Hard Dodger (Sprayhood) Illustrated Guide - Examples, Tips

[Emoyeni]

That video is actually what got me to seek out this thread. Another advantage of the hard dodger is space for solar panels. This can be especially useful for a solar electric repower or just for people who don’t want all that panel hanging off the stern of the boat.

Originally Posted by mitiempo

Here's a good video of a hard dodger build. Every step explained and a good result.

[nuku34]

My yacht is a Cavalier 32, NZ designed and built 10m sloop.

The original canvas dodger shape was perfect for the boat and gave me room to swing a winch handle on the two winches mounted on the cabin top under the dodger.
I used the original canvas dodger stainless steel tubing framework, still attched to the boat, as the “mould”. I roughly cut to shape and bent 3mm “bendy ply” over the ss framework for the main part of the dodger. Attached it temporarily to the cabin sides. Then epoxy and cloth and some carbon fibre applied to the outside. The tricky part was shaping and cutting and ataching the 3 front parts. I did the center part first, then the other 2. I formed a lip for attaching the front part to the deck, by putting lots of packaging tape on the deck and bringing the glass down over that. Before cutting holes for the 4mm Perspex, I removed the whole dodger and glassed the inside. Then cut the holes for the Perspex.

I used the pieces cut out for the holes as moulds to bend the Perspex (did that in a friend’s commercial oven: 15 minutes @ about 70˚C). Spent 2 days fairing it and had it professionally spray painted at a friend’s auto body shop with 2 part epoxy and polyurathane.

Cost of materials and painting (mate’s rates): NZ$1,800. My time: about 100 hours. A new canvas dodger (not the stainless tubing) would have cost me NZ$2,200.

I can stand on it; it has a nice lip at the aft end to hold onto, ss grab rails, the Perspex will last for years and can be replaced (I saved the moulds). It is bolted on, so can be removed if desired by some insane future owner.

I opted not to have opening windows. My experience of many years in the tropics with both hard and soft dodgers was that I hardly ever folded the soft dodger down and hardly ever bothered to roll up the center soft plastic window.

I’m a very experienced wood worker, have also done a lot of projects with carbon fibre and epoxy, and I have a full workshop at home close to the marina. If this dodger was done “professionally”, I’d figure it would cost around NZ$5,000.

[jhulmer]

Originally Posted by nuku34

My yacht is a Cavalier 32, NZ designed and built 10m sloop.

The original canvas dodger shape was perfect for the boat and gave me room to swing a winch handle on the two winches mounted on the cabin top under the dodger.
I used the original canvas dodger stainless steel tubing framework, still attched to the boat, as the “mould”. I roughly cut to shape and bent 3mm “bendy ply” over the ss framework for the main part of the dodger. Attached it temporarily to the cabin sides. Then epoxy and cloth and some carbon fibre applied to the outside. The tricky part was shaping and cutting and ataching the 3 front parts. I did the center part first, then the other 2. I formed a lip for attaching the front part to the deck, by putting lots of packaging tape on the deck and bringing the glass down over that. Before cutting holes for the 4mm Perspex, I removed the whole dodger and glassed the inside. Then cut the holes for the Perspex.

I used the pieces cut out for the holes as moulds to bend the Perspex (did that in a friend’s commercial oven: 15 minutes @ about 70˚C). Spent 2 days fairing it and had it professionally spray painted at a friend’s auto body shop with 2 part epoxy and polyurathane.

Cost of materials and painting (mate’s rates): NZ$1,800. My time: about 100 hours. A new canvas dodger (not the stainless tubing) would have cost me NZ$2,200.

I can stand on it; it has a nice lip at the aft end to hold onto, ss grab rails, the Perspex will last for years and can be replaced (I saved the moulds). It is bolted on, so can be removed if desired by some insane future owner.

I opted not to have opening windows. My experience of many years in the tropics with both hard and soft dodgers was that I hardly ever folded the soft dodger down and hardly ever bothered to roll up the center soft plastic window.

