By Dick - 19 Jan 2025
Hi all,
The enclosure to be described was designed to provide: protection from the elements (cold and rain), good visibility, no increase in profile to the wind, a minimum compromise for hearing, and no compromise at effectively operating the boat. Enclosures/hard dodgers have great appeal and are easier to execute in larger boats as evidenced by some of the high-end vessels intended to wander widely. Alchemy is a 40-foot boat and her enclosure can realistically be executed on any boat with a dodger.
It was inspired, first by being cold and unhappy motoring down the ICW in late fall, coupled with observing the effectiveness of ice-house see-through plastic door-way flaps that provide easy access from the cold interior to the warmer exterior with minimum transfer of cold/heat. It has kept us comfortable for ~~20 years and has endured 2 Atlantic crossings, numerous gales and one storm level wind from astern.
Description: At the aft end of the dodger are three panels covering the dodger opening side to side and top to bottom. They are secured to the dodger trailing edge by a zipper arrangement as are the sides. The three panels zip together. The center panel is the “door-way”.
This enclosure is designed with, but not limited to, a couple in mind. When underway, 2 can sit on the cockpit seats fully protected: families will not fit. More often, the on-watch is sitting comfortably on a cushion chair, feet out athwartships and protected, with a 360-degree view and a good view of the chart plotter and instruments and easy control of the auto-pilot. Rain and spray that usually curls around the edges of the dodger into the sitting area are thwarted as is the cold wind. Books, IPads, Kindles and the like can be on-watch with you and not in danger of spray etc. Since you are, in many respects, basically outside, there is no temptation to under-dress and the middle panel/door allows the crew an easy exit to work the boat and for the regular 360-degree visual sweep outside the door un-diminished by looking through windows.
The above allowed us to comfortably push the season a month or more at each end and has been a valued companion when we visited the higher latitudes of Norway, Iceland, Greenland and a few years in Newfoundland. Frequently, in rainy and cool sailing grounds, the panels were left on all season (they are easily flipped aside for those occasional warm sunny days. In cold weather with a little sun the enclosure quickly warms nicely: like a greenhouse.
When wintering over, the enclosure gave us a bit of a “mud room” before going below and some extra protected storage area. It is also nice to not have the washboards in as they contribute to a “closed-in” feeling when living aboard and over-wintering somewhere.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy**
* Being cold and uncomfortable makes for poor decision-making and physical boat management errors. In addition, fatigue is often a hidden element in many a sailing mis-adventure. It is quite fatiguing to be exposed to the elements, especially adverse elements, for long periods such as occurs on an offshore passage. Fatigue makes for physical mistakes and mental errors of judgment. We find ourselves far less fatigued with our “offshore” enclosure.
** Construction details can be posted or gotten from me directly if there is interest.
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