Fruits Of My Labor (A-113)

[ebb]

Tony, Mike,
I didn't respond completely to Mike's remark in post 285 where he says that perhaps the dodger top that extends over the companionway into the cockpit
can be designed to have three major functions?

It can be a place for the traveler.
Tony's original proposal for his dodger which is wide across the top would be ideal for a wide versatile traveler.
Boom gallows support
could be built in there also.. While not ideal, the boom could be immobilized well enough for a storm sail to be rigged. Perhaps with a temporary crutch added at the cockpit end.
And of course the bimini

Finding the ideal point over the cockpit to terminate the dodger, making it tall enough to make it easy to get in and out below, yet aesthetically pleasing and comfortable to sit under... is the challenge.
Having a traveler there will mean the dodger edge has to be designed as an arch to take the loads the mainsheet will put on it. The dodger will be structural, not a casual addition.

But it does seem like a natural.
Maybe the only real problem is going forward with the main sheets at that elevation over the side deck. It's am arguement to keep the sheets at the aft end of the cockpit.

I'm wide open to your ideas and solutions. Our dodgers are definitely part of the solution. May be it IS the solution. I'll be watching....and hoping...
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By the by - You can't have midboom sheeting if you have a loosefoot main.