Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnRPollard
I wish more boats came equipped with hard dodgers from the builder.
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I agree, but luckily for us and unusually the builder of our sailboat pretty much insisted that he build it with a hard dodger even though we had originally selected a design without - after his designer produced some sketches we became convinced and would always do the same again. Obviously not something one would put on a race boat and I don't think I would bother on a weekend or sheltered water type sailboat either.
Some things, apart from the tricky care needed with the height, length and profile so one can get down the companionway but still keep the height sleek, that I have picked up along the way -
As mentioned by another already, I also believe that 40 foot is about the absolute smallest boat one can build a completely hard dodger on without it looking very utilitarian. Of course, from what one sees many seem happy with the very utilitarian look (even "garden shed" look in many instances
) but seeing those discourages those with other points of view in the aesthetics department from going the hard dodger way (well, that is what had originally discouraged us anyway
).
It seems to me from what I have seen that it is next to impossible for an amateur to design one that has a nice profile and fits the boat, even on a big boat. A lot of care needs to be taken with the front and side profiles, window shapes and radiusing/coving of corners all sympathetic with the rest of the boat.
The windows should be toughened glass, not acrylic or polycarbonate (and while I have looked at a lot of well designed dodgers over the years I've actually never seen one of those that has not used glass). It is best if the glass is tinted high performance glass, both from looks and also for keeping the underneath cool in sun, but if so must be very careful with it if navigating through it as it affects the colours of navaids and makes some other things less easy to pick out eg small or dark items floating on the sea (tinted glass is normally prohibited in windows used for navigation in commercial vessels in most countries).
Especially on smaller vessels where a good looking profile is harder to obtain, I believe that if a utilitarian look is wished to be avoided then the glass should be direct fitted (ie not frames but fixed with a sealant/adhesive such as Sikaflex 296) and recessed so its outer surface is flush with the outside surface of the dodger.
If the boat is steel, then the dodger should never be steel (as has been suggested) in my opinion due to the big weight disadvantage raising the boat's centre of gravity (our boat is steel, but the dodger is built from glassed ply/timber). It is also difficult to design a metal one that doesn't look boxy unless the boat is quite big and a lot of radiused edges and special corner pieces are folded/pressed up - also, unless it it big enough to insulate and line, a metal one will be VERY hot underneath in warm climates.
It should be low enough so that when standing at the helm one can see over it, especially if tinted glass is used and even if clear glass is used it becomes opaque with caked salt from spray. But in the end for shorter helmsmen they may find they need to build a portable stand for behind the wheel (as a friend has found he has had to do for himself).
The relationship between the sides of the dodger and the helmsman's position when standing to one side of the wheel should allow a clear view along the side decks for when berthing, etc (I do know of some sailboats where this is not so). Also, I normally helm from one side of the wheel and in our case the nav lights on the pulpit are placed so that they are the same distance outboard from the boat's centre-line as the sides of the dodger are - so when standing at the wheel looking along the side of the dodger with the nav light on that side in line with it I have a accurate dead ahead bearing for steering towards an afar object (something I otherwise find hard to do accurately unless standing on the centre-line of the boat - I have seen others place tape on the pulpit).
Along the top of the aft edge of the roof a low raised edge should extend across the whole width - apart from giving something to grip when standing behind it, it stops drips dripping over the aft edge from off the top. There should be athwart ships camber in the roof so water runs off to the side.
If there are knees for strength in the aft upper corners then they look much better if set inside the dodger forwards a little rather than flush with the aft roof/side edges.
Windage does not seem to be much of an issue for us (but our dodger is as low as is possible) and while we have not tried hurricanes (as was wondered about by another
) we have no problem motoring directly into 40 knot plus winds even tho' we are not over powered (a little over 4hp/ton laden). Our boat is shallow in the forefoot and with overhang so I had hoped that maybe the windage of the dodger aft would counteract somewhat the tendency of the bow to blow off when manoeuvring at slow speeds under power across wind but that has not proved the case.
We have anchored in 65-70 knot sustained winds gusting higher and not had a problem. I think that in general the dodger helps keep the boat head to wind under anchor in light conditions but that may contribute to more "sailing around" when anchored in swirling gusty winds as may be experienced down in narrow bays, etc.
All just my opinion but my lengthy "rant" may be of use to some
. In the end, whatever they look like, they are bludy useful when it is wet, windy or for somewhere to duck under when a big lump of water comes across the decks.
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