Height of Bimini or Soft Top Half Tower

[John Nardi]

I am putting a Soft Top half tower on my boat...Was wondering what the head clearance should be or the total height from the helm floor platform to the bottom of the top? My guy is building it 80-81 inches and it seems very high?? 6' 8 " I'm only 5' 9 but obviously that is not the deciding factor...Any thought would be appreciated...Thanks, John

[Carl]

Don't go by me as my tall friends and father in law hit their head on my tower.

I hate heights, didn't want to add weight up any higher then I had to and thought the tower just looked correct at the height I made it.
Me being 5-9" I gave myself a couple inches think it's 71 or 72".
Luckily my wife is my height and most of my friends and family are vertically challenged.


On thing...If I was going for a half tower I might consider going a bit higher to mount my fishing rods underneath.
I really like them there...but my drawback is the sticky fingers in the harbor.
Had them picked from my cabin once...that was enough.

[Yannis]

If its a bimini it doesn't really matter cos you don't add that much weight anyway.
Mine is at the height where with my arms not fully extended upwards I can do the zippers easily. I am 186, like 6.2”, it should be a foot over my head.

[ktm_2000]

Depends on where you boat and what the top is made out of....

the florida guys want the top a good distance off their head so the heat of the sun doesn't warm up the top and radiate down on them.

Me personal I don't like hitting my head, and don't like being confined so I would want 6" or so over my height for clearance. I'm reasonably tall so it shouldn't be a problem for most people.

[John Nardi]

Thanks all...This was helpful

[John F.]

I can check mine tomorrow. The bimini on Crows Nest is lower than I wanted, but works well for me because I’m short. B31 is a pretty short boat for a FB, and I think the lines get a little off if the bimini or hard top is too tall

[Yannis]

Today I splashed my boat and as I was up on the fb I remembered your question so I measured it with my body and arms.
My bimini top is so that 4 fingers fit between my head and the canvas at the center of the arc. I thought it was more...
So Im 186 plus around 10 for the 4 fingers, Id say the bimini stands at 195. How’s that for precision mathematics!