April 13, 2013

Late last week I bought a Bimini on eBay. When I arrived home on Thursday there was a large package by the front door.

Hot dog!

Like a kid Christmas morning, I tore into it. Now, a reasonable person would take it to the boat, or at least the harbor, before putting it together. So, I'm not always reasonable.

I cleared space in the living room and started inserting sections of tubing. It quickly became obvious that this thing was bigger than I thought it would be. I was a a bit concerned that I'd ordered the wrong size.

Now, this Bimini has aluminum tubes to support it when it is furled. As I was turning it to try to get more room to open it, one of the tubes swept across the fireplace hearth and shattered a little class container that my wife had placed there. It had scented oil and several of those reeds to diffuse the scent. The room became heavily scented as the oil ran down the hearth and across the wood floor.

I had yet another occasion to see my wife's “What on Earth are you doing?” look. But, since the matter was cleaned up quickly, I wasn't in trouble long.

A friend met me at the boat Friday after work and we tested several locations before finding one that seemed promising. It was quickly apparent that the aluminum support tubes wouldn't work. There wasn't a position that would work both furled and open. I removed the tubes and will have to buy nylon straps.

Today I drilled the holes, applied the sealant and installed the mounts. Tomorrow, the Bimini will be installed.