My wife is a seamstress, she and myself did canvas work for a lot of
years. If you are going to hire someone to make you a dodger take them
some Vega Pictures with dodgers. If you get a good canvass worker he
will look at the pictures and know how the frame should be
proportioned. First go look at their work from a list of boats they
have done, be sure that all the canvas is reinforced. Be sure the
zippers are plastic,metal ones corrode. Every place there is a fastener
should be reinforced and canvas should be tight with few wrinkles. In
the corners where the lines pull the canvass back tight there should be
a total of about 5 layers of canvas or webbing. Wrinkles hold water and
cause leaking. A sloppy made canvas dodger not only looks like hell it
won't last. The dodger needs to be low enough that the sail cover does
not touch it. You will be amazed how quick a sail cover moving only
slightly across canvas will wear it through.The canvas on the back
highest frame should be covered with leather or at the very least some
abrasion resistant plastic ( Naugahyde) or better. The canvas and frames
should be pulled back tight with line to a cleat so that the material
can be retightened as needed. If the top is flat it will hold water
and very shortly the canvas will stretch to form a puddle and that will
leak. There needs to be a lot of crown in the back bow to prevent
puddling or the back bow needs to be higher than the front one so water
will run forward. Buying good canvas work is almost as hard as making
it. I would buy a good book for maybe $30 and study the fine art of
making boat canvass. That will be the best money you ever spent. Every
piece of canvas my wife made you could bounce a quarter on and I have
seen her cut one up and make a new one because it had a wrinkle in it.
Doug
