1987 190 Horizon Bimini

cmart · **Joined:** Sun Jun 14, 2015 4:23 pm **Posts:** 16

Hello all. New member and a new FW owner. I have purchased a 1987 190 Horizon and I would like to have some kind of shade top for it. What can I do for a Bimini top or anything of the sort?

Please bare with me on this. I am new to the aftermarket accessories on boats. My last boat was a pontoon boat years ago, so it already had the top. I love the looks of the ski towers, but not sure they can work with tops.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated. What can I get and WHERE can I get it?

Thanks!
Cory

LouC · **Posted:** Sun Jun 14, 2015 8:12 pm

You can look at the Overton's and the West Marine catalog ....
You will probably want a 6' long one that is tall enough to stand under when driving the boat .
The main thing is to figure out how you want to mount it... On the outside of the hull, or on the gunnels if possible, I have mine mounted on slider mounts so I can slide it back when fishing so its out of the way...

cmart · **Joined:** Sun Jun 14, 2015 4:23 pm **Posts:** 16

Yeah...I want it tall enough to where we can walk under it while sitting still, but not looking all gawdy.

Do you have pictures of what yours looks like on the boat? If need be I can give you my cell # where you can text the pics. I'm wanting one of these bad, but I want it to look sleek too. Being able to retract back is important to me as well for when sun is wanted.

Thank you very much!

cmart · **Joined:** Sun Jun 14, 2015 4:23 pm **Posts:** 16

If anyone has pics they can share, I'd greatly appreciate it.

LouC · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2015 3:14 pm

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ao7q5x2adv5z0 ... p.JPG?dl=0

See if this works, you can see the slider mount on the inside of the coaming panel. I did it this way for 2 reasons, one, it can easily be slid out of the way and two mounting it on the inside like that makes it easier to have a full enclosure done perhaps in the future...

cmart · **Joined:** Sun Jun 14, 2015 4:23 pm **Posts:** 16

That is exactly what I'm looking for. Do you mind telling me where you got yours and the price on it?

LouC · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2015 5:02 pm

The Bimini I got from West Marine a LONG time ago, like 10 years ago. It sat in the garage for a few years before I figured out how I wanted to put it on. I also got the slider mounts there. There are a few different choices to make...one is an aluminum vs stainless frame, the latter is more durable but more expensive. I have the aluminum and its held up well even in salt water. Fabric, I'd recommend Sunbrella, it holds up better than the cheaper ones. One thing I learned is the actual frame construction makes a big difference in how easy it is to put together. The ones put together with screws, are tougher to deal with than the ones that have the spring loaded knob that pops through the hole to secure the frame pieces. I originally got one from Overtons' that used screws and it was a royal pain to make it fit right, so sent it back and went to West Marine where I could look at it in the store. Theirs was easier to put together. You can go on their website to check prices....I forgot how much I paid....

One last thing, even though some people mount them to the windshield frame and some new boats come that way, the older FWs do not have particularly strong windshield frames so I would not mount it to that. You can do it like I did, or if the gunnels are flat, you can mount them to that. Some prefer to mount it to outside the windshield on the outer gunnels, which looks fine too. That's the part that takes the longest. Once you figure that out, then you will know how wide the top has to be, they come in different lengths, heights and widths.

nitro963 · **Joined:** Thu Apr 21, 2016 2:13 pm **Posts:** 1

LouC, what is the height of the top pictured? Thanks

Jdpber · **Posted:** Thu Apr 21, 2016 4:03 pm

spend the money on a quality top. i am MORE than EXTATICLY pleased with my Sunbrella top on the Carver stainless Frame that i ordered a couple years ago. i went a big as possible

Capt. Hoss · **Posted:** Mon Apr 25, 2016 12:58 pm

I mounted mine on the gunnels outside the windshield frame, it is tall enough for me to stand under while underway( I'm 6'2")
My fabric is Sunbrella and I have the stainless poles with the rear supports, the only thing I wish I did different was get the stainless steel ends instead of plastic. On my mount it has a hinge that will allow side to side movement as well as front to back. I will see if I can get some pictures tonight.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Apr 25, 2016 6:32 pm

nitro963 wrote:

LouC, what is the height of the top pictured? Thanks

Its still sitting in my shed, getting the boat ready this week, I'd guess its about 6' tall because I can stand under it easily. I do like the sliders to get the top out of the way if working on the engine during the season or when fishing. I usually take the top off and store it in the shed to keep it dry all winter.

rpengr · **Posted:** Thu Apr 28, 2016 8:18 am

I think Jdpber's setup is close to Ideal:
- Plenty of height to stand under.
- Solid Mounting outside the window (maximizes width and can fold backward or forward).
- Support posts at the back so the rolled up top can still be walked under.
- 3 bar setup keeps sunbrella steady.
- Rolled up top can also be layed flat for going under low bridges or for being under boat cover.

Keep in mind that it is best if the cover lays down behind the bench seat when folded down, so that the seat is still usable. That requires either long poles (low mounting position), or slide mounts like LouC has, or a second set of mounts for the lay down position.

My bimini lays right across the bench seating area when folded down, and I need to fold it down to go under bridges in my local fresh water areas. (mine mounts to top of window frame). I would like to change that or add a second set of mount points so I can lay it on the top of the sundeck, and convert to quick release mounts.

Jdpber · **Posted:** Thu Apr 28, 2016 10:24 am

yea my bimini lays nice infront of the windshield and does not compromise the bow back rest. Also can pay to the rear and does not compromise the rear seating. When the cover is on for the past WHILE (we will not get into the length of my project) it had beed forward under the boat cover and does not effect my cover one bit.

I am ver very very happy with the entirety of my setup.

www.iFourWinns.com

1987 190 Horizon Bimini

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