I am interested to know if anyone has made a spray hood for the main companionway hatch. I had one made for a previous BCC but never thought about taking pictures for reference. I want to build one for “Lightfoot”. If anyone has some good pictures out there of the construction detail I would appreciate it if they could be posted or forwarded. Thank you.
Mark
SV “Lightfoot”
Hi Mark,
I’ll take some photos of the hood for you as soon as I can, perhaps sometime this week. Any special details of interest to you? I have never removed the hood or companionway sliding and hood but may do so this winter after we haul her. Any hints on how it comes off?
Right now we are settling in to our new home in Belfast, Maine and plan to haul Itchen in a few days, after a last short cruise if the weather holds.
Regards, Scott
Go to the gallery section then find IDUNA’s gallery. The second page has a folder with pictures of the dodger (spray hood) Lenora built for the boat. We had the two main frame bows and added the aft support struts and outside handles which also serve as support struts between the two bows.
Hey Scott , How are you guys?
If I could get some pics of the top, sides and open area up forward that would be great. I had the hood made by Mike Anderson and I should have taken pics when it was delivered. To remove there are plugged fastener holes along both sides near to the deck that have to be removed. Once removed, you can back out the screws which are fastened into a wood cleats on both sides which are in turn fastened to the deck.
I do not believe I used any 5200 to bed the unit…maybe Boatlife in the fastener holes that attach the cleats to the deck.
You have a home up in Maine? Very jealous here.
Curious how the windvane worked for you as well. I will be hauling at end of November as the weather in VA allows a bit longer season.
Say hello to Dottie.
Best to you
Mark
SV “Lightfoot”
Thanks Rod,
I will take a look .
Best to you
Mark
SV “Lightfoot”
Gee, another “Hi Guys” , Mike Anderson made a “spray hood” for Calliste, too.
We copied a spray hood that we saw on BCC Puffin, in NZ .
The only thing that I would do differently next time, would be to slope the fwd thwartship face at an aft slanting angle, other than the verticle angle that Mike and I decided on.
That new spray hood, really paid dividends, especially the open top “ditty gear” compartment at the fwd end !
Douglas, BCC Calliste
HI Mark, Are you looking for a companionway cover or a full dodger? I made mine with a hard top with an “upstand” around the circumference that acted as a handrail and water catcher. The front and sides are removable making for full ventilation when in hot climates while keeping the cover. I can be easily removed if necessary. Since I am not sure what you are looking for I will wait to see if you want photos.
Roger
Roger:
I would like to see photo’s of your hardtop semi-pilot house dodger posted at the gallery section of this forum. I have admire the one on Xiphias and the one on Junesse. The key to fitting the line of hardtop “dodger” to a BCC is not to make it too high above the cabin nor too low, hence a few basic dimensions would also be helpful.
Fair Winds,
Rod
Hi Rod, I am not sure how this works on this forum. I think this is Mark’s question and site so I do not want to get into a separate discussion here. Why don’t you email me directly so I will have your email address. If Mark is also interested then I can post my information here. Simply, I do not want to burden others with a lot of information that may not interest them. I will attach one photo of my dodger here.
roger
xiphias37@yahoo.com
Hi Mark, some comments below:
Mark Giegel Wrote:
Hey Scott , How are you guys?
Hi Mark, yes we are settling into a nice old house in Belfast. Just a short row out to Itchen, moored at the head of the harbor just off the very efficient and accomodating Belfast Boatyard. I took her out for a sail yesterday morning and it was so lovely – nice breeze, still a lot of Fall colors on the trees, sunny and crisp – so I called Dot on the cellphone, she walked down to the town landing and I picked her up. We may get one more sail in next week before we haul for the winter.
If I could get some pics of the top, sides and
open area up forward that would be great. I had
the hood made by Mike Anderson and I should have
taken pics when it was delivered. To remove there
are plugged fastener holes along both sides near
to the deck that have to be removed. Once removed,
you can back out the screws which are fastened
into a wood cleats on both sides which are in turn
fastened to the deck.
