At the time of purchase POG had a cumbersome and complicated fixed dodger frame on her. The canvas had rotted out and a giant solar panel that had been riding on top of the dodger was residing inside the boat.
Once you have lived with a dodger it is hard to accept being without one. However, there are instances - quite a few actually - when you wish the dodger away. This is the case when you want a cooling breeze in the cockpit, when you are running downwind and the dodger is not needed and when you want to have absolutely unimpeded vision in tricky situations. So we set about making a collapsible dodger from a recipe that my immensely knowledgeable crew Bob Van Blaricom has used on many a boat. We bent up the frame from 1" SS tubing that we filled with sand and plugged the ends. Bob did the canvas work, though he is blind in one eye and doesn't see much with the other one either.
Here is a picture of the dodger up on POG at anchor in White Gulch, Tomales Bay, 55 miles North of the Golden Gate:
(http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i433/POGboat/GEDC0014-1.jpg)
And here is a cockpit view:
(http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i433/POGboat/GEDC0023.jpg)
And here is the dodger down. Collapsing it is a matter of seconds:
(http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i433/POGboat/GEDC0022_2.jpg)
Carl,
A dodger is like refrigeration and roller furling, once you have had them they are also tough to live without. When the season is on the edges (spring & fall) in our little corner of the world, a dodger does indeed extend the season by making the cockpit a lot more comfortable. A dodger also allows the companionway hatch to be open in a rain.
I take no credit at all for our dodger, I just had the canvas that came with the boat copied. It features a zip out front window that can be fully removed or folds up and over to lay on the top. This allows air to flow through. It also has zip out side panels. This provides additional ventilation as required while still allowing the top to provide shade to the companionway.
The last boat we had sported a dodger that had a hurricane handle which is a separate bar/handle that runs along the back edge that was very handy while moving around the cockpit. I also like the outside handles that connect the two bows. They look very handy as well.
Dale
Ah, Dale, my friend,
I just knew even approaching Christmas would not keep you from a furtive glance at our forum.
Yes, I too love the hurricane handle, the extra arch of tubing, at the back of the aft bow. You are always holding on to the dodger right there, which is why we sewed on the strip of watchamacallit plasticky stuff at the back to keep the grime from grubby hands to get all over the sunbrella cloth. That will have to be good enough in my case. Remember, my objective is not ultimate perfection, but something that is safe and workable and still leaves a litle bit at the bottom of my wallet.
A handle between the bows on the sides would make the dodger a fixed dodger, so that great (but pricey) feature is a necessary sacrifice in my case.
it is nice to be to be able to open the windows in the dodger, but how much faster and more convenient to flop the whole thing down or raise it in just a few seconds, I think.
Eventually, sailing and cruising is something highly individualistic. I hope it is understood that I am not insisting on being right - just putting my ideas and solutions out there for others to tinker with to their own satisfaction. That's what makes this site, including the extensive and very useful Maruska contributions, so great.
Carl
Carl, just want to complement you on both the dodger and the boat overall. I have made a few dodgers and have seen some homemade dodgers that look homemade. Your's looks well thought out and professional. The frame bows match up and the windows are designed to fold. From other pictures you have posted POG looks to be a boat to be proud of.
Now if you decide to add a Bimini and enclosure I might suggest a Pilothouse. Just sayin...........
Bob
Thanks Bob,
I can't take much credit for the dodger myself. The design and most of the work was done by my old friend and sometime crew, Bob Van Blaricom. An engineer with many skills, including sailmaking, his life has been dominated by his love for boats and the sea and his voyages are many and remarkable. One of them, in his much traveled Aries 32 "MISTY", even took him up the inland waterway, over the great lakes and all the way to your hometown, Duluth. His memoir "Time and Tide" is a good read.
My dodger has a little wrinkle or two. The amazing thing is that Bob (81) managed to sew it at all as he has lost the eyesight in his "good" eye to retinal bleeding and sees not much out of his spare due to macular degeneration.
To get the bend of the bows right we drew the pattern on a plywood board, then bent the sand-filled tubes using a tree with a split trunk near Bob's garage. Low tech, yes - but it worked.
Sounds like a book I'll have to read. What a great crew member to have.