Bimini Mounting Options for Your Raft
There are several Bimini Mounting options commercially available for a whitewater raft. While we can’t recommend all of these options as meeting our criteria for strength, safety, pricing, and compatibility, they are options that can be used based on the needs of a specific boat. Regardless of how it’s mounted, we absolutely recommend mounting a bimini to your boat - they’re great for keeping sun off of you and your passengers during flatwater stretches and at camp.
Amazon: There are mounts and slide tracks designed for power boats that can be screwed into decking on rafts. Many of these are designed for the sloped surface of a powerboat, so be sure to find mounts that are designed to be installed on a horizontal surface. Positives for these are price. Negatives are height, sharp edges, flat head screws, can only be installed on decking, and a much weaker mounting that may not be up to the task for whitewater use.
River Sombrero: These mounts are only available to customers who buy a bimini from River Sombrero, so aren’t really commercially available in our book. With that in mind, they use a u-bolt, a chunky aluminum disk, and flat head screws to mount a power boat style bimini mount to your frame. This system uses more fasteners and parts than any of the other options, and costs $90-$95 (but only if you also purchase their bimini for between ~$310 and $686) Positives are the aluminum is machined locally and the bimini will always fit the mounts as they are bought together. The negatives are availability, price, flat head screws, many parts, much heavier and larger than other raft specific mounts without any additional strength due to the small flathead screws, and requires tools to remove the bimini.
DRE: These are nicely machined aluminum mounts, available for around $105. The unique feature of these mounts is that they are the easiest design to install on a fully assembled raft because the mount doesn’t go all the way around the frame. These mounts however don’t use pins, so removing the bimini requires tools, either a screw driver to remove the bimini and leave the mounts, or a hex key to remove the bimini and the mounts together. Positives are easy installation. Negatives are high price, shorter height can interfere with oar towers, and tools are required to remove the bimini.
Better Mounts: By far the least expensive mount that is specifically designed for whitewater. The mount is a single stainless piece, with a stainless u-bolt, flip tip pins for easy bimini removal, and flange head nyloc nuts that don’t require fiddly washers and use a 1/2 wrench that is common for many raft frames. This mount is the strongest and simplest to use, and can be had for $59-$85 depending on size and finish. Taller versions are available to clear oar towers and make folding flat easy. Positives are price, strength, no tools needed to remove bimini, height, size and finish options. Negatives are that initial installation requires a u-bolt, which while rugged, is more difficult to install on a fully assembled boat. Stepping on the tube near the installation location can allow installation on a fully assembled raft.
Bimini Information: All of the bimini mounts listed above will work with most biminis on the market. We find that a three bow bimini does well to shade the rower, while a four bow bimini will shade the rower and any passengers. A bimini with two straps at the front and two straps at the rear will allow it to be quickly and easily collapsed and stowed before entering any spicy rapids. We find these biminis from Leader Accessories on Amazon to fit the bill well, at a reasonable price point.