Attached are three pics of the companionway hood. I meant to take more this morning when we went down to remove the roller furling yankee and heavy up the chafing gear in prep’n for TS Noel. Chris Parker’s forecast this AM was an unwelcome wakeup call, with Noel heading rather more westerly than expected.
It was too cold for the camera & batteries and it went on strike after three shots but will take more next week when we haul if you need want more detail.
I do not believe I used any 5200 to bed the
unit…maybe Boatlife in the fastener holes that
attach the cleats to the deck.
You have a home up in Maine? Very jealous here.
Was a spur of the moment decision. On the way to Nova Scotia, while cruising Penobscot Bay, we decided it was time to really retire and try to find a house near the water in this most lovely place to sail. Belfast fits the bill, we found a nice 1840’s house convenient to the harbor and started moving in last Friday.
Curious how the windvane worked for you as well.
Ah yes, the windvane. No time now but worth some discussion later when I have time – probably should be a seperate thread anyway.
I will be hauling at end of November as the
weather in VA allows a bit longer season.
We’ll haul end of next week. Boatyard pulls it’s docks right after that and they were already a bit frosty-slippery this morning before the sun hit them.
Say hello to Dottie.
Best to you
Mark
SV “Lightfoot”
Likewise to you, hope to see you up here before too long,
Scott
Good morning Roger,
I was looking for a companionway cover. I had one made by Mike Anderson for my previous BCC. I am just looking for the basic dimensions so I can build one for my current BCC. I did contact Scott who curently owns my first BCC and he is sending pics to me to refresh my memmory. That should be sufficient to build the spray hood. Thanks.
Sincerely yours,
Mark
SV “Lightfoot”
Hello Scott and Dottie,
Scott,
Thanks for the pictures. They are the detail that I needed. I don’t need any other pictures at this time. Hope you made out ok with TS Noel. Good luck with the digs in Belfast.
Sincerely Yours,
Mark
SV " Lightfoot"
I am looking for a companionway dodger which will give protection against rain and spray while sailing without totally destroying the nice classic lines of my BBC28.
Is there any drawings or pictures available from other owners?
Jens Bagh
Jens,
I can sympathise with your thoughts on this because everything is a compromise on a small vessel as you surely already know! Are you thinking hard or soft? I bought Xiphias in September 2003 with a hard dodger already installed and have only just modified it after much consideration for reasons mainly of aesthetics (obviously a personal view) and safety (i.e. stepping out of the cockpit to go forward). The original construction was still sound but I wanted it to be smaller and truly removable as well (handy for pulling the engine and for painting etc) . I have photos of the re-built dodger available now but if you can hang on for a bit I could supply photos of the as-installed modified dodger as well. If you were to look at the photos of Junessa’s dodger (for size) and cross-reference to those of Xiphias (for style) on the SamLMorse Gallery you would get an idea. Rogers’s original concept of a dodger which provides a raincatcher, solar panel mount, & grabrails still stands-I am planning to add under power running lights with sidescreens/grabrails as well (but am wondering about the backscatter and possible detrimental effect on visibility for the watchkeeper).
On another note, if you go for a hard dodger and don’t extend a reasonable distance aft, then you will bang your forehead a lot on the aft edge-Duck or Grouse! I have the scars to prove it!
Regards,
Mark Fuller
BCC Xiphias
Jens Bagh Wrote:
I am looking for a companionway dodger which will
give protection against rain and spray while
sailing without totally destroying the nice
classic lines of my BBC28.
Is there any drawings or pictures available from
other owners?Jens Bagh
Probably not exactly what you are looking for, but here is a recent photo of Itchen buttened-down for a long drizzly day at anchor in cold weather. I had a local seamstress add the eyebrows to the bimini so that the bimini drip line would be outside the coamings. Very important if onw wants to enjoy the cockpit in rainy weather without sitting in a puddle! Add weather cloths and one can be very snug indeed. Visibility suffers, but all is compromise, no?
