Hard Dodgers

[AdriftAtSea]

The one on WriteByte is pretty ugly...

[skylark]

Well here's another hard dodger that CapnK posted in the Solar Power thread.  I'm not sure whose it is, CapnK's?

This dodger is pretty good, but I do have some critique:

There should have been some curve in it where the cabin house top and the dodger meet.

The angled back windshield should not be at such a strong angle.

An overhang over the windshield might be a nice touch.

In general I would say it is a success.

[AdriftAtSea]

That one at least makes an effort to blend into the boat, rather than looking like a tacked-on afterthought though.

[maxiSwede]

re: the hard dodgers. I find it difficult to decide wether to build one or not.  On my current boat there is no dodger at all- be it soft or hard- It used to have a windshield that the previous owner disliked (as ugly)and thus took away. I thought I would miss it, but never really did. It has to be VERY bad weather before the water will flow all around the place, and why build a dodger for 1% of the cruising time when it´s a hinderance during the remaining 99%? I t does obscure your forward view, right?  The only time I missed it was in port or at anchor when it was raining.

- To you who have hard dodgers; please tell me about your experiences, good and bad.

see you in the wet some day?

[Auspicious]

I have a hard windscreen (center port opens) with a soft dodger top. Admittedly a larger boat, but by golly it works great. I wouldn't hesitate to scale the concept to a smaller boat.

[AdriftAtSea]

Part of the problem to adapt a hard windshield to a smaller boat is that the proportions are often a bit more difficult to get right on a smaller boat.  The windscreen or dodger has to be a certain height, but on a smaller boat, that height may look strange or too tall. 

[BobW]

Form over function?  While it is great when things "look" right, choosing to not go with something functional (assuming that something is functional) because it looks strange is a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face.   I'm not suggesting I'd install something ugly just because it works, but there's some middle ground there somewhere.

Isn't beauty in the eye of the beholder?   

I'd be curious to see pics of the hard windscreen with soft dodger...

[David_Old_Jersey]

I too have a hard windscreen with a soft top, built as original equipment.

Like everything it has plusses and minuses.......

Good

1) It provides shelter whilst still having the feeling of being outside and being aware of the conditions.

2) It is easy to access the rest of the boat from.

3) The soft top folds down and the windscreen still provides shelter

Bad

1) I can't see through the hard windscreen when standing up (it's too low)......and I need to stoop.

2) I can't see through the hard windscreen when sitting down on the bench seats (the seats are too low)

3) Although my soft cover has clear panels above the windscreen, they are just not clear enough to see through to navigate (they are not old).

4) The Hard windscreen has no windscreen wipers

5) the Hard windscreen is fairly old and is not as clear as it could be.

Basically what I am saying is that at the moment the bad outweighs the good in so far as 99% of the time the soft cover is folded down and I look over the hard windscreen - but this actually works well........but when raining I would prefer some top cover!

This is on my thinking list..........I suspect the answer is a new windscreen made to a different design, probably made of square windows, rather than the present wraparound......and most importantly a few inches taller, with an ability to open the windscreen to look through...........or course the slight problem with this solution is that it is a lot of work! and money!.........plus I would not do any modifications if the result was going to be plain ugly.

Maybe one for next year (or the year after!!)

[Auspicious]

I'd be curious to see pics of the hard windscreen with soft dodger...

I don't have a picture of my boat that shows it well. Here's a pic of a 36 -- it's nearly identical to mine.

[Ol' Coot]

1) I can't see through the hard windscreen when standing up (it's too low)......and I need to stoop.

2) I can't see through the hard windscreen when sitting down on the bench seats (the seats are too low)

Perhaps a custom helmsman's seat directly behind the wheel at the correct height would work?  I can imagine something that has a curved top so you would be comfortable when sailing heeled, and maybe is be removable (use under way,  and stow when at dock/anchor when you are just relaxing in the cockpit.)

[CapnK]

It's something I have wondered about - so many long-distance cruisers have hard dodgers, especially if they use the same boat for a long time, one shows up later in a lot of instances...

Plusses and minuses, that's for sure.

I like both Dave and David's in that with the cloth folded down (or removed), they offer a much lower profile - less stuff for wind and wave to grab at... Of course, a soft dodger could come all the way off, but you'd need to be sure to lash the frame down.

It seems that the biggest plus would be that you could simply have more ventilation down below much more often. I would guess that a dodger is much more important the higher in latitude you are, as a rule, too.

[AdriftAtSea]

I'd have to agree.. the dodger really helps keep the boat and crew much warmer and drier.  Which is really important up here in New England... the early and late parts of the season are pretty brutal without one. 

[BobW]

Thanks for the pics.  I guess I've been in some off the beaten path back-water all these years - that or I just don't pay attention.  I don't recall seeing a hard windscreen on a boat, but then I do pay more attention to smaller boats.

You're right, something like that wouldn't scale down (and be functional) very well to a small boat.  I'll keep looking for a small dodger design that'll work on a flush deck boat.

Thanks again for the pics.

[Auspicious]

After about a year with my boat I have found that a good dodger that extends "far enough" back is important. In summer I usually sail with the dodger up, the center panel of the windscreen open, and the bimini *down*. I get enough shade sitting forward under the dodger and have both a better view of the main and a more open feeling. The bimini is only up when I'm not sailing or when it's raining.

Windscreens are more common on European boats I think -- Hallberg-Rassy, Najad, Moody, and such all have hard screens. Not a small boat in the lot though.

[Zen]

Soooo, this is an old topic, however I'm just getting around to seriously doing this after much thought. I'm planning to build a hard dodger in 2 weeks, Plywood and plexiglass. Corners rounded out with bondo. The picture is what i'm shooting for...

Has anyone gone beyond talking about one?

It will be able to be closed off with cloth and plastic to keep the helmperson/watchperson out of elements ( somewhat)  when using a windvane.

[Tim]

In case you haven't seen it Zen, here is the one on Mariah



It is a little more "out there" than some, but functions well.

[Mario G]

I'm working on the hard dodger the PO made to hold solar panels.  I Like it and I think I've got it looking good.

[skylark]

Some things to think about in the design processs:

Where will rain accumulate and drip?


Will your head hit it when exiting the cabin?

Can you see over/around/through it when standing holding the tiller? Sitting?

Make sure it can be used as a safe handhold with a good place to grip while in the cockpit and going forward.

[CapnK]

Zen -

Imagery & postings for thought, from the Ariel site threads on dodgers ( 1 , 2 )

From the above, imagery:

Hard Dodgers

Soft Tops

I like the combo windshield/hard top bimini with cloth sides I have seen on some boats.

[Mario G]

I sail with it completely open on all sides, I like the feel of the wind but it really does a great job of blocking the sun.  I plan on makeing a soft wrap around window assembly and even be able to attach a bimmini.

I used the sliding hatch from a parts boat for my C-22 as a new top on the dodger so it matches the hatches on the C-26 perfectly.