Hard Dodger (Sprayhood) Illustrated Guide - Examples, Tips

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by pcmm

Here is my hardtop dodger




Building it is documented at:

Building a hard top dodger

Great thread and I particularly like this OI hard top arrangement! I want to add a hard dodger or hard top dodger to our Tayana 47 and something like this looks like it would be just about right for us. I like the idea of hard sides as well but it seems so much harder to make it look just right than just having a hard top with canvas sides allows. But with soft sides we're still stuck with less clear visibility than having hard sides allows as well as having to periodically replace the soft sides. But I really like this look and think it might be the right compromise for us. Thanks for sharing!

[Terra Nova]

92--that turned out quite well.

[TheThunderbird]

Jongert
HR53
Many M/S from the 70/80s

Provide a good hint

As far as some sprayhood may look acceptable because foldable, ugly as they are, a fixed one with a rigid top for solar panels looks better to me.

[TheThunderbird]

No accusations, but out of the Many DIY solutions shown here, none approaches the elegance of the HR53.

Q is, why didn't it develop into a customary feature? Mainly at present, when solar panels are a must to most sailors.
In 3 years time, 36months floating, my dodger has always been on, same for the overlapping bimini.

They look ugly, and the Eye accepts them just because everyone has them alike now.

[Arne Henriksen]

From the picture text above, that's a HR 48, not a 53, without that making any change in that these are the bestlooking dodgers out there...

HR 43:


HR 45:


HR 48:


HR 53:


HR 64:



Now, if they just could make one of these hardtops for the 30-35 feet boats.. :-)

[pressuredrop]

Not a dodger but an allweather pilothouse tastefully done on a small boat, allied seawind 30, the house was added by PO in the 80s I chopped the top 6 inches and added camber to match the deck, installed the frameless windows...

[pressuredrop]

More fotos

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by TheThunderbird

No accusations, but out of the Many DIY solutions shown here, none approaches the elegance of the HR53.

Q is, why didn't it develop into a customary feature? Mainly at present, when solar panels are a must to most sailors.
In 3 years time, 36months floating, my dodger has always been on, same for the overlapping bimini.

They look ugly, and the Eye accepts them just because everyone has them alike now.

I admire the whole line of HR boats, but to my eye, many of their hard dodgers look a little heavier than they should. The top seems thicker and heavier than I've seen on other nice dodgers that at least to me come closer to embodying the word "elegant." Ruggedness on a cruising boat is good but I'd like the top to be strong with at least the appearance of also being light. I do really like the overhangs on the HR dodgers, almost like a mini visor in front.

[nagy592]

Hi All, a couple of months gone and I finished to install my new hard dodger...
Of course lot more work involved as my boat was not in the best shape in general, including the cabin top. Finally I ended up to re-arrange/replace all hardware on the cabin top, replace the running rig, replace windows, install new Gebo hatch to the front as the original was not suitable to go offshore, of course a full paint job as well.
Also I removed the teak strips from the cockpit seats. New non skid on the affected area. In total I filled up more than 300 unnecessary holes (seat and window frames).
Anyway job done and I feel acceptable in terms of the functionality and the aesthetic outcome as well.
The biggest challenge was make it fit to the boat without messing up completely with the lines of the boat. This part still need some improvement but I don't think I'll re done it soon.

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by nagy592

Hi All, a couple of months gone and I finished to install my new hard dodger...
Of course lot more work involved as my boat was not in the best shape in general, including the cabin top. Finally I ended up to re-arrange/replace all hardware on the cabin top, replace the running rig, replace windows, install new Gebo hatch to the front as the original was not suitable to go offshore, of course a full paint job as well.
Also I removed the teak strips from the cockpit seats. New non skid on the affected area. In total I filled up more than 300 unnecessary holes (seat and window frames).
Anyway job done and I feel acceptable in terms of the functionality and the aesthetic outcome as well.
The biggest challenge was make it fit to the boat without messing up completely with the lines of the boat. This part still need some improvement but I don't think I'll re done it soon.

So how does it look? your video is just a black screen with audio!

[nagy592]

Sorry I thought it will work...

[nagy592]

This is how it was look before the "makeover".

[Terra Nova]

It seems a little small, fore & aft, but the aesthetics are very nice.

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

It seems a little small, fore & aft, but the aesthetics are very nice.

I think that is an advantage - it is easy enough to extend aft with a canvas bimini and side curtains. This way it is possible to enjoy the sun in the cockpit when appropriate. My dodger is similarly short, and there are times when I use the aft canvas and others when I don't.

Two things are clear with this thread: everyone has different views about aesthetics, and what makes a utilitarian design. Having all of these in this thread should be very useful to anyone thinking of making a hard dodger.

Greg

[deblen]

Originally Posted by nagy592

Hi All, a couple of months gone and I finished to install my new hard dodger...
Of course lot more work involved as my boat was not in the best shape in general, including the cabin top. Finally I ended up to re-arrange/replace all hardware on the cabin top, replace the running rig, replace windows, install new Gebo hatch to the front as the original was not suitable to go offshore, of course a full paint job as well.
Also I removed the teak strips from the cockpit seats. New non skid on the affected area. In total I filled up more than 300 unnecessary holes (seat and window frames).
Anyway job done and I feel acceptable in terms of the functionality and the aesthetic outcome as well.
The biggest challenge was make it fit to the boat without messing up completely with the lines of the boat. This part still need some improvement but I don't think I'll re done it soon.

Nice job! Professional looking construction. Looks like a dodger for that boat,which is what you wanted. A canvas dodger would not look much different. This hard dodger will last much longer than canvas & it is useful for mounting stuff to,both inside and out.I can't see where it will cause any more effects than a permanent canvas dodger.
Len

Edit: Video worked fine for me,but I have been having problems with "vertical video" from smartphones recently. Apparently Google is involved in the vertical video dispute & problems are cropping up. Google "vertical video".