Bimini pole mount?

[wkearney99]

I'm considering the addition of bit of fabric as a sun shade over the cockpit on our Eastbay. I recently saw a Sabre 42 that had an interesting setup. His boat had two poles mounted at the stern corners. Sort of like fishing rod holders. I neglected to get a picture or contact info.

The poles had a collar around the bottom that appeared to click into the mounting holes. Not just a friction fit into a rod holder style arrangement. This was nice in that it didn't require any additional downward holding line to keep the pole in place. That and it didn't protrude below anywhere near as deeply as you'd expect from a rod holder mount. The owner's comment was the connection was secure enough to allow leaving the poles in the mounts when underway.

The poles were probably 1" in diameter, maybe 1.25".

Yes, I realize any old generic rod holder mount could be employed but without some sort of positive locking of the pole I'd have to make use of an additional line to pull pressure down from the top to hold the pole/cover down. Had I not seen this locking setup I'd well have resigned myself to having to use that.

I did not see what the pole had on the end.

I google a bit and this may have been it.

GM650 Gunwale Mount | A Burnewiin Boat Accessory.

Anyone seen locking pole mounts like this for a sun shade?

 

[GFC]

If you're planning on leaving the pole(s) in place on a permanent basis, why not mount them to the surface of the transom instead of using a pole holder? Here's what ours looks like. The weight of the bimini and frame are partially held by the attachment to the radar arch and also by the two poles on either side of the transom door. I didn't want any poles on the aft corners of the bimini. Having them on either side of the transom door gives a handhold for people getting on and off.

 

[HopCar]

This flag pole socket looks like it has a locking mechanism or a thumb screw.
https://www.amazon.com/Five-Oceans-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=82C0TPH5856W95864VR6

 

[HopCar]

This the type of mount that GFC uses. It’s available with a quick release pin.
https://www.suncorstainless.com/sites/default/files/S3682-2000.pdf

 

[Crusty Chief]

Sorta like this one? This does not appear to have a locking mechanism.

 

[wkearney99]

Our cockpit transom door isn't centered, it's off to starboard. That and there are hawse pipe holes on the top of the gunwales, not cleats. So in a few docking scenarios it'd be problematic to leave the poles permanently installed.

I get your point about the hand-railing effect, that looks like it'd work nicely (looks good too). No outside supports? We have enough kids onboard as guests to make that an invitation for someone to hang on the outer rim, likely at the risk of bending something. That and the tide at our fixed docks would likely have people stepping down into the boat, further increasing the likelihood of pulling forces being applied.

There's also the sentiment the wife's expressed about not having that area permanently covered. We have the covered flybridge and the salon, so having the cockpit covered 'all the time' isn't really necessary. We have a friend with an Eastbay 49SX that has a temporary fabric sun shade and we're looking to largely emulate that, but using different poles.

One thing I'll have to consider is how the shade will extend (above) from the flybridge brow back to the transom. Especially along the gunwales. There's steps on the sides (that lead up) and I'd want to avoid the shade being 'in the way' of anyone stepping up through there. I'll have to 'eye it up' with some string to see just what kind of profile it'd require.

 

[Comodave]

Canvas Designers in Florida makes a setup that does what you want but does use fishing rod holders to temporarily mount the poles.