Dodger design

[Mike1902]

Thumbs up, Rick.
It's all coming together nicely.

Merry Christmas.

Cheers,
Mike.

[RFNK]

Thanks Mike, you too!

[Breakaway]

Looks great!


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[RFNK]

Thanks Kevin!

[gypsie]

I've noticed my dodger has become a lovely shelter for swallows. Nice and snug out of the wind.
I need a full masking cover over the back I think.

While you can conveniently do it, maybe take a template...

[wizbang 13]

That is going to be the most valuable real estate on the whole vessel!
been fun watching your foam engineering.

[RFNK]

Plenty more foam engineering to come! I'm currently glassing flanges for fastening. It's a messy and uncomfortable job - goop everywhere and going off too quickly in the sun, crawling under the shade cover while goop runs all over everything, and people walking by wanting to say Merry Christmas and discuss the job ..... But, getting there!

[RFNK]

My boat gets invaded by swallows too. The best thing I've found is bird netting. It's slippery so easy to slide over stuff and it's the right size so swallows don't get caught in it. I got it from a netting company in Sydney - near Parramatta, I think.

[RFNK]

So, yesterday I finished glassing the dodger flanges onto packing tape on the boat. Once the resin had set, I lifted the dodger off so now the rough flanges will be bases for finishing the glassing of the dodger body.

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This is the tape on the boat:

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The flanges will be about 6 or 8 layers of glass, feathered to meet the dodger and the boat. The flanges will be fastened to the boat with screws and Sikaflex so the dodger will be removable.

[John B]

What a very cunning plan. The pic in the garage is quite Escher esq, I've looked at it a few times and now my neck needs fixing.

[RFNK]

The pic in the garage shows the base of the dodger where it sat on the tape on the boat. To properly appreciate it, you need to stand on your head.

[johnno]

Looking terrific - here's to a dodgy 2023.

[RFNK]

Thanks John! At the current rate it'll take me all of 2023 to finish the bloody thing!

[John B]

Have more pics? ( please excuse me, we have had dogs in the house for a week so now I speak dog lingo) Please post if do, I've already been forced to post a tractor pic in the bilge, may be compelled to add to first boating etc thread...its started to rain...

[RFNK]

Building up the flanges doesn't produce very interesting pics but I'll take one and post it later today..

[RFNK]

So, this is the dodger body with its flanges built up to about 4 layers

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and these are strips of glass ready to be laid on to thicken up the flanges and smooth out the curve. When I'm doing this sort of glass moulding, I put the dry strips on top of each other, in order of intended use. Then I wet them out with a brush, laying each one on the job as I go. This makes them a lot easier to lay on, especially around corners, and the layers on the bottom of the pile are fairly wetted out by the time I get to them.

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[John B]

Very pro. I have very limited experience with glass.
Biased I suppose.
I want to make glass plates/ circles around each of my deck fittings including the staunchion bases so they stand up 2 or 3 mm. So the dilemma is whether to make them in situ and trim them while green to get a precise edge, or to make them as shapes off the boat and then resin/ glue them down .

[RFNK]

Make them off the boat. Once the glass layers are wetted out, put plastic over it and then clamp a board over that to press it all. Then cut and sand when set. It's better to make those plates wider than the bases anyway and very difficult to trim and fair in place.

Honestly, the only problem with using glass is protecting yourself from it. Use gloves, shoes and a face mask that covers your eyes even when cutting the glass material with scissors. The tiny fibres float in the air, get in your eyes and between your fingers and toes, and irritate you for days. And completely cover up when sanding or cutting the set glass. Best things I've found for cutting set glass are a fine metal cutting blade in a multitool and a diamond ceramic blade in a circular saw. While the setting glass is still 'green', cut it with a Stanley knife.

[Bruce Morley]

Hello John B, If you need to make a spacer that would be fitted under a stanchion base you may wish to consider using 'Tufnol' which is an angineering material with what I have found to have a unlimited lifespan. I have been using Tufnol for many years (28 years on our yacht) with no problems. I have used the produ t in sizes from 1mm thick to 40 mm thick and up to 60mm diameter. It's available in most big cities around the world and as its not marketed into the marine industry the cost is OK. They still make various blocks and pullies from Tufnol

Bruce

[RFNK]

Yes, I use that too. Also called Auspeton and there are other brand names. Phenolic sheet.

But if you already have glass and resin, it's easy making various things from it.

