cover that wraps the Bimini and speakers all in one. Pull The Bimini and strap it to the tower and then wrap everything and be done.  

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27 minutes ago, BJM said:

I would like to see a cover that wraps the Bimini and speakers all in one. Pull The Bimini and strap it to the tower and then wrap everything and be done.  

Older Axis boats used to have that, but speaker configurations make it more cumbersome than it's worth.

On a boat with Sound Pack 3, it was a huge PITA.

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My previous boat was a 2013 A22 and you could stow the bimini in 5 mins, now it takes forever! Not very well thought out

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10 hours ago, BJM said:

I would like to see a cover that wraps the Bimini and speakers all in one. Pull The Bimini and strap it to the tower and then wrap everything and be done.  

My '16 A20 had this type setup minus the speakers.  You just pushed the bimini up against the tower then put the cover over the bimini and tower and zipped/velcro'd it up tight.  My new A24 has a setup like the OP is talking about.  I have to take the bimini off the tower, wrap it up all on itself, put it in a small boot, then strap it up against the tower.  TERRIBLE design.  You should NOT have to attach and remove the bimini to the tower every time on our style boat/tower.  Whoever changed this design at Axis should be fired.  Seriously, did whoever came up with new solution look at it and honestly say "yeah, that's better."  

Also for 2020 at least there are 2 different brands of biminis available.  One has about 8 velcro straps that attach to the tower, the other has 3 zippers and 4 velcro attachment points.  The former has the solid poles like the old bimini that have to be removed from the tower and folded into the bimini when stowed.  The latter, which is what I insisted on getting (dealer swapped it from another boat on the lot) has poles that you don't remove from the tower.  They have a hinge in the middle that you just pop and fold back along with the bimini after you've wrapped it in the boot.  This also makes it so when you're wrapping the bimini up on itself it doesn't fall down on the windshield because it's still loosely attached to the tower.  It's a compromise that works for now for me but I plan on finding a marine canvas shop that will sew me a boot big enough to allow me to wrap the bimini up along with the tower like I used to do with my old boat.  That way I won't ever have to remove the bimini from the tower.

I hope that wasn't too confusing ;)

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On 5/20/2020 at 7:12 PM, gtoddh said:

My '16 A20 had this type setup minus the speakers.  You just pushed the bimini up against the tower then put the cover over the bimini and tower and zipped/velcro'd it up tight.  My new A24 has a setup like the OP is talking about.  I have to take the bimini off the tower, wrap it up all on itself, put it in a small boot, then strap it up against the tower.  TERRIBLE design.  You should NOT have to attach and remove the bimini to the tower every time on our style boat/tower.  Whoever changed this design at Axis should be fired.  Seriously, did whoever came up with new solution look at it and honestly say "yeah, that's better."  

Also for 2020 at least there are 2 different brands of biminis available.  One has about 8 velcro straps that attach to the tower, the other has 3 zippers and 4 velcro attachment points.  The former has the solid poles like the old bimini that have to be removed from the tower and folded into the bimini when stowed.  The latter, which is what I insisted on getting (dealer swapped it from another boat on the lot) has poles that you don't remove from the tower.  They have a hinge in the middle that you just pop and fold back along with the bimini after you've wrapped it in the boot.  This also makes it so when you're wrapping the bimini up on itself it doesn't fall down on the windshield because it's still loosely attached to the tower.  It's a compromise that works for now for me but I plan on finding a marine canvas shop that will sew me a boot big enough to allow me to wrap the bimini up along with the tower like I used to do with my old boat.  That way I won't ever have to remove the bimini from the tower.

I hope that wasn't too confusing ;)

Any idea who the manufacturer is of the latter one you mentioned?  I have the one with 8 velcro straps and am trying to come up with some sort of alternative that doesn't require removing the straps and poles every time.

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1 hour ago, inis25 said:

Any idea who the manufacturer is of the latter one you mentioned?  I have the one with 8 velcro straps and am trying to come up with some sort of alternative that doesn't require removing the straps and poles every time.

I don't know offhand.  Next time I'm out I'll have a look at the label on it and let you know.  It may not be until next weekend though.

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I just keep my velcro strapped. Wrap it up and use bungee cords for now. to strap to tower. (going to buy some velcro straps soon)

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/25/2020 at 9:45 PM, gtoddh said:

I don't know offhand.  Next time I'm out I'll have a look at the label on it and let you know.  It may not be until next weekend though.

Unfortunately the bimini doesn’t have the name of the manufacturer.  There is a tag that shows “Sunbrella” but I’m pretty sure that’s just the fabric it’s made of, not who actually makes the bimini itself. Sorry. 

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I'm sure the reason why they changed it is so that they didn't have to accommodate all of the differences in speaker configurations, and working around them to make the boot work.

Personally, I just don't see the big deal. You put it up and take it down once a day. Once you get a good system/process going, it takes less than 5 minutes to put it up and take it down.

Edited by boardjnky4
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On 5/20/2020 at 10:43 AM, boardjnky4 said:

Older Axis boats used to have that, but speaker configurations make it more cumbersome than it's worth.

On a boat with Sound Pack 3, it was a huge PITA.

Not only that, but the boots tended to shred apart while towing.

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On 5/25/2020 at 6:49 PM, inis25 said:

Any idea who the manufacturer is of the latter one you mentioned?  I have the one with 8 velcro straps and am trying to come up with some sort of alternative that doesn't require removing the straps and poles every time.

Commercial Sewing made that bimini. They discontinued it because they would shred apart while towing. 

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17 minutes ago, COOP said:

Commercial Sewing made that bimini. They discontinued it because they would shred apart while towing. 

This is the first time I've ever heard this.  I don't tow very far or very fast so that wasn't my experience or anyone else I know who has/had a mid 2010's Axis.  Perhaps if you have a long way to tow at highway speeds that might have been the case.  Regardless, I don't agree that the solution is to remove the bimini from the tower and have to roll it up and stuff it in a small boot.

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On 5/20/2020 at 5:30 AM, mtvnuccio said:

Yeah, we try wrapping it before zipping up the boot. but starts to unwind by the time the boot is halfway on. im thinking of getting some velcro straps to hold everything together before installing the boot

it barely laps over the top on last wrap, try a neat and tight wrap as you go , short piece tight and neat fully around first before wrapping the the big piece, if you do this the middle where it tightens will just properly lap over the top and rest on its own just barely

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  • 1 month later...

I reclip the clips that go around the tower and then wrap the top around once. I find it is easy with 2 people, one tucking and one zipping.

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