Posted by mbb05055 (mary.bigelow@…>)
My husband Russell and I sail F30 “Corydora” on the coast of Maine and
more recently in the Bay of Fundy. For years we have resisted getting
a dodger as we prize visibility (lobster pot bouys and fog!) But we
have been very cold and wind blow too many times and are getting ready
to do the deed. Because this is going to involve some custom
stainless steel fabrication we want to get this as right as we
possibly can. (I plan do the canvas work as I used to do upholstery
professionally and have a related skill set and a big honking
industrial Singer)
Dodgers must be better than I think they are because everyone has
them, even up here. Ok, so I am going to grit my teeth and do this!
And this is my check list. Please critique and amend freely!
-Must be sturdy
-Not interfere with winches, which means it must be high enough I can
crank the winches while standing wedged against companionway. (I can’t
crank sitting down)
-Allow easy acccess to deck with good hand holds
-Some degree of wrap around to the side along the combing is nice for
protection while still maintaining deck access
-Boom must not chafe or crush it
-Zip down windows are good
-Side windows are good
-Sunbrella fabric is good
-Neutral medium to light colored fabrics are good for northern climate
-It is likely to eventually tie in with bimini or awning so make
provision for that
-The forward edge needs to deflect water where it joins deck.
-Common Sense fasteners are good
-Most dodgers are basically two bows. Most are installed on aft cabin roof
One interesting alternative installation in Al Kusinitz’s on his F-33
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freedomyachts2003/message/1826) tho’ I
can’t picture the advantage for a F30. Al, are you out there?
Is there a good way to make a dodger particularly easy to get up and
down? I cannot imagine enjoying looking through that mess of cloudy
plastic unless forced to by the weather and my fading energy levels.
Is a particularly fine glazing material out here that I don’t know
about?
By the way, we had a very fine stainless steel arch build for Corydora
to support radar, davits and bimini. The radome was up all season.
Davits, bimini (and dodger) are this winter’s projects. The arch, even
mostly bare, has been very nice to grab and dangle on and hang things
on. Will post some photos some day…
Can’t thank you all enough
Mary
F30 Corydora
Belfast ME