Dodger Question

[Lance Jones]

For those of you who have dodgers, is the foot of the frame mounted on top of or on the side of the cabin? Is there a preferred location?

[waterdog]

Put it on top.   You don't want your shorts getting caught every time you go forward.   (But make sure you have room to put a handle on the winch).   And speaking of going forward, put some nice grab handles on the side.  Well worth the extra cost.

[Ken Juul]

here are some examples i found on Yachtworld.

[Stu Jackson]

More dodger flix.  This is our OLD dodger from pictures I took before we had it recovered.  We kept the frame. As noted, the side handrails are an important SAFETY feature and should be included.  I have yet to see a dodger where you can use the cabintop winches with a complete freedom of action.  The ratcheting feature of the winches allows use in about less than half of the throw, so just go back and forth with the winch handle.  The slots in the front glass panel were from the old dodger setup, which we replaced with fixed grommets when we redid the traveler.

[Ron Hill]

Lance : All of the C34 dodgers I've seen have the frame attached to the sides.  Most of these have been made locally and not by Catalina.
I'd STRONGLY recommend that you get the side hand holds like Stu has, as well a full length hand hold along the aft portion. These hand holds are really handy, promote safety and substantially strengthen the dodger frame.  A thought

[Stu Jackson]

Flix from the other day, new dodger.

[Ken Juul]

Pictures of how mine is mounted.  If you take care when you bend the bows, slightly outboard then back to the mounts, you can still get a full circle when using the winches.  Note to self, pick up the boat before taking pictures!