Taylor Made SureShade Power Bimini Sport Arm Kit, 32in Black

Here's the deal with a SureShade Power Bimini. It powers open at the touch of a button, and it's great at the sandbar or sitting at the dock. But push the throttle down and that big shade panel wants to fold back on you. This Sport Arm Kit from Taylor Made fixes that. It's the 32-inch set of front support poles that lets you keep the shade open while you're actually running the boat, not just parked.

The kit is simple. You get two front support poles, two flip-locks, and four mounting screws. The poles are anodized aluminum, finished in black to match the SureShade frame, and they tie the front edge of the awning down to solid mounting points on your deck or gunwale. Once they're in, the bimini stops relying on the motor and canopy tension alone. The poles carry the wind load.

With the sport arms locked in, owners run their SureShade extended at speeds up to 45 mph. That's the whole point. You don't have to choose between shade and getting somewhere. Cruise across the lake, idle through a no-wake zone, then open it up on the way home, all with the top still over your head. The front frame also adds real structural strength to the awning assembly, so it flexes less and rides quieter in a chop.

One thing to be clear about. These arms are built for the SureShade Power Bimini specifically. They bolt to the reinforced attachment points on that powered frame. A standard manual bimini doesn't have those points and isn't designed to take the load, so this kit won't work on one. If you've got the powered SureShade unit, this is the right add-on. If you've got a hand-crank or strap bimini, it's not the part for you.

Think about how you actually use the boat. On a pontoon, the SureShade covers the whole aft lounge, and you want that shade holding while you idle around the lake looking for a spot. On a bowrider, you want to run to the next cove without the top flapping back and dumping everyone into the sun. The sport arms are what let the powered top do its job at cruising speed instead of only when you're stopped. That's the difference between a shade you use all day and one you keep dropping and raising.

Taylor Made offers the sport arms in two lengths, 32 inch and 36 inch, and this is the 32-inch version. The length is the reach from the bimini bow down to your deck mounts, so measure that gap before you order. Get it right and the flip-locks seat clean. Off by a half inch and they'll bind or won't lock at all. It's worth pulling a tape measure before you buy.

Installation is a DIY job for most owners. You're mounting two poles and driving four screws, nothing that needs a canvas shop. That said, a couple of tips from folks who've done it. Seat the flip-locks fully every time, all the way home, or wind load can pop them loose underway. And on some boats the factory bimini frame holes don't line up perfectly with the supplied screws, so keep a drill and the right tap handy in case you need to true up a hole.

If you run in salt, give the poles a fresh-water rinse when you're back on the trailer or the lift. Anodized aluminum holds up well, but salt sitting on any aluminum over a season isn't doing it any favors. A quick rinse keeps the finish clean and the flip-locks moving freely.

Who's this for? Pontoon and bowrider owners who added the SureShade power top and got tired of dropping it every time they wanted to move. Anyone who runs open water where the wind grabs a raised canopy. If that's you, the sport arms are the piece that makes the whole system actually usable at speed.