Zipper size on bimini top

[mous]

Zipper on the bimini-top worn out. The Canvas enclosure has been kept at home all the time so it's in perfect condition. Need to change the Zipper on the bimini but there are many sizes and shapes. Any help with selecting the right size and length for Grady 228 - 2004

 

[seasick]

Probably a #10 separating zipper, with dual pull. It looks like plastic teeth. Maybe It could be a YKK brand but regardless, you have to replace both sides, the one half on the Bimini top and the other half on the curtain.
If you are planning on doing the job yourself, you will need a heavy duty machine and probably a zipper foot. They come in both left and right configs and ideally you need both.
Here is an example

YKK® #10 Black Separating Molded Tooth Zipper (Delrin® Double Pull Slider)

DetailsThis is a #10 separating zipper by YKK® with a double pull, locking zipper slider. Featuring black teeth and tape with a Delrin® double pull slider, this zipper will blend into your canvas projects. The locking, double pull slider can be pulled from either side of the zipper chain and...

www.sailrite.com

 

[Hookup1]

Yes #10 zipper. One or two pulls, locking and non-locking. Plastic or metal. White or black. Make sure its a Vislon for strait zipper not a coil zipper.

Go with plastic. You may need to do some sewing depending on how the zipper stop is done. Sometimes its a clip but frequently its fabric.

For DIY Sailrite is the best! To be honest with you I would take it to my local shop.

 

[glacierbaze]

If the zipper is still good(box, teeth, tape, stitching), and the slide is the problem, that is a pretty simple fix, on the boat. The box is what joins the 2 halves together. Slide the slider all the way to the other end, and remove whatever is keeping it on the teeth. I could be a sewn tab, or one of the stops shown in the link below. Put a new slider on, narrow end first, and put a zipper stop, preferably the second one in the link, on where the zipper stopped before, and you should be good to go. If the end of the zipper is sewn into the canvas, and not readily available, you can pull a tooth with needle nosed pliers, 3 or 4 teeth above where the stop goes, and remove the old slider there, and put the new one on.
If you don't want to order, or are in a hurry, go in Jo-Anne Fabrics, and buy a short YKK #10 Vislon separating zipper, and take the slide off. Practice pulling some teeth on it. A safety pin through the zipper tape, as close to the teeth as possible, works as a stop until you get the right one. So does a dap of epoxy between the teeth.
Don't get a locking zipper for that application.

Sailrite - Fabric, Canvas, and Sewing Machines Since 1969

 

[Hookup1]

It looks like you have a starter on the end of the zipper in your photo. Just like your jacket - one panel zipper piece slips into the other. If you remove the stop, slide the old zipper off and the new one on. Repair zipper stop.

If it is sewn don't hack any teeth out of the zipper. Carefully cut the thread, get the end out and replace the zipper. Hand sew to repair the stop. If its a metal stop you can remove it and reuse or order them too.

YKK® #10 Black Style A Double Non-Locking Delrin® Zipper Pull (Molded Tooth Chain)

DetailsYKK® #10 Black Double Non-Locking Delrin® Pull is specifically designed for use with YKK #10 Continuous Molded Tooth Zipper Chain. Made from Delrin plastic, this slider will not corrode and is resistant to UV rays. Double-pull sliders allow the zipper to be opened from either side. NOTE...

www.sailrite.com

#10 Silver Stainless Steel Zipper Top Stop (Molded Tooth Chain)

DetailsThe #10 Silver Stainless Steel Zipper Top Stop is a slider stop for shortened #10 molded tooth zippers. A top stop is a component found at the top of a zipper that keeps the slider from running off the zipper track. Use this stop with #10 continuous or separating molded tooth zippers from...

www.sailrite.com

Where are you? I could have fixed it for you in the time it took to post!

 

[seasick]

Replacing the slider may be OK if the zipper teeth are plastic. If the teeth are metal and corroded like the pull, replacing the whole zipper is probably a better approach. However, replacing the side attached to the Bimini is a pain in the butt job since the Bimini top has to be removed and probably disassembled. If you go that route, take a lot of pictures of what frame member goes where and where the straps are mounted.

 

[Hookup1]

Zipper is plastic. Take a close look. But the zippers do wear out too. And maybe at that point its new Bimini time!