At this time the boat is pretty much ready to go. I am nerdy enough about my boat that I keep it stocked with spare parts and keep the whole machine in good working order. I certainly won't bore you here with a list of preparations I am making (though you can comment and ask if you are THAT interested) but one task in the works right now that I am pretty proud of is the replacement of my dodger. The dodger is a roof and three walls which helps make things infinitely more comfortable for the helmsman. My last dodger was a canvas one with soft windows. After a 2 week storm here in Alaska which had gusts up to 130 knots I could not find one single shred of the canvas. But it was getting old and you couldn't actually see through the horrible flexible plastic windows that they put in these things. I did in fact price a replacement canvas top but was aghast at the $5000 quoted price. It was not a hard choice for me to just do this on my own and with a budget of $1300 I set out to do so in a more durable material and better windows. I toyed with the idea of molding a fiberglass shell but finally decided to take advantage of the existing stainless steel frame which was holding up the canvas cover. I bought huge sheets of recycled milk jugs which have been pigmented white and treated with a UV protector. These sheets will provide a sturdy, long lasting and easy to replace alternative to canvas. I am currently over half way done and have all of the engineering questions worked out. Though I had to design this from scratch and even build my own window frames I have enjoyed the work so far and am excited to see it all done. It will be a new and exciting experience for me just being able to actually see through the windows!!!! I'll post a finished picture once it is all done.
Be well, Eric...
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| Part way done. Everything is still in its protective coating :) |
