For the first 10 years or so that I owned my 1996
I used it primarily under sail. I added a full Dowsar enclosure in 2003. Now I find that I spend most of my time cruising the historic waterways in Ontario Canada. Since minimum bridge clearance is only 22 feet, I leave the mast at home. In this mode, the Dowsar enclosure has some limitations. The slanted transition piece between the top of the bimini and the top of the dodger limited forward and side visibility during bad weather. This winter I modified portions of the enclosure to make it more suitable for all weather powerboating. An extra stainless bow was added forward of the dodger and a new horizontal transition piece was added. The side transition curtains were also replaced. I three piece wrap-around provides great forward visibility and excellent sight lines from the helm. There is also standing headroom throughout the entire cockpit.
The unused original panels were preserved so that it is easy to convert back to sail mode when required.
I also added a steaming light with a new bracket that connects to the mast step and uses the existing steaming light connector on deck.
When I bought the boat I didn't think that I would do anything but sail. However, it's great to know that when situations change, the
lives up to it's claims of being a half decent powerboat.
