Dodger

[Jeff Scheid]

Hi All,
Looking for a Dodger pattern or and old dodger, so I can fab a new one. My boat 1980 C30 TRBS. I have a good frame, but the boat came without the canvas Dodger.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[Ward H]

If your sewing it your self have you checked out the sailrite.com web site? They have a good video on building your own dodger.
I can send you photos of mine if that will help.

 

[Meriachee]

Looking for a Dodger pattern or and old dodger, so I can fab a new one. My boat 1980 C30 TRBS. I have a good frame, but the boat came without the canvas Dodger.

You will have to pattern it after your frame. It's highly unlikely that any other boat will be the same, even though they will all look similar. It's a matter of inches and placement. Mounts and fittings will not be in the same place.

 

[Jeff Scheid]

I realize I would need to custom fit anything I get. No one in our marina has a C30 Catalina for me to look at. I need one so I know where to start with zippers, frame attachments, snaps, etc. I have tons of pictures, but need something first hand. I will not be sewing it. I have someone who will do it, but needs pre-cut items.

 

[Meriachee]

Go look at a dodger on any boat in the marina. The zippers will be in more or less the same place. Decide what you like for windows, shape, size and placement, then spend the $15 and get the Sailrite video and pattern it. Sunbrella can get very expensive, very fast when you cut it an inch too short.

I probably had 100 pictures in a directory before I started the dodger project and walked a lot of docks, and learned one thing, no two installations are even close to the same. There is no custom fit. There is fit for your boat.

 

[Ron20324]

There's a new thought about dodgers: Make an awning, just the top of the dodger. Put (5?) zippers ouound the edge of the awning, then you can make 5 window panels that can zip out or in as needed. Also, you only have to remove the plastic and it's frame to take to the shop for repair. Dan at the Annapolis SailRite turned me on to that idea. I believe it is on the sailrite site now. I gave him the "Pizza Oven" idea in return.

 

[Meriachee]

Ron, funny you should mention that. Taking it one step further, the connector panel between the dodger and the bimini is attached with 2” wide Velcro, which has a Sunbrella cover strip on the dodger and the bimini for sun protection.
Way, way faster to put up, and you can start from anywhere, not where the zipper starts.
I’m about to move the bimini, and I’m thinking about attaching it that way too, saving the sun cover because the whole thing will attach and tear down in about 10 seconds, so it doesn’t need to stay out.

 

[jviss]

I would like to sincerely recommend that you look at a lot of dodgers on some very good boats. I know I have great canvas on my C36, but I was shocked at how much better, and with many more features, was the canvas on my new boat. I don't know who made it, unfortunately, so I can't even get it back to the maker for maintenance. But it really is outstanding, and super functional. One thing is that it has quite hard windows; not the usual, flexible, clear stuff, but stiff, almost glass-like plastic windows. The center one folds up. Lots of zippers, of course, and interesting ways of attaching it to the boat.

Maybe too much for DIY, but very interesting if you were to design and make one yourself.

 

[shemandr]

The Sailrite site has a technique to retro fit canvas to a dodger frame. Essentially it uses double sided tape and plastic panels to create the patterns for the canvas. Or, you could hire a professional. Making a dodger is almost an art form. There are so many variables. Windows? Sheet angles? Winch handle clearance? Sight over or under? Egress from the cockpit? Access to companionway for headroom? Each dodger is a compromise in balancing all this. Unless the boat is designed around the dodger, it will always be a compromise. BTW the dodgers of yachts of lore were just small covers of the companionway that would keep spray out of the companionway steps and maybe offer the watch crew a little shelter. Only lately have they defined living space.

 

[Joe]

You already have a frame, right? That's what you need to make a pattern.. The guy that made my dodger used big pieces of plastic and a marking pen to get the top, windscreen and side panels organized.... after he had the frame fabricated and mounted on the boat. You have to make the cover using the frame as your reference.... not the other way around. The frame is where you make the adjustments for width, height, slope, etc.

 

[Maine Sail]

Making a dodger requires a pattern of the existing frame. Anything short of this will not fit right. The material costs alone can really add up, and making a dodger is no easy task so study, study study and don't hire the cheapest stitcher you can find, hire someone who knows what they are doing. As others have said the options are endless.

