Dodger Project

Posted By: Jim I, 94 S25 'H2O', Wilmington, NC
Date: 4/14/09 10:02a.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

The next project was the dodger. Our Seaward came with the three bow, foldable dodger. The Sunbrella was in good shape (close but not exact match to Captains Navy) but the vinyl window was cloudy and difficult to see through and the stitching needed help. We really were not comfortable using the dodger because of the window. I decided to modify the dodger to use a different type of window. I looked at some California style dodgers then I found Gemini Canvas’ website http://www.geminicanvas.com/cuttingedge1.htm and really liked some of the features of their twisted dodger design. www.iversondesign.com out of Seattle does some very impressive work as well and has some of the most nicest looking dodgers on the web. The Strataglass window material made all the difference in the world to seeing through the dodger! To begin, I made removable vertical struts out of 7/8” SS to hold open and tension the two forward bows. I then purchased a full sheet of 30 mil Strataglass from Scalise Marine http://www.scalisemarine.com/. I went with Scalise because they will sell second quality of Strataglass (when available) that contains at least 90% usable product. The full sheet (111” x 54”) I bought had only one small mark and was only $74. I only used half for the dodger and bimini wind vane window so I have half left to redo another entire dodger. I also purchased the Strataglass cleaner and polish as this is the only stuff you can use on it. Windex ruins it. The Strataglass is amazing to see out distortion free and will allow us to keep the dodger up. Downside of using it is that it cannot be folded. I made a template of the stock dodger window opening and cut the Strataglass and inch wider to be safe. I then used a seam ripper to remove the outer row of stitches on the existing window and trimmed back the edge of the old vinyl leaving the inner row of stitches and the vinyl intact. Sailrite has good instructions on their website. Where I deviated from them was I removed the outer stitches and a thin strip of old plastic so it was easier to sew through. We then used seam stick to adhere the new window to the old and stitched the new window in (leaving the old window in until the end is key because it maintains the shape of the opening). Using the seam ripper, we then carefully cut away the old window from the front to reveal the new one underneath. Very slick idea from Sailrite. We then created templates for the new triangular side windows and cut them out of Strataglass. These were stitched to the inside of the dodger. We then used a second template to cut away the Sunbrella an inch from the seam to expose the window. This edge was then folded over and stitched down. On rounded edges, you need to slit the Sunbrella every couple of inches before you fold it over onto the seam stick to curve it. I tried to match the radius of the larger window. I should have made more slits in the corners but it still looks OK. The side windows really dress it up and improve visibility on the sides. With the new forward struts, the windshield portion of the dodger stays open by itself (self standing). The top of the dodger can be folded down to the windshield like a backwards convertible top. The small white plastic clip visible at the edge of the window on the port side strut is available through Sailrite and keeps the window off the SS struts. The old stitching was breaking in high wear areas so we re-stitched them. We also added chafe leather by stitching it to a piece of Sunbrella and then stitching that to the top. This made the chafe leather removable and also kept us from stitching through leather and multiple layers of the dodger near the existing top zipper. The aft zipper on the dodger was kept to add a panel between it and the bimini later. The lift a dot fasteners were replaced with new ones in the same locations. I found that using the edge of the can opener on my Gerber was the best way to remove the fasteners. It is currently covered in yellow peril (southern pine pollen) so I'll need to clean and rinse it so I can polish the Strataglass. One more project complete! Jim