Axis Wakeboard Boat Forum

So my bimini frame has been a major headache. Dealer ordered and installed a new one but didn't take the time to open it to make sure that it works correctly. When I did this is what I found:

. Could someone please post the correct measurements, and who do you think screwed this up? Does the tower come drilled from Malibu or is the drilling for the Bimini frame done at the dealership?

I think your Bimini is an aftermarket. My stock Bimini on my A22 uses tower clamps. It looks like you either have a Z5 or a monster Tower Bimini.

Z5 rack uses clamps with a ball fitting milled into it, no drilling. I've had 4 of them on 4 different manufacturers. However, I've not seen a drilled Bimini mount on an Axis unless they've gone to another Bimini vendor for 2015 or 2016 that I'm not aware of.

My factory one mounts just like his does...

Probably change mounts when they went to the 2nd generation tower in 2015 to current year model. 2014 and prior with 1st gen tower were clamps with milled fitting and a pin.

Makes sense as when I got a new canvas for mine they needed the serial number off it to tell what model it was.

The picture looks like the first gen tower, funny how the QC guy let that slip, it's 1.5" off on the mounting. Show that to your dealer, they should get that fixed for you.

I don't think axis has a QA guy... my boat had 10 plus obvious things that my 5 year old would have found.

WALTER - There's quite a story line behind this issue: the owner actually broke one of the mounting screws while "teaching" me how to operate the bimini. I used the boat for 2 weeks then dropped it off to have the bimini repaired and have the "missing" second battery installed. The service guy simply drilled out and put another screw in it and didn't bother open the bimini to see if everything lined up. I complained to the owner about the poor service and he said he would order another bimini. At the end of the season dealer had the boat for 7 weeks to rectify the bimini frame and a few other items. You would think that someone in service would have completely opened the bimini and locked the endballs in each socket to verify that it lines up and was functional (like I requested). I guess that involves too high-order thinking and common sense. The new bimini is still not right because I have to put so much pressure on the frame to get the last ball anywhere near the bracket socket that it feels like the bracket screw is about to snap again. Getting good service from my dealer has been a nightmare; frustrating beyond belief. I've learned alot and solved several problems through this forum along with The Malibu Crew forum. If it wasn't for the support that you guys provide I'd seriously consider selling the boat.

The mounting brackets are actually 3" off; 18" one side and 21" on the other. Strange thing is that upon further review one post of the bimini frame is a few inches longer than the other. I'm leaning on you guys to help me figure this thing out. Thanks for the help!