What Thread? - Tenera by WL Gore or standard short-lived polyester
Profile? - Low (look over) or High (look through)
What Material? - Sunbrella being the gold standard (lots of ankle biter competition now though) or a product like Stamoid $$$
Drop Top Design to Protect the Windows?
Twist-Locks, Lift-A-Dot, Snaps or Luff Tape Attachment?
What Windows? - Makrolon AR-2 or AR-1, EZ2CY, Strataglass, O'Sullivan's O'sea or cheap PVC?
Straps or struts?
California Style or Traditional? -California style usually uses a 10" +/- radius, traditional 14"+
Zippers? - YKK, Lenzip, Riri....
Grab Spot? - Standard Vinyl, Sunbrella or Stamoid?
Front Bow - Strut Supported or Canvas Supported?
Zip Out Center Window? Roll Up Window? (ruined very quickly) or Articulating FlipUp/Under Window?
Tubing? - Aluminum or SS? 304 or 316 SS? .049 thin wall SS, .065 wall heavy walled SS
Grab Bar/s? Welded or Bolt On?

Dodgers are an art form....

 

[jviss]

Dodgers are an art form....

I have to agree with @Maine Sail on this, except I would say that dodgers are a craft object, in much the same way that a man's suit is a craft object. There are a million variables, and potential details. You can buy suit at Wal-Mart for under $100. You can but an off-the-rack suit at Brooks Brothers for $1,000. You can have suit custom made, of top fabrics, after numerous fittings, with numerous details, for - I don't know, $3k, $5k, more. All suits. The difference is in fabric, construction, fit, details.

Doing it oneself I recommend writing a requirements document, and then developing a process: a process schedule, what are the steps to go through, at what points do you review and evaluate progress and adherence to specs and requirements, and so forth. Not trivial.

 

[Meriachee]

Still comes down to the same thing. The only frame that’s the same shape as your frame, is your frame.

 

[Ron20324]

THERE ARE SIMPLE BOOKS FOR SEWING MARINE canvas items. You have to know some basic seams and hems. I have 4 or 5 marine sewing books that I referenced for my dodger and bimini. We can't hand ya this info, you have reach out to bring it together to suit your boat/your frame.

 

[Joe]

Not really a comment.... just wanted to post a pic of my $3100 investment.... it was a big "gulp" to pull the trigger on this project but... in the end I couldn't be happier. With all the benefits the dodger provides... such as protection in the cockpit and allowing the hatch to stay open most of the time.... I found the greatest to be the handholds for safer boarding (specially for us old folks) and moving forward. I chose a "see over" design that allows me to stand for great visibility while holding the rear grab bar. In really hot weather the side panels can be removed, the center windshield panel lifts up for air circulation...

 

[seadaddler]

You get what you pay for and my dodger was made by a pro when my H-36 was new at the dealer and can’t believe how well it is lasting since living in Florida for 10 years now.
Yes things are wearing and recently had to have the stitching redone and some patch repair
on some corners but all and all doing very well.
Nick

 

[Will Gilmore]

just wanted to post a pic of my $3100 investment...

Joe, that is a work of art you have the. Beautiful.

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[pmirenda]

Making a dodger requires a pattern of the existing frame. Anything short of this will not fit right. The material costs alone can really add up, and making a dodger is no easy task so study, study study and don't hire the cheapest stitcher you can find, hire someone who knows what they are doing. As others have said the options are endless.

What Thread? - Tenera by WL Gore or standard short-lived polyester
Profile? - Low (look over) or High (look through)
What Material? - Sunbrella being the gold standard (lots of ankle biter competition now though) or a product like Stamoid $$$
Drop Top Design to Protect the Windows?
Twist-Locks, Lift-A-Dot, Snaps or Luff Tape Attachment?
What Windows? - Makrolon AR-2 or AR-1, EZ2CY, Strataglass, O'Sullivan's O'sea or cheap PVC?
Straps or struts?
California Style or Traditional? -California style usually uses a 10" +/- radius, traditional 14"+
Zippers? - YKK, Lenzip, Riri....
Grab Spot? - Standard Vinyl, Sunbrella or Stamoid?
Front Bow - Strut Supported or Canvas Supported?
Zip Out Center Window? Roll Up Window? (ruined very quickly) or Articulating FlipUp/Under Window?
Tubing? - Aluminum or SS? 304 or 316 SS? .049 thin wall SS, .065 wall heavy walled SS
Grab Bar/s? Welded or Bolt On?

Dodgers are an art form....

I made a hard dodger and Hard bimini out of PVC material. No more buying canvas for $3500 every 6 years. All PVC materials are available at Home Depot (Veranda 4 x 8 ft PVC board for outdoor use.)

Hi All,
Looking for a Dodger pattern or and old dodger, so I can fab a new one. My boat 1980 C30 TRBS. I have a good frame, but the boat came without the canvas Dodger.

Thanks

Jeff