Racing with a dodger

[agdaller]

I''d like to do some racing with my Catalina 34 but I don''t want to take down the dodger every time. Does anybody know the impact of the dodger while racing (seconds per mile).
Thanks

[Jeff_H]

I am not sure that the dodger really slows you down noticably do to windage or anything like that. I think it is more of an impediment to crew work and steering (and that will vary from boat to boat and whether you race with spinacker or not. It is next to imposible to race with a spinacker with a dodger because the trimmer should be up at the weather shrouds to be able to see properly and the dodger would normally prevent that. The dodger is generally in the line of sight for trimmers and the helmsman and so makes it harder to do things. The easier something can be done on the race course the more likely that it will be done more often and more correctly.

Jeff

[bporter]

We had a dodger on my C&C as well as a nice Edson cockpit table I refinished myself when I first bought the boat. We took them both off after one practice session. Once you get the hang of taking it on and off it goes pretty quickly, about a five minute job. In my case it was two screws, two pins, and a bunch of snaps.

On the C&C 37, with the traveller and main sheet controls and winches on top of the companionway it was simply impossible to move quickly and apply enough force without contorting yourself into odd positions or beating youself senseless.

So, in seconds per mile it was impossible to quantify. But in crew aggravation and lost time on tacks and trimming, the doger was a nightmare.

Also people bruised their butts on the table while trying to grind the winches and change sides during tacks.

Note that we did not get so over the top that we actually took all of the hardware off of the boat, we just tucked it down below.