2003 282 bimini questions

[adrenaline_junkie]

I am new to Cobalt and the 282. My boat has the SS tower with the forward and aft bimini. I am looking for some information on how the bimini is stored when not in use or to allow full sun exposure on the cockpit. I can unzip the forward bimini from the tower and it folds forward. I assume there is a boot that would need to be zipped around it. That seems to work fine. The aft bimin extension only folds against the tower and presumably a boot would also be zipped around it.

I have a single boot that looks like it has straps to attach to the tower when not in use. I can only assume this is for the aft bimini and can only be used when the forward bimini is folded forward. Am i missing something?

The cockpit cover does not have the ability to be installed while the forward bimini is installed as it cannot wrap around the supports. I have to detach the arms from the side windshield and (assuming i am correct) attach them to the SS tower and fold the bimini up to the apex of the tower. Once I did that, It occurred to me that the boot i have may be for the forward bimini to attach to the tower for a more permanent stowage. However this leaves the forward arms that are attached (and have the twist tighteners) to freely move about. that cant possibly be the correct way to manage the bimini.

Any ideas or advice?

[liquid]

I posted this in the other thread but does this help?