Lin and Larry Pardey installed a collapsible dodger/hatch turtle on Taleisin in preparation for their rounding of Cape Horn. Photos and a description of the installation are included in their article in the September 2003 edition of Cruising World. The article also includes additional upgrades such as a companionway latch and the installation of a bronze track to the bousprit for the running headstay which enables the jib to be set and douses from the safety of the foredeck. The collapsible dodger/hatch turtle is also highlighted in one of their cruising DVDs, either “Get Ready to Cruise” or “Get Ready to Cross Oceans.”
Jerry:
Sorry, I missed your telephone calls. We were traveling. I left a voice mail message on your mobile phone.
I looked at Pardey’s design for a hatch turtle over the companionway. Granted it is simple and I quite certain serves their purpose and fits their marketing strategies. We decided to fit a full size dodger on IDUNA. After interviewing several BCC owners who had cruised, we wanted more protection from the elements and also a place to keep binoculars, etc. temporarily out of the elements. When we approach an anchorage or harbor, we keep the chart handy under the dodger. We have been out in “some cold nasty stuff” on the Chesapeake without a dodger. A dodger would have kept the spray off the crew and allowed a place of refuge while maintaining a watch.
Larry’s bronze track on the bowsprit is an adaptation of the sail handling system fitted to the English pilot cutters and fishing boats off the English coast - "Hand Reef And Steer by Tom Cunliffe. These workboats were fitted with a black iron or galvanized ring that loosely fitted over the bowsprit. The jib tack was secured to the ring and an outhaul used to haul to ring to the end of the bowsprit. The sail was hoisted and the luff rope/wire made taught with a two-part purchase fitted to the halyard. Because these bowsprits were able to be reefed, they lacked a jib stay, hence four-part running tackles were used for the bobstay and sometimes the whisker stays. Newer boats, circa 1900’s, replaced this setup with a Wykeham Martin Furler. This all bronze unit is still in production and offered by Davey & Company Ltd, England. The Davey & Company USA importer is www.RWrope.com. Pardey’s adaptation uses a second jib stay attached to track slide. This arrangement allows the use of hanked head sails but does require a removable “lazy jib stay”, an outhaul and a halyard. The one negative to the Pardey arrangement is the use of screws to take the load when the “lazy jib stay” is made taught by a highfield lever. Pardey’s adaptation of an old system does have merit. It is simple and allows the use of hanked sails. Further it keeps the crew off the “widow maker.” Larry is very innovative and we admire his talent and depth of knowledge.
On our last boat, we used a bonnet reefing system on the jib. This is a reefing system that was used in the age of sail. The Pardey’s just adaptive it to there needs and made it more modern. “The Cost Conscientious Cruiser” by Lin and Larry Pardey has a chapter devoted to the system. It was easy to use and gave us good sail shape because the headsail was hanked to the jib stay and could be tensioned. The bowsprit on African Moon was a little longer than 3 ft, had a nice platform and strong pulpit. This was not a fun place to be when the chop was running at 3’ to 4’ in Galveston Bay. I did the work at the end the end of the little “widow maker.” At times, I was in a state of free fall. When we purchased IDUNA, I decided neither one of us had right to be out on the “widow maker” and we installed a roller furler system. Which is best? I suspect the Parley’s system results in better sail shape than a furler system but is a little more complicated because of the second jib stay, track outhaul and highfield lever. Further, when working the headsail, a crew member must be on the foredeck. This is not the case with a furler system. As always, either choice is a compromise. Perhaps if we were younger or had over a half a lifetime at sea, we would use the bowsprit sail track system but today,we plan to keep the furler.
The term “widow maker” was widely used in the days of working sail. When the first fishing schooner were designed with an all inboard rig, i.e. no bowsprit, the old school laughed but it did not take too long before the old school started to notice all the crew came back to the dock. When the old schooners reached the end of their service life, about 15 years, they were replaced with inboard rigged schooners.
Fair Winds,
Rod