hey, are the monster bimini's pretty decent?

billymac · Newbie Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 45 City: seattle

it would be nice not to have straps, but going full custom would cost a fortune. any monster bimini owners out there?

Cyclonecj · Soul Rider Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 338 City: Atlanta

My pal put one on his Monster tower, it's huge and super nice. Very sturdy. Not cheap, though. Get what you pay for.

Bushtree · Newbie Joined: 21 Apr 2005 Posts: 9 City: San Diego

just ordered one for my 05 SAN ill let you know in a week what i think of it. Smile

AirProfile · Addict Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 602 City: Brookfield

i have a bimmini on my horizon 200 four winns i'm still thinking about getting monster tower on it would i be able to keep bimmini?
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Vaporizer Volcano

gilby00 · Outlaw Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 216 City: Sparks

probably not, I have a 01 bu response and monster tower, My bimini won't work with the tower, i've been tossing around the idea of buying the monster bimini, i've heard good things about them, but $500.00 OUCH

gchapman · Newbie Joined: 25 Apr 2005 Posts: 13 City: Houston

Bimini is a great product. One thing I ran into is if you have a boat with a wide distance between the heim joints it cuts down the head clearance on the expanded bimini. I also had an existing bimini on the boat, no luck with making that work.

However, the installation is quite easy, plus I think everyone on this site knows what quality customer support you get from Monster.

well worth it.

AirProfile · Addict Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 602 City: Brookfield

gilby00 · Outlaw Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 216 City: Sparks

then I guess you don't have a decison to make, but if you install a different tower and you don't like it, and your bim doesn't work, you'll be kickin your own arse Shocked

Fishmaster · Posted: Aug 08, 2005 7:20 am Post subject:

Our bimini's are made by Great Lakes Boat Top (that does the OEM/Factory work for SeaRay, Malibu and a ton of other boat companies). They designed the bimini to work with our tower and if you compare ours to any other tower bimini you'll see it is priced lower than the others, but still steep for a few sticks of aluminum, a few yards of fabric and a few fittings. A big part of the problem is it must go on a big truck, box is to big to ship UPS, and that's $75 to $125 in just shipping.

The only company I've seen with a more universal product is tubelite ( http://www.bartswatersports.com/catalog.asp?P=6554 ) but thats not any better pricing.

There is a good business opportunity out there for someone that can come up with affordable biminis that fit any tower. You'd think that since I also own an awning company ( http://www.easyawn.com ) we could figure it out but after many runs at it we've put it on the back burner and rely on Great Lakes.

billymac · Newbie Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 45 City: seattle

i got mine last week and installed it in about 30 minutes.

it's made well, as well as any i've seen. i was a little disappointed in the overall height of it when extended, but I don't see how it could be made any different without comprimising strength or hindering the ability to store it up to the tower. the height doesn't really seem to do much with the overall beam width or distance between heim joints as it's a height issue, not a width issue. that's just more to do with the bends in the metal. we'll see how she does this weekend on the water and under some wind. i know that my dealer was going to charge me about $900 installed for a bimini about twice as big and a little taller (before i decided to install a monster tower), so the pricing is in line as far as i can tell. i just hope she holds up. better height than my convertible top though at least, so that's good. i'm still pleased with my two purchases from monster and am pretty confident they'll bring me lots of good times. i'm a little concerned however about being able to stow the bimini and purchase monster tower speakers though. i've written monster, but haven't gotten a response yet. from the pictures and from my own experience, i don't see how it's possible have monster tower speakers AND be able to store the bimini. it looks like the Bimini would hit the speakers and not be able to be stowed during towing or high speeds. hopefully, i'll hear back from them soon.

Fishmaster · Posted: Aug 08, 2005 10:46 am Post subject:

billymac - sorry to hear nobody got back, going to have to go kick some _ _ _ !

The bimini and speakers do fit together. You turn the telescoping legs toward the rear of the boat and keep the bimini in the boot stored in front of the speakers. We always remove it for shoots unless it is open so you can see the speakers. PM me if you want me to get a picture for you with it stowed in the boot.

billymac · Newbie Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 45 City: seattle

pm sent!

hey since i got your attention, one of the other questions i had was what is a good household cleaner to use for cleaning and polishing the tower. i have a couple long haul trips coming up and am going to see some bugs. i want something that i can quickly use to clean the bugs off and clean up the tower before i launch. can you recommend something that will clean and polish without scratching?

tia

Fishmaster · Posted: Aug 08, 2005 12:19 pm Post subject:

I'll get some pics and send to you and post up here showing how the bimini stores with the speakers.

For long trips I fold the tower down but last year the boat was stuffed with trade show things for SurfExpo so we had to leave the tower up. I used streatch wrap ( http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_2965.asp ) to cover the tower, bimini, speakers, lights, everthing. Took about 10 minutes to put on, same to remove and everything was perfectly clean. Probably less time than cleaning a tower covered with Florida love bugs!

I use a few drops of dishwashing soap to wash my boat / tower / seat / etc. and then use a coat of turtle was or other basic car was to clean my tower up. There are shelves and shelves of aluminum cleaners but I've found soapy water, a towel and a little elbow grease does well. Love to hear any good products people have found.

billymac · Newbie Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 45 City: seattle

okay, thanks. look forward to seeing some pics.

so on the cleaner, that's cool. sounds like the mcguires quick spray wax i have for the boat will work on the tower too. i just wasn't sure. didn't want to ruin the finish.

thanks again

Fishmaster · Posted: Aug 11, 2005 11:50 am Post subject:

Here is the pictures and PM me if you want the high res ones.

Fishmaster · Posted: Aug 11, 2005 11:52 am Post subject:

Oh yeah, if anyone notices the mirror, we will have an adapter that works with our existing mirror bracket so it can hold the Cipa Extreme mirror. The adapter will be $35 and be available in early Nov. Will probably do a mirror bracket and adapter package but we dont plan on selling the Extreme mirror.

Centrider · Outlaw Joined: 21 Mar 2005 Posts: 232

I take it you have to move the speakers before you open the bimini?

wakeman61972 · Outlaw Joined: 11 Aug 2005 Posts: 120

wakeman61972 · Outlaw Joined: 11 Aug 2005 Posts: 120

nice tower Colorful

Fishmaster · Posted: Aug 11, 2005 7:20 pm Post subject:

No need to move the speakers, the rear bow of the bimini is on telescoping legs that let it go past the speakers without moving anything. The telescoping leg has a good pic at http://www.monstertower.com/images/MonsterBiminiTelescope.jpg

Here's a picture with the bimini open.

midwesty · Posted: Aug 11, 2005 11:05 pm Post subject:

very nice...i dont think there is a decent bimini out there that doesnt have straps...otherwise that thing is goin to flop around like a dik in the wind!nice job on the bimini

midwesty · Posted: Aug 11, 2005 11:08 pm Post subject:

very nice...i dont think there is a decent bimini out there that doesnt have straps...otherwise that thing is goin to flop around like a dik in the wind!nice job on the bimini