Getting Garuda ready to sail
In this episode I’ll show you how to make a hardtop bimini – including all the steps and materials I used (and a mistake that leaves me considering what to do next!).
Owning a boat (especially one that could use a good rehab) comes with its fair share of projects and challenges. On Garuda, replacing the old bimini was certainly on the short list of eyesores. I’d been sitting in the cockpit staring at things for a while… trying to envision a solution to keep the sun and rain off my head while at the helm. I gave a lot of thought to sewing a nice new bimini but with the dream of eventually living off-grid, I ultimately decided to build a rigid hardtop to give me a platform for mounting solar panels overhead. Now, I just had to figure out how…
With help from my friend/neighbor Gordon (and plenty of encouragement from others in the marina), I start with two sheets of nidacore, chopped strand and biaxial woven fiberglass, and plenty of polyester resin as a foundation for what follows. Next came a beefed-up frame and some cutouts to allow access to the rigging… then a gutter to catch the rain, some electrical conduit for lights (and a mounting location for the required stern light), and feet for attaching the solar panels… this is turning out to be a real project!
I hope you enjoy watching me get creative on this project… even though it really doesn’t go my way.
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