My Crazy Dodger Idea

Hello,

Many people have expressed a desire to remain dry or extend the usability of their Hobie Getaways/Hobie 21SC. I was wondering if it's be possible to add some sort of dry area to the boat and it has somewhat evolved into the pictures below.

Any feedback would be helpful. I'd really like to have this be a safe thing to add. The bottom of the frame would clamp onto the wings. I wish I could add a bimini to allow this to even be used in the rain, but I'm not sure how I could safely do that yet because I don't want anyone to get trapped in the event of a pitchpole/capsize.

Original thread: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-d ... 53395.html

A very interesting idea! I don't know why, but my Getaway seems much wetter (spray) than the H-17s I previously owned.
Maybe just a nylon strip that goes inside the wing supports and across in front of the mast, attached to the wings. It'd have to be cut away for jib and spin usage.

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

I've been playing with it a bit more. Trying to think up a way it could actually provide rain/sun protection.



Funny that I never thought to just put the front cover between the wings. I will try a new design using that idea.

I figure rain and sun protection is my windbreaker and hat! But I would like to stop the spray from soaking my wife down! I think I'll try a front barrier between the wing supports.

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

If you need this, you picked the wrong kind of boat.

Ha! True!

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

I know what your saying but the way you said it seemed rather elitist......
He has a problem and he is trying to devise a solution so he can better enjoy something he obviously loves otherwise. Nothing wrong with that.

I'm unsure what something like that would do to the airflow near the bottom of the sail but I've rigged up stranger things in my day. It will probably add unwanted braking action on a tac, as well. Also, will it really deflect the bigger sprays without forcing your wife to duck down low, which I think may not be that enjoyable either.

My biggest concern would be how do you experiment without having to drill a lot of holes into the hulls. It could take multiple tries to make it work, if at all. Unless of course you have a nautical engineer in your friends list.

I'm tentative about the idea, but it never hurts to talk about them.

Does your boat have wing seats on it? I find that being a couple-few feet higher off the water keeps the spray from being as overwhelming as is when you're sitting on the tramp.

The whole notion is absurd...

AGREE!

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2001 H18 w/SX wings & spinnaker #16740 (purchased new)
1989 H18 w/SX wings #14565 (purchased new, sold 2000)
Would buy another if Hobie would build it.

Of course it's absurd. So what? Sailing is a sport full of iconoclasts and people who sail to a different drummer!

Note the OP had the idea of the framework dodger, and I'm thinking of just attaching nylon as a spray skirt. If I can keep my wife happier, I get to sail longer in the season. She won't even consider a wetsuit, so in No. Illinois/So. Wisc, that shortens our season a couple of months. Yep, got wings, it's the cold spray over her legs I'm thinking it would deflect.

As far as tacking, I learned to tack on H-17s, so having more weight and a jib makes it ridiculously easy. A big ol' piece of nylon will slow the boat and might make tacking a bit tougher, but again, if it stretches my season...

Hey, spinnakers were absurd too.

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

Where's the OP?

On some levels I agree with the sentiments I've been reading about this being absurd. I actually live in Tokyo, Japan and have been trying to engineer my way into having some sort of makeshift cruiser while avoiding the $500/mo minimum berthing fees here (prepaid for 1 year with equal deposit). Since this post I ended up buying a Tandem Island since this allows me the possibility of avoiding all storage fees as well as car-topping. The TI arrives in about 10 days and I'm extremely excited.

Of course, this still has not resolved my desire to create some sort of cabin/protection from the elements. Now that I'm in the TI camp i've seen all sorts of spray skirt/dodger arrangements in attempts to stay dry or even extend the boating season to allow for colder water. Now I'm back to the drawing board trying to do the same thing on my TI. I had a look at the Hobie dodger and have been wondering why nobody has attempted to make a more extensive dodger. Back to the drawing board. I suppose I'll move this discussion to a new topic in the Hobie Island forum.

If you have a cover of some type that allows people to go out in colder conditions than they're equipped for, it seems risky. Bad things happen and people who aren't dressed for the conditions get cold very quickly.