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[britinusa]

It's finally time to replace our Dodger. If anyone has seen a quote for a new dodger and choked on the price, don't!

I've posted my first blog post on the process of building our new Dodger, it includes a spreadsheet of the initial costs, I thought it would be around $650, but that's already $200 short!
So far, the estimated cost of Materials is over $800 and I expect it will take at least 5 trips to the boat for initial prep, templating, construction, initial fitting and adjustments. Just doing that many trips to the boat for a business would cost $500 let alone the cost of actual construction. Not sure how long the project will take, but I'm guessing around 20 hours of construction as well, and that would be another $1,000 at $50 an hour and what business can afford to only charge $50 per hour for quality work (I've been sewing for nearly 4 years now and have quite a few projects under my belt, plus about $2000 worth of machine, and tools and I'm just a hammer chewer!)

Here's a link to the blog article.

Paul

[Jon W]

Quite a coincidence. Thinking about making a bimini and was just looking at Marine Parts Depot bimini/rail hardware. I see you’re using some of their parts. How does the quality look, are the parts they sell made by Suncor? Looking forward to seeing your progress.

[britinusa]

I've been buying from http://marinepartdepot.com/ for at least 7 years, their stuff is very nice, the SS is very highly polished (IMHO), they ship within a couple of days and typically arrive within a week.

Paul

[Jon W]

Do you know who the manufacturer is? Wondering if it’s Suncor, or do they make their own stuff.

[britinusa]

to my recollection, the pieces are unbranded. Sorry. I can check them closely during the week.

Paul

[Ed Shankle]

Paul,
I noticed you didn’t mention thread type on your materials list, so I thought it would be worth suggesting Teflon thread. A couple years ago I needed some repair work done to my dodger, including restitching where seams had failed. The glass and sunbrella were still in good shape so a wholesale replacement wasn’t necessary. The person I was working with from the canvas company told me when returning the dodger that he had the shop use Teflon thread, saying it would last much longer than the regular thread. This being my second time around with seam failures since owning TailWind, I was appreciative and hopeful.  It’s only been a couple of years, so the jury is still out. But it would be nice if the life of the seams can be moved closer to the life of the glass and cloth!

Regards,
Ed

[Roc]

Paul,
I remember seeing a thread on this site from someone that bought all new canvas directly from Catalina Yachts.  They have OEM patterns and if you give them your hull number, they would make the exact OEM design for your boat.  I remember the post said if you don't mind the same canvas with no "upgrades" the price was very good.  Not sure if you searched this site for a post like that.

[Ron Hill]

Paul : The "life of the material thread" is Gortex or PTFE (Profilen) thread. It is well worth the extra money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

A thought

[britinusa]

I use Profilen for all of my outdoor projects. 

[crieders]

i was looking into a new zippered sail cover held up by lazyjacks. any thoughts?

[britinusa]

When we bought new sails 2 years ago, we also got a new 'Cradle Cover' after 2 years, I'm not impressed.

If I were to redo (myself) the cover I would change a few things.

1. Have the top zipper run on a continuous line so that it can be opened/closed from either end of the boom.

2. Have drain holes in the bottom seam (where the two sides meet) every few inches to prevent water lakes inside the cover.

3. Have Lazy jacks that can all be pulled down to the boom with the cover rolled (for racing)

4. Have the aft end of the cover held up similar to the way Mac Sails does it, rather than by a line that attaches to the topping lift.

If I made it myself, it would cost a fraction of what we paid, I was feeling flush at the time because we had just sold our old boat.

 

Paul

[Ron Hill]

Cliff : If you want zippers to last (damage from the UV) use black zippers NOT white.

A thought 

[Phil Spicer]

   Ron, Thanks for the tip on using black zippers. I have 4 vertical zippers in my sail cover for the lazy jacks. I have had to replace
them because of UV damage. I plan to make a new sail cover this winter and will change to the black zippers. In fact, all of
the white zippers on the dodger and bimini have been replaced because of UV damage. Good thought Ron. 

[britinusa]

Also... When you make the new, ensure that the zips have a cover. Sailrite often refers to them as a 'tail' in their videos. I've seen a bunch of zips that are basically destroyed by UV when left uncovered.

[britinusa]

Dodger Frame extensions have been added, just need to cut them to the correct length to ensure the Frame is below the minimum boom height.

https://www.sailingeximius.com/2019/11/updating-dodger-modifying-frame.html