BWYACHTS Cockpit Enclosure

[Dido]

Hi,
Looking at the Cockpick enclosure from BWYACHTS, just wondering if anyione as one or has experiance of them, were in the UK so it's difficult to get reviews, if you know of alternatives please let me know.

Thanks for your help Simon

[Chinook]

We got one for our X in 2003, and have loved it ever since. It's well made (met the guy who makes them at last year's BWY Rendezvous, and he's a very talented and interesting fellow), nicely designed, and quite easy to install. It does have a couple of shortcomings. First of all, the bimini, which must clear the boom, is too low to allow one to stand fully upright while at the wheel. The Dowsar bimini/enclosure setup stands taller and avoids this problem, however, the cost of the Dowsar is significantly higher than the BWY enclosure. Also, you'll find that when you raise and lower the bimini, it will rub on the back stay and if you're not careful, the sunbrella fabric will wear/abrade where it contacts the backstay. We sewed an extra patch of material there for reinforcement, and also slipped a plastic stay cover onto the backstay, which has taken care of that issue. Another idea, which the fabricator might be able to include in an enclosure order, would be to come up with some velcro or snap ties which would enable you to roll up the side curtains, but still leave them zipped in place across the top. When it rains we'll zip the whole thing in place, but after the rain quits, it's nice to open things up. If the weather is variable, it would be a lot easier to just roll the side curtains up and leave them attached. We've made some velcro ties for this purpose, but it would be nicer to have that feature designed into the enclosure from the start, and I bet it could be easily ordered. We often run with the back panel left in place, even if the side curtains are rolled up, since it does a nice job of cutting down on engine noise. All in all, I've looked at the Dowsar and it's nice, but I think the BWY enclosure gives great value for the money.

[Shane]

Mike already summed it up nicely. We've got the M version and it's the best option we've spent money on. I like (translated as 'I may have to borrow') his idea of adding some roll up strap snaps; would be easy on the side windows, but probably wouldn't bother with the connector windows, due to the angle.

Regards,
Shane

We got one for our X in 2003, and have loved it ever since. It's well made (met the guy who makes them at last year's BWY Rendezvous, and he's a very talented and interesting fellow), nicely designed, and quite easy to install. It does have a couple of shortcomings. First of all, the bimini, which must clear the boom, is too low to allow one to stand fully upright while at the wheel. The Dowsar bimini/enclosure setup stands taller and avoids this problem, however, the cost of the Dowsar is significantly higher than the BWY enclosure. Also, you'll find that when you raise and lower the bimini, it will rub on the back stay and if you're not careful, the sunbrella fabric will wear/abrade where it contacts the backstay. We sewed an extra patch of material there for reinforcement, and also slipped a plastic stay cover onto the backstay, which has taken care of that issue. Another idea, which the fabricator might be able to include in an enclosure order, would be to come up with some velcro or snap ties which would enable you to roll up the side curtains, but still leave them zipped in place across the top. When it rains we'll zip the whole thing in place, but after the rain quits, it's nice to open things up. If the weather is variable, it would be a lot easier to just roll the side curtains up and leave them attached. We've made some velcro ties for this purpose, but it would be nicer to have that feature designed into the enclosure from the start, and I bet it could be easily ordered. We often run with the back panel left in place, even if the side curtains are rolled up, since it does a nice job of cutting down on engine noise. All in all, I've looked at the Dowsar and it's nice, but I think the BWY enclosure gives great value for the money.

[Highlander]

Go to Genco Sails site copy the pic's of the mac26x full enclosure, they they used to make full enclosure for Dowsar, then see if you can get a quote on getting one made with alum or ss tubing localy , Alum tubing will be fairing cheaper

J