What is the Best & Easiest Way to Finish a Bimini?

[Mike Heltborg]

Hi All,

Just doing up afew practice Bimini's before my trip in a few weeks and was wondering if i was finishing it the best way.
I first do a half hitch on one leg of the double to hold it....then i use the pull through with about 6 wraps.
i have been struggling to get it tight, so i then tried another method with 5 hitches on each side (alternate) but it turned into abit of a messy blob and the last hitch works loose quite easily.

What do you guys use...that is easy to do on a rocking boat?

cheers
mh

[Andy Rowe]

After locking down the twists to the point where the braid glazes or changes colour slightly, I do a half hitch on each leg followed by a locking knot with 4 wraps, I generally don't do more than 4 wraps here as it keeps the knot profile low and neat. Also critical to leave a long enough tag so that you can get a couple of wraps on your glove at this point to really snug down the locking knot. Provided all parts of the knot are properly locked down this method rarely fails me.

[Chris Young]

The best way to finish a bimini is with a pull through loop, this is the same as you are already doing but with no half hitch. The problem with having the half is it stops the pull through coming up tight, ie its supposed to pull back up into the bimini.

The easiest way to finish a bimini is to just use about a dozen opposing half hitches,make sure you pull them all up tight.

The best and easiest way in a rocking boat is to not do it...Take a spare spool!

I have been trialing a new knot for connecting to twisted leaders that deletes the bimini from the whole system. Hasn't failed me yet , very small ,no double, easy to tie in any situation.

 

[Travis Heaps]

Half hitch over one leg, half hitch over the other leg and then two half hitches over both legs.  Never failed me, quick and easy.

[Sam Conacher]

The best way to finish a bimini is with a pull through loop, this is the same as you are already doing but with no half hitch. The problem with having the half is it stops the pull through coming up tight, ie its supposed to pull back up into the bimini.

The easiest way to finish a bimini is to just use about a dozen opposing half hitches,make sure you pull them all up tight.

The best and easiest way in a rocking boat is to not do it...Take a spare spool!

I have been trialing a new knot for connecting to twisted leaders that deletes the bimini from the whole system. Hasn't failed me yet , very small ,no double, easy to tie in any situation.

 



Hi Chris.

may i ask as i am just wondering,

what is this new knot called?

[Mike Heltborg]

Thanks guys......just tried all the above and have some more confidence. The pullthrough loop came up better without the half hitch and then cranking it up with gloves on.
One more questions on the bimini itself.....does it matter if there is any gaps when you wind the line back down over the twisted section towards the loop?....or does it need to nice and neat so you can not see the layer below?

cheers
mh

[Chris Young]

Sam..I don't really have a name for the knot. I started out using basically the same catspaw as you would use with a bimini. The only difference being an open loop where you would have had a bimini loop, then use oposing half hitches to lock it off.
I have since simplified it further by threading the braid through the twisty loop, wind braid around the twisted leader section 20 times, pass braid tag back through the twisty loop , lube it with spit and pull it all down tight then lock it off with half hiches.
There's a pic of the first one on the twisted leader thread (pg8)

Crusty

[Brandon Khoo]

Here is an example of what Chris is talking about.

[Sam Beeby]

so you form an open ended loop in the braid, and then with those twin strands of braid basically tie an albright - half hitching the braid tag to the braid mainline?