I’m a very experienced wood worker, have also done a lot of projects with carbon fibre and epoxy, and I have a full workshop at home close to the marina. If this dodger was done “professionally”, I’d figure it would cost around NZ$5,000.

Nuku - that is the best example I've seen of a dodger made with that method. Looks very nice. Congrats!

[Emoyeni]

Wow that is an amazing combo of form and function! I think better looking than original. Did you ever consider bolting on a solar panel to the roof instead of or in addition to the stern?

Originally Posted by nuku34

My yacht is a Cavalier 32, NZ designed and built 10m sloop.

The original canvas dodger shape was perfect for the boat and gave me room to swing a winch handle on the two winches mounted on the cabin top under the dodger.
I used the original canvas dodger stainless steel tubing framework, still attched to the boat, as the “mould”. I roughly cut to shape and bent 3mm “bendy ply” over the ss framework for the main part of the dodger. Attached it temporarily to the cabin sides. Then epoxy and cloth and some carbon fibre applied to the outside. The tricky part was shaping and cutting and ataching the 3 front parts. I did the center part first, then the other 2. I formed a lip for attaching the front part to the deck, by putting lots of packaging tape on the deck and bringing the glass down over that. Before cutting holes for the 4mm Perspex, I removed the whole dodger and glassed the inside. Then cut the holes for the Perspex.

I used the pieces cut out for the holes as moulds to bend the Perspex (did that in a friend’s commercial oven: 15 minutes @ about 70˚C). Spent 2 days fairing it and had it professionally spray painted at a friend’s auto body shop with 2 part epoxy and polyurathane.

Cost of materials and painting (mate’s rates): NZ$1,800. My time: about 100 hours. A new canvas dodger (not the stainless tubing) would have cost me NZ$2,200.

I can stand on it; it has a nice lip at the aft end to hold onto, ss grab rails, the Perspex will last for years and can be replaced (I saved the moulds). It is bolted on, so can be removed if desired by some insane future owner.

I opted not to have opening windows. My experience of many years in the tropics with both hard and soft dodgers was that I hardly ever folded the soft dodger down and hardly ever bothered to roll up the center soft plastic window.

I’m a very experienced wood worker, have also done a lot of projects with carbon fibre and epoxy, and I have a full workshop at home close to the marina. If this dodger was done “professionally”, I’d figure it would cost around NZ$5,000.

[nuku34]

Thanks for the thumbs up on my dodger. Here’s a few construction pics.

The boat came with the “arch” already on the stern and that has a fairly grunty 95W solar panel which can be tilted fore and aft. The boat is pretty simple; the only big load is the Isotherm fridge in a super-insulated 57L box.

When there’s sun, the panel will easily run the fridge and there is enough, 130ah, battery capacity to run it all night without deep cycling the battery.
Since I’m not a live-aboard (did that for 17 years cruising the S. Pacific on my 12m ketch), I don’t feel the need for more solar panels. If I put them on top of the dodger, they would get in the way when I want to stand on it and also would not be as efficient as the one on the stern due to shading and non-tilting.

I’n including a pic of my ketch so you can see an alternative way to mount solar panels which I have never seen on another yacht. This idea was from the previous owner. The long narrow panels (I think they were by Arco) are mounted on studs which go through the masts and on special s.s. clamps on the cap shrouds. The panels are just high enough to walk under and can be tilted through 180˚.
When sailing into the wind, I had them locked parallel to the deck for minimal windage. On other points of sail I might have them tilted to face the sun. At anchor, it was easy to just flick them to optimal angle occasionally. This yacht had an electric fridge, radar, and a few other draws, but that was way before all the power-hungry non-essential stuff that many cruisers find necessary these days.

With the previous owner, the boat went around Cape Horn, to Antartica, (and under my ownership) a full-on cyclone at sea off OZ with the panels intact. I imagine they might not survive a 180˚ or 360˚ roll, but who knows. They did survive an 80˚ knockdown.

