For those of you with aft-enclosures . . .

[Gin]

Mark, our factory-built bimini is constructed so that you can zipper back openings to give more head clearance as you get out on either port or starboard sides. Very helpful. I've wondered how those would work (if they would work, really) with a panel attached to them as part of the aft enclosure. Maybe the entire panel would roll up along with the zippered bimini panel? A good point about that, and one I've been wondering about.

Thanks for sharing the idea about having the width of the canvas below the window material. Narrowing it to the minimum would sure make sense.

Thanks!

- Gini

 

[daviduphoff]

1. I recommend having a bag made for storage. It will protect the canvas and eisenglass when not in use and makes it easy to haul aft when needed.

Great idea! Our canvas comes down and gets tossed wherever.

 

[Irish Mist]

Gini
The side panels roll up with the cut out in the Bimini and have two tie up straps One for just rolling up the side pane and one to leave the side panel attached and roll it all up together for easy access.. As far as storage on my boat R29 I have the cushion from the table on the back wall of the cave and there is room to put the rolled op panels between the cushion and the door ( I only remove the few that dont roll up ) If all mine rolled up Inwould most likely never remove them ..

 

[cjfantz]

We have the enclosure on our 29' Ranger Tug that is located at CRYC in Portland if you need to take a look. We will be gone the first 3 weeks of September upriver but you can contact us after that date. Jerry and Cheryl SEAJAY

 

[Gin]

Jerry and Cheryl, a kind offer. Will PM you.

Gini

 

[EdHut]

Good morning. We'd love any updates on aft enclosure canvas for our RT 25 SC (2017) "Tugbert"
We're in Seattle and have contacted King Canvas. Just wondering if anybody has new info or recommendations about sources or configuration. Thanks, Ed

 

[SJI Sailor]

King did ours two years ago and we are very happy with it. I would use them again. It makes year round boating in PNW much more comfortable!

Agree with most of the other observations here. Screens are not needed in PNW. We leave it on year round and have not missed having a storage bag. However, the windows do get stiff whenever I forgot to unroll them for a while.

BTW if you leave it closed up and unoccupied for too long (e.g. a week or more) it can get mildew. We close it only when using it.

 

[bill46]

We have full cockpit canvas, with screens. Removed after first season and keep at house along with cockpit carpet. Bimini is useful. Even with full enclosure insects find way in cracks, tried having some zippers replaced with longer, but still can not make tight. Cannot use fold out seats, handle lines or fenders when enclosed.
Bill

 

[EdHut]

Now that we've had our aft canvas for a couple of years, the next question is whats the best cleaner/polish/protectorate. Every boat owner knows there is a lot of snake oil out there. What works? Thanks for your experiences. Ed

Note: King made our aft canvas as recommended. We did ask for the zips on the cabin side but didn't get them--oversite on both parties. The snaps are a PITA, but we haven't gotten around to having it fixed.

 

[glider4]

For cleaning the canvas top of our Bimini I use a bit of diluted dishwashing soap and a long handled soft brush. Then a long rinse with fresh water. This gets all of the bird poop that gets on the canvas. I have used Meguiar's PlastX Clear Plastic Polish on the “glass” side panels. It helps but isn’t a miracle worker.
Our C-28 did not come a with King Canvas Bimini top and side enclosure panels. The original owner had an unknown shop make it up. The top is double thick - one layer of canvas on top of the SS tubes and a second layer under the tubes. It all zips together and is so strong it’s designed to be trailered with it in place. Really would love to know who built this durable and extra strong Bimini enclosure system.
The side panels (3 sections on each side) zip to the top panel and zip to each other vertically but use snaps to the vertical cabin corner and just above the gunwale rub strip. The larger side section had “glass” inserts sewed into the panel. We had solid “curtains” made that cover the “glass” from the inside and Velcro in place. All the side panels are light. They roll up and snap in place at the top when not in use. We also take them down and easily store them in the cave when we are trailering. All in all pretty light.
On the C-28 our Magma grill is mounted to the rear port side cockpit rail so we can’t have that panel in place when we are using the grill. That’s a bit disappointing.
At one time there was a stern canvas cover but it wasn’t included in the sale and we haven’t felt the need to replace it. At least not yet. Having the shaded cockpit area to relax in it really nice on a hot summer day or during a spring shower. The canvas is not 100% waterproof at all the seams and snaps and some water does get on the cockpit floor in a heavy rain.
We really like the option of the glass side panels that can be covered with the curtains when the sun is pouring in.

