Well my baby dodger from BWY has arrived and I installed it on the boat yesterday. I think I'm going to like it. Tomorrow I go sailing and see if it passes the Delevi test.
The handles were a dealer-installed goodie. No idea where they came from. I gues it was one of the options I selected when buying the boat. I never even considered them to be an obstruction of any sort. Quite handy, actually. I would imagine that BWY would have them or something similar available.
I did leave it on after the original install. The birds crapped all over it so now I dont. I ordered 6 quick pins from BWY @ $3 each vs. $12 at West marine. Also got a nice helm seat cushion with snaps. Anyhow, I now remove it. It's quite easy and fast. Pull all 6 pins, unsnap, fold and down into the cabin. About 3 minutes. This also allows me to quickly drop the dodger while under sail (pulling 4 pins instead of 6) thus leaving the mid frame attached. This allows the dodger to be folded forward, yet still on the boat... haven't tried yet under sail. The reason for this is back to my original complaint of hard sheeting. The boom just won't clear the dodger. After looking at how low the boom comes down with a lot of force on the sheet (when conditions warrant really flattening the sail and heading up to the pinch zone) I don't believe any dodger would be low enough for the boom to clear and still be functional.... so in that scenario, I would drop the dodger. If anyone else has different input with another dodger, say Dowsar, I would be interested to know.
The dodger did pass some important early tests. Keeps all water out of the cabin with the hatch open. Kept me completely dry when motoring in chop (lots of spray) as I had the boat on autopilot, standing on the steps below the doger, keeping a lookout and staying dry. Still had plenty of reach to the throttle and AP control pad.
Glad to see you back online. It's quite possible my main has a longer leech than Roger's It does have a bit more roach. Also, it was measured/cut custom and of course, they never measure the old sail or take it into consideration. I have maybe an inch or two at the top, if even that. I need probably 4-6 inches.. so no dice. I have pondered raising the gooseneck about two feet. This may sound wacky but the idea would be beyond just the dodger, but rather to create an environment in the cockpit where nobody needs to be concerned about getting decapetated by the boom, even whilst standing. Of course, this would involve re-cutting the foot the of the mainsail as well as altering the track in the mast. Or, if there is a way to create a removable mount in the gooseneck attachemnt at the moust (not sure the correct terminology) Then raise the boom and attach the main at the first reef. This would allow the option to lower the boom to its original position to run the full sail. I have no idea how a setup like this would affect the integrity of the rig. Just kicking it around.
Yeah, 2 or 3 inches is the bare minimum free halyard, just to allow for system stretch. I'd prolly expect to see minimum of 5 or 6 inches below the halyard block.
Moving the gooseneck is no big deal. You've already got the tools~! You'd just need to open the feed track with some gentle persuasion. But it's no easy task to recut the main. Might be less work to lower the headboard?? Only the sailmaker knows for sure.
I would not want to lift the boom by 2 feet. Consider that the bulk of the sail's horsepower occurs in that lower section. I think raising the boom so much would create too much "higher leverage" on the mast and prolly exacerbate heeling too much. I'd want to raise it no more than a minimum to safely clear all 'heads' while seated, plus the dodger of course. Would that be 6 to 8 inches??
It is tough to measure exactly, considering the sail has to be hoisted first, and then boom height will depend largely on sheeting. I can crank down the main sheet as much as I can at traveler's center line, can still celar all heads while seated but the height of the dodger would have to be so low that only a hobbit could enter the cabin comfortably. I'm inclined to leave the whole thing alone and just live with it. The thought of cutting a new mainsail which set me back more than 2 boat bucks makes me cringe. It is also now very quick and easy to drop the dodger, which I may leave in the down position while sailing. I really got it primarily for motoring. Also, majority of sheeting angles will allow the boom to clear. It won't clear only in the scenarios I described. Another option would be to sheet traveler to windward and give the main sheet a bit of slack so as to twist rather than blade on a beat. I'm still not convinced which of the two techniques is more effective. Everything is always a compromise, isn't it?
delevi wrote:Frank, did you find a new slip for your boat?
Nah ... the same slip at a new price, $240/month.
Add the $125/month dry-storage (trailer sits there) and it's a big pill, every month!
I bragged too loudly about our terrific rates just off SF Bay. No longer!