We also had a very effective home-made towing generator that put out around 12-16 amps at 6-7 knots boat speed. This was based around a big permanent magnet low-speed alternator with thrust bearing in a water-proof case slung off the stern. We had a very short 4m long stiff tow rope and a 1.6m long 12mm ss shaft with a 4hp outboard prop and (the secret weapon) a fin that forced the shaft under the water so it didn’t jump out of the waves. It worked so well we could troll over it and the tow rope was so short it was very easy to pull in even with the boat going at speed. The 3 phase a.c. alternator output was rectified to 14vt d.c. but couldn’t easily be regulated so when the batteries were fully charged, we just turned on all the lights, radar, fridge, etc. There were trips from NZ to Fiji where the towing genny was operating 24/7 for 9 days...

[jepomer]

2015 Catalina 355 Sailing Yacht - 2015 Toronto Boat Show

The hardtop dodger is shown starting at 00:48 to 01:05 starboard rear 01:12 to 01:18 starboard front, 01:52 to 02:10 view from the bow to port side.

This dodger has a hard top, good hand rails, very open look for viewing forward. The clear sides are easily removable for those days I would want to wind to blow through, yet quickly attach to keep the weather out.

Since I bought a 2007 Catalina last July, this design fits my desires well. The current dodger and bimini are worn and ready for replacing. Coming from an open Capri 22, I felt my vision was seriously handicapped with the current dodger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0sa_os8pik

[Finn77]

Looking into this as well to build one for our Endurance and it seems that Amel, HR, Najad approach would work the best

[bcboomer]

Originally Posted by jepomer

2015 Catalina 355 Sailing Yacht - 2015 Toronto Boat Show

The hardtop dodger is shown starting at 00:48 to 01:05 starboard rear 01:12 to 01:18 starboard front, 01:52 to 02:10 view from the bow to port side.

This dodger has a hard top, good hand rails, very open look for viewing forward. The clear sides are easily removable for those days I would want to wind to blow through, yet quickly attach to keep the weather out.

That is the best design that I've seen that I think would suit my boat. Nice clean lines and very functional. The stainless would be a little expensive though but it could be simplified and still be functional.

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by bcboomer

That is the best design that I've seen that I think would suit my boat. Nice clean lines and very functional. The stainless would be a little expensive though but it could be simplified and still be functional.

Yes, very simple design. much the same as what I built for my boat in 2017 basically a top with 4 legs and some canvas/vinyl panels. Pretty easy to design and build.

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by jepomer

2015 Catalina 355 Sailing Yacht - 2015 Toronto Boat Show

This dodger has a hard top, good hand rails, very open look for viewing forward. The clear sides are easily removable for those days I would want to wind to blow through, yet quickly attach to keep the weather out.

Originally Posted by bcboomer

That is the best design that I've seen that I think would suit my boat. Nice clean lines and very functional. The stainless would be a little expensive though but it could be simplified and still be functional.

Once you look at the details in my opinion this design then looks like one of the worst that I have ever seen.

* Note the HUGE holes where the lines pass through to the rope clutches. Yes there is a moulding lip in front but any decent splash coming onboard will go straight through there and then straight down the companionway...

* Note that the bottom edge is only fixed with buttons. This is very weak and point loads the button. It also means there is no proper seal between the this bottom edge and the cabin top. So again any decent splash will go up between the two surfaces and inside the dodger...

This dodger design will never be dry inside. And I think one decent bit solid water impacting on the large vertical surfaces will damage the button fastener connections, probably resulting in a rip in the dodger.

In my opinion the bottom edge always needs to be fixed to a bolt rope type track (or other similar method) which is bonded to the cabin top creating a strong connection that spreads the load and allows a more waterproof seal.

If it needs to be more easily removed or opened then there can be a zip with a storm flap on the outside (also fastened down if you want a belt and braces approach).

My 2 cents (but from thousands of miles sailing inshore and offshore).