[John B]

Thanks Bruce , I'm aware of Tufnol and have worked with it before. Phil Y made his bases out of it. I'm just pondering how best to do it and lean towards Rick's suggestion. Having said that I've also made a few by doing a good masking job , laying up glass in situ and trimming it back while green with a snap off blade .

[RFNK]

When I'm doing a fairly big glassing job, it's handy to have some glass scraps laid out on plastic ready to use up any left over resin. Resin's become sooo expensive, I hate wasting any. Over time, I've built up a small store of fibreglass plate and fibreglass angle which I use for all sorts of applications apart from boats. My kitchen benches are fixed with fibreglass angle, for example, and I've used fibreglass plate for bolt washers too.

[RFNK]

Some progress:

Used a filleting mix to attach the roof - did this on the boat and then lifted it all off the boat once the resin set

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After glassing the internal corners to join the roof to the body, I glued the moulded channels into each corner post.

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These will add strength and also provide conduit for wiring.

[RFNK]

Attachment 127623

So now I'm just friggin' around with the external corner between the body and dodger, trying to get a nice, even rounding off so that the thing doesn't look like Eddie Munster.

I've also glued an 80mm wide bit of foam underneath each side of the roof to thicken each edge and stiffen the roof.

Next job is boring - just glassing the external corners and around the side edges.

A more interesting job will be making provision for hidden wiring, in case I install solar panels on the roof.

[willin woodworks]

Impressive. Bravo!

[Hugh MacD]

NICE! One of those things you'll love no matter what the weather

[RFNK]

Thanks Willin' and Hugh! Yep, especially when anchored somewhere in the rain at this time of the year, when it's warm and humid.

[John B]

Great progress, I like the conduits in particular. Probably mentioned but a grab rail along the back edge . It does two things, grab rail and stops water slopping aft in a seaway, directs it off the side. To be added on mine , ( coming up for its firstr repaint / touchups)

[RFNK]

Yep, the grab rail along the back is in the plan. I'm going to make it out of teak, just to blend the dodger a little with the rest of the boat and to provide a better surface for the boom to land on. It'll be moulded so that there's a groove in its forward side for grip.

I'm tossing up what to do about solar panels. The only ones I've found that you can really walk on are Solbian panels. They're expensive at $550 each for 52W and you can order them with the wiring running from underneath but I'd have to wait "3 to 6 months" for them. And I'm still not really sure that I really need more power than my little panels hanging off the pushpit already provide. The new panels would be for a little portable fridge, which would be handy .....

I've put an extra layer of foam under the sides and, before I glass over the sides, I can rout a trench for concealed wiring into that but, of course, I'd like the panels to make sure I get that right. Dilemmas, dilemmas ...

Remember I mentioned that I sometimes use spare resin and glass to make plates of solid glass? Well, one that I have is about 11mm thick. Yesterday, I cut two bits 130 X 25 and inserted them where the hinges for the front windscreen panel will go. They give me a crush-proof way of fastening the hinges to the dodger. Today I'll make some little round plates from the same plate and insert them where the fasteners will go through for the teak rear handrail.

The roof will have handrails along its sides too but these will be moulded from glass and conduit and be a regular grab rail design.

[RFNK]

Now I've formed channels with conduit and goop to take wiring for a couple of smallish solar panels

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and glued hard glass plugs in to take the fasteners for the barrier/handrail that'll run across the back of the roof

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[RFNK]

I intend to put frames around the windows as I want a traditional look, in keeping with Masina's age. But the windows are being installed in such a way that frames aren't really necessary so I'll see how it looks without them and add the frames if I still want to.

This is the process. Make MDF templates about 5mm larger all round than the windows. Then cover the templates in packing tape which serves as a mould release agent. Then fill the window cavity with epoxy filler and press the template into the goop, and leave it to set. The templates are made so that they're easily taken apart to make lifting them out of the mould easier.

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Removing the template leaves a nice flat bed to set the glass in with foam and sealant, with a 5mm gap for sealant between the glass and the dodger body.

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[RFNK]

Templates about 5mm larger than the windows to create a filler cavity so that sealant can be placed between the glass and the body

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Fairing is laborious and tedious but I don't mind it that much. I use 80g paper, orbital sanders and various hand sanders. This block sander is a 3M product and great because it extracts dust as it stands. I use Abranet mesh so that the vacuum collects it all.

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and I've made a flexible torture board using self-adhesive Velcro to sand the broad curved surfaces

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[RFNK]

Back on the boat for final fitting, I hope, and gluing in the rear posts

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[WX]

It looks good Rick.

[RFNK]

Thanks Gary!