Howzit Guy's
I only recently perfected the bimini myself but what i found is that the more twists you put in the more spring it has in the knot..I know of some like my buddy Shaun who say otherwise,He say's that the more twists you put in the biggger the knot is on your reel,I do agree but i prefer to have more sping in my knots....
Shaun is a whizz at tying these knots as well as Jonah they both showedd me different methods and i just added my 2 cents to their methods.I think the idea behind the length of the plat is that the longer it is you have a better chance of the leader breaking and then with a little bit of luck the Bimini stay's so all you have to do is retie the leader and trim the excess plats away...I do know this is not always the case but if you tie a longer Bimini thus giving you the extra spring im sure you find that inn most cases the leader snaps and you are then left with your bimini which you can add your leader to..
Just a personal preference though not hard and fast rules....
Cheers Riymos