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by jepomer

2015 Catalina 355 Sailing Yacht - 2015 Toronto Boat Show

This dodger has a hard top, good hand rails, very open look for viewing forward. The clear sides are easily removable for those days I would want to wind to blow through, yet quickly attach to keep the weather out.

Nice looking setup and I must say the clears fitted to that dodger have to be the best fit I’ve seen. Excellent workmanship, almost looks like solid panels.

But from experience with my setup (nowhere near as nice as this), the aperture in the front where the lines run back to the cockpit is something to be really avoided if you’re planning any voyaging.

I have two apertures a quarter the size of that, not for lines but a consequence of the shape of the deck and when a wave breaks onto the front of the boat, the water that shoots into the cockpit through them is enough to completely soak everything in the cockpit.

I’m presently working on replacing the front clears on my enclosure with solid framed windows and will make every effort to have no gaps in the front and leading side panels. An opening portlight in the bottom of the centre window will allow for air through-flow when anchored.

But like I said, that hole in the front panel virtually obviates the purpose of a spray dodger when you’re sailing in boisterous conditions at sea and this design has one on both sides. You’ll need to be wearing your foul weather gear in that cockpit to stay dry.

[jmh2002]

Thanks for confirming my thoughts and posting the pic to more thoroughly indicate what I described.



Worst dodger design ever! What were they thinking...

[RaymondR]

I had a number of priorities when I embarked upon the re-bimining and re-dodgering a few years ago:

Cheap. I have a really bad habit of getting half way through a project and having inspiration strike necessitating extensive modifications,or even an entire scrapping and restart.

More solar. Just as any horizontal surface surface below attracts clutter, any horizontal surface above desks attracts solar panels.

All round visibility. I have found that sitting in the companionway under the shade of the dodger with both convenient reach of the coffee pot and fast panic stricken dash to the wheel is a very comfortable spot to be.

Places to grab. The boat came with a yachty style, fold down dodger held down by four self tappers and nowhere to grab to pass by. It was an open invitation to a swim at inconvenient times. The new one has large coach bolts and 1 1/4" grab rails all over the place.

The result tends to look a bit unfinished and industrial which I'm hoping to soften with a lick of paint.

The raise up bit in the middle is because I am 6'7" tall and was tired of having to almost crawl out from under the yachty style original on my hands and knees.

[bcboomer]

Originally Posted by CassidyNZ

Nice looking setup and I must say the clears fitted to that dodger have to be the best fit I’ve seen. Excellent workmanship, almost looks like solid panels.

But from experience with my setup (nowhere near as nice as this), the aperture in the front where the lines run back to the cockpit is something to be really avoided if you’re planning any voyaging.

I have two apertures a quarter the size of that, not for lines but a consequence of the shape of the deck and when a wave breaks onto the front of the boat, the water that shoots into the cockpit through them is enough to completely soak everything in the cockpit.

I’m presently working on replacing the front clears on my enclosure with solid framed windows and will make every effort to have no gaps in the front and leading side panels. An opening portlight in the bottom of the centre window will allow for air through-flow when anchored.

But like I said, that hole in the front panel virtually obviates the purpose of a spray dodger when you’re sailing in boisterous conditions at sea and this design has one on both sides. You’ll need to be wearing your foul weather gear in that cockpit to stay dry.

Yes the details need improving. My dodger has leather lined, very small apertures that extend a little over the outside. No water has come through yet.
Framed windows are an obvious improvement on any dodger \.

I still like the look.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Here is an example of a Hard Dodger, made of aluminum. It is currently for sale. It is on a Vagabond now, will be in Key West soon, according to the owner Arlene Bea (on Facebook). She wants to remove it and sell it. There is also a possibility of having it transported to West Coast by her crew who will be returning there after the delivery to Key West.

I don’t know more about the boat, the build of the dodger, or the sale price (guessing a few thousand). If you want to know more or to contact the owner, visit the Vagabond group on Facebook, where you will find a thread.
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