Samson Bimini vs Monster Bimini

[BrownClown]

I would like some opinions from those of you that have either one of these biminis. I'm replacing the factory Bimini from hell and these two are the only plug and play that I can find for my Z tower.
So...
-how easy are they to put up/take down?
-can one person do it?
-do they rattle when stowed?
-do they offer good coverage?

All opinions are appreciated!!!

[MoneyPity]

I have the Samson on my Samson Razor tower and we are happy with it. it uses slide rails to position and is very easy to put up and take down. We have not heard rattles from it like the darn poles on the Tige Bimini on the E-Series Tower.

I do not know if the Samson top can be adapted to the Tige E-Series tower because of the slide rails Samson tops use. The top is nice but it is not a large bimini. it covers the drivers seat and about 18 inches behind it with high sun. You will still get plenty of sun in the rear of the boat.

I would price a local canvas shop to build one for your boat.

I sold my sunbrella canvas from the tige top I had and the buyer had the poles made custom. My poles sort of had a fight with a carport. Carport Won Insurance bought me the Samson which we really like.

[Nobody]

I have the Samson on my Samson Razor tower and we are happy with it. it uses slide rails to position and is very easy to put up and take down. We have not heard rattles from it like the darn poles on the Tige Bimini on the E-Series Tower.

I do not know if the Samson top can be adapted to the Tige E-Series tower because of the slide rails Samson tops use. The top is nice but it is not a large bimini. it covers the drivers seat and about 18 inches behind it with high sun. You will still get plenty of sun in the rear of the boat.

I would price a local canvas shop to build one for your boat.

I sold my sunbrella canvas from the tige top I had and the buyer had the poles made custom. My poles sort of had a fight with a carport. Carport Won Insurance bought me the Samson which we really like.

I have neither.

[highrock]

Thats a sick looking bimini nobody....is it fixed mounted or can you fold it down?

[BrownClown]

Money,
Samson swears that their Bimini will fit my Z tower as it's nearly the same as the Razor. I would live to have a local shop build one, but the one shop that built frames is no longer in business.

Nobody,
How much did your setup cost? Can it be stowed and towed? Or is it fixed?

[Nobody]

Thats a sick looking bimini nobody....is it fixed mounted or can you fold it down?

Custom job by local fabricator (not just an average fab guy).
It's hotter than hell down here in FL, and we wanted a way to hide from the brutal sun and have longer days on the water. This bimini does just that. Its also keeps the ladies out of the shade....VERY IMPORTANT. The canvas comes off really fast with 5 zippers. The tower can still come down or off, but it's not something you want to do often. We put a few lighting goodies on it this winter for night time cruising in the intercoatal. We enjoy droping the boat at the local intercoastal ramp and heading down the coast to a favorite restaurant or two, or three.

5 EURO led (blue / white) with 4 dim levels for each color.
4 forward PIAA 85watt super white drive ligths
1 forward PIAA 85watt fog light
1 LED transom light (swim deck light)
2 down light (spot lights), one for driver dash, one for port side passenger, both led 20 degrees.

[MoneyPity]

That is one slick top. It is a winner in style and look. I would venture that the top cost what my whole tower cost. Wow!

[MoneyPity]

[QUOTE=BrownClown;407938]Money,
Samson swears that their Bimini will fit my Z tower as it's nearly the same as the Razor. I would live to have a local shop build one, but the one shop that built frames is no longer in business.

It may be adaptable to the Z tower but I couldn't guarantee it. The Samson Bimini uses 2 slide rails and it's rear supports snap into fittings built into tower and the front is fastened down with straps. I don't have any pictures of my Samson top put up. I would talk to Scott at Samson how their top adapts to the Z tower. They might make one for the Tige Z tower. ragboy might be able to answer also. he is a Samson rep and he switched out his Tige E series tower to a Switchblade Model.

[mikehayburn]

DUDE!!! AWESOME BIMINI!!!!!!NICE SETUP.. If you would.. can you tell me where you got the lights... (directional spotlights) Ive been lookin forever..Thank you

[Nobody]

DUDE!!! AWESOME BIMINI!!!!!!NICE SETUP.. If you would.. can you tell me where you got the lights... (directional spotlights) Ive been lookin forever..Thank you

Mike,

No need to look anymore....

I bought the down spot light from here: http://www.yachtlights.com/item--Tub...ITE--ILIM90111 They fit a 1.25" pole and are made by IMTRA.

Then I bought the LED lamps from
http://www.ledwaves.com/Illum-MR-11-...D-p-19620.html

The exact bulbs are: Illum MR-11 LED Light Bulb 2-Watt (Cree XLamp XRE LED)
Cool White, Narrow, GZ4.0, 12VDC/VAC 50/60Hz

The lamps are on sale for 1/2 price, we painted them black.
The light bulbs are a narrow 16-20 degree patter, they worked out perfect. Cree makes really good stuff. I don't recommend LEDwaves.com...it took 6 weeks to get the bulbs and they never once bothered to inform us, we had to chase them for the product.
Amp draw in almost nothing with LED bulbs