 

[PanaSeaAh]

Our R25 had full enclosure curtains for the bimini that I think were made after the original purchase. We usually run with only the bimini up except in foul weather. A couple of things we learned: The curtains were all screened which is great but probably overkill. One zippered screen panel on each side is probably more than enough. Fully agree with the idea of having the strip with the zipper on each side of the cabin. This makes getting aboard and out so much better than coping with the snaps. All the suggestions preceding this post are really useful. The flaps to allow access to the mooring cleats are essential.
What did we change? The entire enclosure was navy blue, and it was darker than you-know-what inside with all the side curtains up. We had the rear center curtain panel replaced with a polyvinyl chloride window panel that will roll easily for storage, and dramatically increase the light in the cockpit when you want it. We added a lightweight curtain material that easily hooks on the inside of that window curtain for privacy if desired. This can also be done with additional snaps.
One other thought: Our navy blue tops have black zippers. These zippers are almost impossible to see after dark, and therefore difficult to put together. I would recommend white (or contrasting color) zippers for ease of assembly regardless of the material color. We also added a flap at the bottom of the section over the stern door that folds up and snaps on the inside of that door because the birds found that opening under the edge of that panel into the cockpit. The only water we get into the cockpit comes from the roof gutters on the cabin.
The storage bag we have is flat and the same size as each curtain folded in half, except the rear window, which we roll and put in the bottom of the bag (never fold a PVC window panel). Allows the curtains to be stored and removed in the order that we install them. Stows well in the cave. Fabric handles make it easy to handle and retrieve.
We also numbered the curtains with a marker next to the top zipper to make installation easier.

 

[Kgcmflyer]

Here is how we did our aft enclosure on our Cutwater. Makes the boat so much more comfortable and useable and we stay totally dry….We built it with a flatter “roof”, instead of the traditional folding (arched) bows, and used the water proof sunbrella with the vinyl liner for the top. Then we added “dingy storage” rails….nice light dingy with electric outboard…works great! We call it our “back porch”…. Even have a TV on the aft center section….(upgraded to a larger one once we knew the concept worked… Heat and Air from boat keeps the enclosure comfortable too with the door open and folding window up….We did add a diesel heater to our boat just so we could have heat without running the gen set. Also added a rear facing camera displaying on chart-plotter for docking and running visibility, but that was needed even without enclosure. The fold out seats are still useable with the panels over the seats rolled up, but we seldom use them. We asked several canvas shops and got the big “NO” with our idea or outrageous $50,000 + prices so we bought the material and did the work ourselves….(about $4K in materials & 3 weeks of work)… I did frame work snaps, & mechanical stuff and the wife did sewing and sewing and more sewing! Three years and 200 hours with no issues, total comfort and we even tow with it fully enclosed…. Very important to properly design the access to bow, fenders, cleats and electrical connections, as others have mentioned. We did have to go back and add a few zippers and make minor mods after using it the first season and getting the final details worked out, but we are not canvas experts and had a few things to learn!

The German Shepards love the space, And we did not have to buy a bigger boat!!! 😀

Hopefully the links to photos work….

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fpat0kv5 ... 2ccyz&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wj8n9q61 ... fyq0u&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/sfsmj3qp ... i956h&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lwbnmoaf ... 1qnz8&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/k22oxabx ... l1l1h&dl=0

 

[SKing]

Pictures are the best form of communication. Here is our canvas. We opted to have the most visibility in our cockpit. We also are in a boat house, so water tight is needed durring operation only. Also think about the top without the windows installed which is how you will be using it in the summer. The installers made 4 trips to the boat to fit the canvas, so pick someone local, or take your boat near them if you don't want them to build in travel costs.

Steps are;
Measure design.
Install framework and pattern top.
install top and pattern sides.
Install sides
Any additional rework that you identify.

At each step you should be present and identify any potential problems that you think are critical, because once they've passed from that step to the next you don't have much choice to change things.

Steve King

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kkwFxr33UShuorV2A