Dodger and Bimini
- Thread starter Leerooker
- Start date
Not the kind of Item that people take off the boat while it is still in good condition. In the meantime start getting estimates to have one done.
Almost impossible unless you find a donor boat. Call the sea scouts or other sailboat restorers. Otherwise, start shopping for estimates. There are really NO standard sizes for dodgers.... I know, I looked far and wide... they are almost always custom built You can investigate using a kit and building yourself... check out www.sailrite.com.... but It'll still cost a bunch and it's not a beginner project. Man.... I wish you good hunting and would be interested to hear if you were able to find a used one....
If you are good with your hands and have the tools.. building the frame is within reason... then you could hire someone to handle the canvas and window challenge. Yikes... just thinking about it makes me nervous. You're better off to work some extra hours at your job to pay an expert.... because by the time you finish this DIY the hours spent and cost of supplies... and the end result.. will be difficult to justify.
If you are good with your hands and have the tools.. building the frame is within reason... then you could hire someone to handle the canvas and window challenge. Yikes... just thinking about it makes me nervous. You're better off to work some extra hours at your job to pay an expert.... because by the time you finish this DIY the hours spent and cost of supplies... and the end result.. will be difficult to justify.
Sailrite used to sell "kits" for biminis. I don't know if they still do, though. The rails shipped in 3 pieces that all you had to do is cut 2 to height, then a MIDDLE SPAN PIECE YOU'D CUT TO WIDTH. There's more to it than that, but it is too much to recite here. You'd have to have someone to sew the fabric with a heavy thread (192) or the bigger one. I made mine, but not with the Sailrite kit, as I had plenaty of scraps sitting around. It was alot cheaper than the $5200 for the OEM bimini/dodger/filler.
Agree with the others.............never heard of a used dodger and bimini as used ones are disposed of since they are at "end of life" fr many reasons including uv damage, stitches falling apart, canvas shredding, dodger glass uv damaged and can no longer see through. zippers will not operate, etc. If you want to save cost you can purchase a DIY dodger, which I did for a Hunter 31 and it never looked or performed well and ultimately hired a canvas shop to fix it for nearly the same cost a s new one. On the other hand you can purchase a bimini kit for a reasonably low cost but be sure you purchase sunbrella material otherwise it can quickly fade with months and never look good.