Hard top Dodger

[Bobsquatch]

A thought for the mast lowering issue. build it with a hinged/sealed 70/30 split. Flip the 70% side over the 30% side to lower the mast or to go forward on deck. Remove the 70% side for trailering. I understand this creates some structural issues but they could be engineered away. Just a thought.

[jimbo]

I like the idea of hard top dodger but how do you deal with raising and lowering the mast? I have measured on my and when the mast is lowered to the stern mast crutch, there is about 8” clearance above rear of sliding hatch. I see 3 options:
1. Mast lowers onto dodger. Requiring raising rear support several feet. The dodger may support the weight but you would not be able to unpin the mast due to the leverage of the dodger not being beyond the Center point of the mast. Pinning would be even more difficult.
2. The dodger is removed to lower the mast. Like the soft tops.
3. Create some kind of opening through the dodger to allow the mast to drop to the stern mast support. I once saw a with a glass windshield with a Center pane that swung open to allow the mast to drop through the window.
Rick

To avoid this clearance issue you need to build a mast tabernacle for the mast. The rotation point for the mast during lowering and raising is then above deck level and thus will clear the dodger. The mast foot then rotates into the normal "slot" / "fitting".
Example here: http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index. ... cle-plans/

edit: a better diagram

[Highlander]

That configuration would have to b modified for the macm rotaing mast !which is not really hard to do


J

[arvid]

i have hardtop and like it very much . i made it from a top from a motorboat . it has aluframed windows .

[Russ]

i have hardtop and like it very much . i made it from a top from a motorboat . it has aluframed windows .

Do you have photos of this? Sounds interesting.

[BOAT]

I did not propose a "dodger".

A dodger is something you use to "dodge" the spray from the cockpit while you helm.

I wanted to get out of the cockpit completely . . .

A dodger needs to be very high off the cabin top because the occupants in the cockpit sit much higher than the top of the boat (that's why they are getting so wet in the first place!) No way to get a mast over that when it's still in the tabernacle.

I did not want a dodger - I wanted a PILOTHOUSE.

I wanted a solution to exposure and the cold during nightwatch. Steering from inside was easy with the autopilot remote and I could even make a tiller for the rudder brackets over the aft bunk if needed but the issue was also I needed to to get to the lines. The main is easy - it's right there at the cockpit door, and if i looped the genoa sheets up to the cabin top winches I could also control them from the companionway - so all I needed was something high enough in the companionway for me to see over the top of the boat yet low enough to not interfere with the mast as long as there was an extension on the mast crutch (which I have always planned to extend like many other already have).

So I ended up with a PILOTHOUSE that sits only about 11 inches high. The idea I was thinking was to have a fold down seat incorporated into the companionway ladder so you sit up high in that area looking out the pilothouse windows to steer the boat and tend the sheets all from that one spot.

In my mind - the key was that it must be a top that can cover the winches so you had access to the genoa lines:



I was hoping that someone with experience with fiberglass fabrication could help me develop a mold or that we could give the mold to BWY or someone who has experience with manufacturing and distribution of such things. The idea was that it was to be a simple top that was notched on the bottom to fit the rails of the factory sliding top so you could go back and forth. You could even leave the sliding top on if you wanted although the way I was designing it if you did leave the factory sliding top on it would only be able to slide forward about 2 feet or so before it bangs into the inside of the new "windshield":



I can not fabricate such a thing so it is not gonna happen over here. If someone has the ability to make fiberglass it would be an easy thing to make. I would just do it out of all fiberglass and then just cut out the windows after fabrication - in other words the same exact way the factory windows are on the raccoon stripes - no different looking from the inside or the outside. Everything would look exactly like the factory raccoon stripe windows. Just use the same glass (plexiglass??) although you would need to trim the glass to be much shorter to fit the pilothouse - but that's easy to do - right???

[geminiI-Can]

Boat,
Wow, you have spent a lot of time and thought on this. It looks good. You have addressed the issue with stepping the mast. Have you considered the view from behind the wheel? Would the shallow height and slope of the windows hinder being able to see through the "pilot house"? Or would you have to look over top? One of my issues is being able to see clearly through the plastic window of my dodger. I much prefer to remove the canvas. Unless it is raining, of course. Then I just make do with the slightly blurry view.

[Tomfoolery]

I did not want a dodger - I wanted a PILOTHOUSE.

So did I. So I bought one.

Oh, wait. I didn't buy one. But if I did, this would be the one.

[BOAT]

Yeah Tom, that's quite a pilothouse - but I think that one costs a lot more than the one I am proposing. Also, I don't think you can sail that boat from the pilothouse (too many masts).

Boat,
Wow, you have spent a lot of time and thought on this. It looks good. You have addressed the issue with stepping the mast. Have you considered the view from behind the wheel? Would the shallow height and slope of the windows hinder being able to see through the "pilot house"? Or would you have to look over top? One of my issues is being able to see clearly through the plastic window of my dodger. I much prefer to remove the canvas. Unless it is raining, of course. Then I just make do with the slightly blurry view.

The height of the pilothouse would be just bout eye level when your sitting on the elevated helm seat of the M boat. Here you can see me looking over the pilothouse:



but the windows would not be much use anyways from way back behind the wheel. It’s not really an issue looking forward because you can’t really see forward when under way because the genoa blocks your view. You would still have most of our view looking over the port or starboard beam.

The whole idea of the windows in the pilothouse are for when INSIDE the boat. You’re on the inside looking out and your close to the windows so the view would be quite clear with no blurriness. Also a new door also would protrude into the cockpit past the traveler so that you could operate the traveler and the mainsheet from inside the boat. The mainsheet block would still go straight up to the boom except there would be a canvas boot around the slot between the door and the top of the pilothouse to keep the weather out. Since the cabin top winches would be inside under the pilothouse the genoa sheets come from behind. The idea is to sail the boat from inside staying all warm and toasty with your favorite grog and have the ability to see out from the inside. A port on the roof would probably be a good idea too to monitor the main. Because .

I was thinking like the pilothouse in the MAC65:




Normally on most boats you set the sails and the AP to course and just go below and ignore it but the MAC is sort of jittery and likes to have the sheets trimmed often and this allows that. It also makes it possible to tack without going out into that cold cockpit. You could sail through light showers and stuff too.

[Russ]

I did not want a dodger - I wanted a PILOTHOUSE.

So did I. So I bought one.

Oh, wait. I didn't buy one. But if I did, this would be the one.

That looks like Rich B's latest version of 3rd Day. He started with a Mac.