Alpha Z bimini rope interference

[light200]

I have the alpha z tower with the bimini collapsed for storage, it seems to sit a little behind the tower when all folded up and looks like the rope from a wakeboarder will pull down on it and put some stress on it. Is this normal? Has anyone ever had a problem with this?

[cwestbrook]

alpha tower

Yes I have had the same problem. I thought mine was bent and contacted tige they said it was fine. So we shall see cause I don't think it will be fine

[douglasl]

No interference for us while surfing, although we haven't try wakeboarding yet.

[lohe]

Do you have a pic?

[Dave S]

I never tried to pull anyone while the bimini was in it's stored position, to darn hot here, calling for 103 today, but I don't think it will happen.

[bigdaddy_houseboater]

Hey Dave.. where in Houston do you ski? I have a buddy who lives at The Lago Santa Fe. Just wondering....

[jmitchell]

We had the same issue our first time out with our Z1. We will probably keep the bimini stored 50% of the time we use the boat. Initially we cinched the straps up that hold the bimini in place (stored position) and ran the rope under the bimini. I think it worked pretty well with the angle of the rope. Plus, if there was any stress at all I would rather lift up on the stored bimini than push weight down on it. Another alternative would be to let all the slack out of the straps and keep the bimini well below the tow point. Problem with this is that the straps are super short and then the bimini will be in the way of the tower speakers. Not sure the placement of the stored bimini was totally thought through by Tige when they built the Alpha Z tower.

What are others doing?

[Braceguy]

Bimini or no Bimini and how hard is it to prep for hauling.

All of you are great. Please help me out. Every boat over the years I never use the Bimini. Now I have a 2012 Z3. It's a incredible piece of equipment. My first question is the Surf Pocket Bimini worth having it on the Z3? I am not talking dollars. 2nd how hard is it to prep for hauling?
Any other pointers. Thanks early for the info

[austx2008]

Hi Group!
I use the Alpha Z tower with the Surf Bimini. The surf pockets on top give us plenty of extra room in the boat.
When the local Marina (Tige Dealer) installed the Bimini I noticed the same issue that you are all referencing.
They said it was normal and no wear or tear would come from a rope. I put maybe 15 hours on it and you can already see a slight line from the rope moving back and forth (also remember I have the reinforced fabric at the back to protect from sliding surf boards in and out). It has to be a design flaw (in my opinion) that hopefully they fix in 2013 series. (I would love to see a G23 style forward Bimini)
The other option is finding the Alpha Z tow extension. It adds an additional clearance of about 6 inches.

[NHarp1]

I experienced the same issue with my RZR. The surf rope did rub on the Bimini a bit and was wearing the rope fibers. I installed some Teflon tape on the rope to add some slickness on the rope area to avid less friction.

After observing the rope angle of wake surfing vs wake boarding, we loop the rope over/under the bemini based on the sport.
We put the surf rope over the Bimini and over the tower anchor.

We put the wake board rope under the bemini and then over the tower anchor.

[konajay]

Could you take your Bimini in to a local upholstery shop and have them sew an extra piece of fabric over the piece that comes in contact with the rope? I had mine reinforced this way when mine was made.

[Ewok]

I have no idea what you guys are talking about, are your bimini's actually above the top of the arch of the tower? My bimini sits dead even with the top of the tower and when I'm pulling riders the bow rise makes it almost impossible for the rope to drag on the folded bimini. But I usually ride with the bimini on, and I have the extension and surf pockets too. I LOVE the surf pockets. I only have 2 boards and my friends who ride don't own surfboards so if they bring wakeboards i've got plenty of room in my standard board racks. Here is a rear pic of my bimini folded up if you zoom in you can see its just about level with the top of the tower. IDK how you guys are able to thread the rope below the bimini.

[lorney]

I agree with Ewok. I have never had a problem with mine. If I ever threaded the rope under the bimini when it was in stored position I would think the rope would pull up on it causing even more stress. Maybe some biminis sit up higher in the stored position.