I,ve uploaded 14 pic's of the dowsar encloser you should be able to view them from my photobucket site once you click on the pic belowsite ok hope this helps I'll post the genco pic's later tonight
PS . Was nice meeting with you Deac at the odin booth hope we get a chance to meet again maybe on a get together sail with some others from this site also. Thx for your time
Hi Frank C, Thank's for your help there on posting my link I maybe need you to do the same when I post the Genco Dodger link for Terry
Hi Alex
Frank fixed my link as you can see I'll be going to the to boat show again on sat morning Jan /20/07 I'll be meeting up with Beene so if your interested we could all meet together if you have not already gone OK
Well, the Dowsar dodger certainly has the width I like, could extend further back though - appears to not cover the companionway completely. I suppose one could move the bail/hound for the mainshet block further back on the boom to accommodate it. Would also be nice if it extened further down the combing as per the X dodger but I suppose I am being a bit fussy, but then again, for the dowsar price I expect more. Another nice feature would be to have zip/snap in/out door panels that extend down to the traveller step so that one could omit the hard FG door.
Am I asking too much?
I ordered a Dowsar full enclosure a year ago this week for my M. Art has gone through rough time with his canvas supplier and I have been patient with all of that. Now that he has a new supplier he wanted to make sure the product was right before he sent one across Canada, and I can see that. But now it has been 3 months since his new supplier has been in production and I am still getting promises. My point; be wary of delivery promises from Dowsar. I believe it is a great product and I am willing to wait, but this is getting rediculous. If you order from Dowsar you will have to be patient on delivery, very patient. I still believe the product is worth the cost and wait, if you ever receive it.
Well folks after a year of excuses I finally gave up and cancelled my enclosure order with Dowsar. For the last 2 month I was told that my enclosure was made and in the shop, just had to be shipped. I called several time to see if it had been shipped yet, once at the beginning of the day hoping they would ship. I got plenty of promises but in the end no enclosure. I would not order anything from Dowsar in the future and have felt I have been VERY patient. I still think they have one of the best enclosures on the market but if you cannot get it shipped it is no use.
Glad I got mine 4 years ago when they were able to supply them in a reasonable time. Even then Art was a month late shipping it. I wonder if his new supplier is as good as his old one was.
I must say though, if you can get one, you won't be disappointed. Our Dowsar full enclosure has been the best money we ever spent on the boat. It still continues to impress me. Last Monday it saw us safely and comfortably through some of the roughest water and weather conditions I've ever driven the boat through. It easily shrugged off gallons and gallons of water pummeling it continuously.
The only thing I wished for was a windshield wiper for the front of the dodger.
Sorry to hear that about Dowsar or any company. Lots of companies seem to be able to make and market great products but also seem to have not the slightest clue about what the term "customer service" really means. A definite reflection on management, in my opinion. In this case I think good customer service not only would have had Dowsar truthful about the situation and time required, but also the maker would have gone out and paid retail price for the proper material so their product could have been shipped to the consumer with minimum delay. I've done that many times and by swallowing a small loss kept my customers coming back for more later.
What about that company that was making the Dowsar knock-off, what happened to them? I can't remember exactly, but seems like it was another Canadian company. I can certainly understand that maybe there is a bigger market for these things in the great white north...but how come someone can't produce a high quality enclosure in the U.S.?
I need one in Florida but I haven't had time to get a custom one built yet since I probably need to take my boat to the canvas shop on the trailer and then raise the mast in their yard, then specifically instruct them exactly how to make one, etc. Would probably just be easier to install something like a Dowsar and know it was well designed and going to work well.
I will be going down to genco some time soon as I met with Nat at the T.O. boat show he told me he still had the plans for the full encloseure so I want to look at them before I decide what I'm going to go with yet still thinking of a hard top instead of a dodger got a quote of $1200.00 Can. for a H/T & that would give me 6' head room in the cabin same price as the genco dodger, the genco dodger for the is a full width dodger . The small dodger with doors from BWY is $950.00 US plus shipping would be about the same $. Genco was Dowsars original supplier untill a few years ago so he is not making Knock-offs , some one did tell me who was making Dowsars enclosures now but Dowsar does keep that a close secret if I can find out again who his supplier is you might be able to get one direct unless Dowsar owns the pat. I'll keep you posted
BWY has a high quality full enclosure for the X or M at around $2600. Their's is made locally here in Washington.
The only reason I didn't buy it is their design uses a longer low bimini that extends under the boom (ala the factory binimi). This limits standing headroom at the steering pedestal to 5'6" on a X. That's too low as far as I'm concered. I do a lot of standing steering and don't like getting a crick in my neck. That's why I paid more and waited longer for the Dowsar enclosure. Dowsar's (and now the Genco one) has 6' 2" headroom.
That said, I know many people on both X's and M's that are very happy with their BWY full enclosures. It looks like there is a bit more headroom under their M model, but I don't care for the way the wide bimini with side panels has to taper in to join thier choice of narrow dodger. The Dowsar design for the M still looks better to my eye.
Fine Print:
I also don't like that the BWY hardware is aluminum with plastic fittings, has no opening screened windows, and requires straps to stand up (the Dowsar is self supporting without a single strap to get in the way). These features are part of why the BWY was only $2500 at the time I bought and the Dowsar was $3800us.
So the question is how far has Genco gone in copying the design. Did they match all these features and use all SS tubing and hardware?
full encloseure so I want to look at them before I decide what I'm going to go with yet still thinking of a hard top instead of a dodger got a quote of $1200.00 Can. for a H/T & that would give me 6' head room in the cabin same price as the genco dodger, the genco dodger for the 