Dodger Costs?

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hriehl1
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Dodger Costs?

Post by hriehl1 »

Hinterhoeller HR28; VERY similar to a Triton

I'm shopping for a dodger on the North Shore of Massachusetts or New Hampshire seacoast. One vendor (Hood Canvas of Merrimac MA; hoodcanvas.com) quoted $3,300 for a turnkey job (including measuring & installation visits to my boat 10 miles from their shop). They concede others may sell for less, but their work and materials they say are top-shelf (with "aft leather, Strataglass windows, PTFE thread, 316 1-inch grade piping and fittings").

I'm just interested in your own experiences with dodgers... I know I must have one for my sailing locale, I don't want to go too far on-the-cheap... but $3,300 seems like a lot of cash.

So... what advice would you give? Did you go cheap and regret it? What did you get that was a good decision? Bad decision? Any Mass north shore vendors you can recommend? What is a reasonable amount to spend?
Hirilondë
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Re: Dodger Costs?

Post by Hirilondë »

That price is a bit on the high side but not beyond reason. Mine was made to the similar specs. for $2400 about 5 years ago and further from Boston. Mine has an added grab bar across the aft end covered in elkhide. Dodgers are not easy to make well. There are a lot of people making poor ones out there. The tolerances for a nice shape that is taught with no wrinkles, yet can be snapped and tied in place easily are rather small. This is one of those things where finding a proven craftsman should matter more than price alone.

Once you have chosen who will make it be sure to discuss design details. Features like an opening forward center panel (for ventilation) are very important. Height above the cockpit sole is extremely important as it effects entering and exiting through the companionway and your visibility forward when standing at the helm. My canvas man says 61" is the best height above the cockpit sole as it is the max height most people can see over and therefore makes for the best height for the companionway that is reasonable. It was definitely the right height for my boat. Dodgers are not a stock item. Make sure to find someone who will listen to you as well as offer experienced advice.
Dave Finnegan
builder of Spindrift 9N #521 'Wingë'
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Re: Dodger Costs?

Post by Maine Sail »

Hood does EXCELLENT work and with canvas you do get what you pay for. Plus he's part of the Hood family and boating is in his blood. Really good guy to boot. $3000.00 is very fair for one of his dodgers.
-Maine Sail

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hriehl1
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Re: Dodger Costs?

Post by hriehl1 »

I sensed that Hood was top-shelf from the responsiveness and candor in their reply to my original inquiry. I was impressed; they are clearly pros.

I am just having trouble justifying a $3,300 dodger on a boat that will maybe be worth $8,000 when I'm done with my refit when we're not even (yet) sure a keelboat will suit our lifestyle.

Let me ask this of north-of-Boston sailors... would you even consider going without a dodger? My time on friends' boats says that will not be pleasant except maybe from mid July to Labor Day.
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Re: Dodger Costs?

Post by bcooke »

Keep in mind that you are comparing the costs of a brand new dodger against a 50 year worn out old boat. No $8k refit is going to make the boat new again. -Nice for sure but not just like the day it rolled out of the factory. If you were putting a new dodger on a new Triton the price would appear minscule. (new inflation adjusted 1959 Triton prices are about $120k if I remember correctly). When the dodger is 50 years old it will be worth $20 which will be appropriate for the $8k pricetag on your Triton.

Actually, I have seen some very nice dodgers coming in around $5000 so I wouldn't blink at a $3k pricetag.

I don't have a dodger.... yet. (not enough money, other stuff has priority) I know lots of boats without dodgers. Dodgers are nice but totally optional; especially on a Triton with those high cabin sides to hide behind. Maine is cooler than the Chesapeake but its not the arctic. Come to think of it, did any small sailing boat have a dodger before the 1980's?
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Re: Dodger Costs?

Post by MikeD »

bcooke wrote:Keep in mind that you are comparing the costs of a brand new dodger against a 50 year worn out old boat. ... If you were putting a new dodger on a new Triton the price would appear minscule.
Britton, that has got to be THE BEST rationalization I have heard in a long time! Well done!
Mike
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Re: Dodger Costs?

Post by okawbow »

Do you really need a dodger?

I think it depends on whether you want to put more emphasis on sailing, or staying dry all the time. My wife and I just completed 3500 miles from Kentucky to Maine without a dodger. I was uncomfortable a couple times, and had to wear foul weather gear a few times. The boat sails better without the dodger, and I felt more a part of nature, without having to look at the world through plastic windows. Nearly every boat we met on the trip had a dodger, and sometimes a bimini. Nearly every other boat we met on the trip was motoring, also.

personally, I think dodgers get in the way more than they help. But if you don't have one, you need to keep good foul weather gear handy, and wear it.
Chuck
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earlylight
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Re: Dodger Costs?

Post by earlylight »

I had the dodger pictured below built for my Sabre 34 in 2004. Total cost was $1764. The fabric was Sunbrella, frame was 1 inch stainless tubing, windows were Stratoglass and stainless struts were used in lieu of straps to add support and tension the after most bow of the frame A zipper was added at after edge for my zip on helmsman fly. It was built by a small quality canvas shop in Solomons. MD

Image
Dick Coerse
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hriehl1
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Re: Dodger Costs?

Post by hriehl1 »

Thanks for the thoughtful replies. One clarification, my boat is a Hinterhoeller HR28, not a Triton... but they are so similar that the core message above is still germane.

Because we're not yet even sure if keelboat weekending will suit our lifestyle (we've been trailer-daysailing NH lakes for years), I'm reticent to invest too much. But on the other hand, if going without a dodger makes my wife cold all the time, she'll be less enthusiastic. But I think thoughtful provisioning of warm clothing and foul weather gear should suffice for year one while we sort out whether keelboat ownership is for us. If it is, then a $3K dodger is justified (if we feel the need).

Thanks again... Hank
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Re: Dodger Costs?

Post by ILikeRust »

Sounds expensive to me.

I just had a brand-new dodger, bimini and sail cover made for my 1968 Pearson Wanderer. This included removing and disposing of the old dodger frame, measuring for and fabricating a new bimini frame and dodger frame of heavy-wall stainless tubing, with all stainless fittings, making up the bimini skin, dodger skin and sail cover of matching Sunbrella fabric, and installing all on the boat. I also paid a bit more to get the heavier-gauge, polished vinyl "Seaglass" or whatever the stuff is called, which is supposed to more optically clear than the standard clear vinyl panels. Plus I took him up on the offer to install a little clear vinyl window in the top of the bimini, to be able to view the sails and telltales without having to stick your head out the back or side of the bimini.

I actually can't remember the exact amount, but the total cost for all of the above was either $2,600 or 2,800, in that range.

Phase 2 Marine Canvas. Small husband and wife team, but with years of experience. Hard-working, nice people, who do very nice work. Not only that, but as Irene was approaching, a mere week or two after they installed it all, and I did not have time to make it up to the boatyard to take the canvas down, I called and asked if they would provide the service and stow the canvas down in the cabin.

They did so, and much to my surprise, did not even charge me! This weekend, I finally made it back up there and found the canvas neatly laid out in the V-berth.

Hard to argue with their service, quality of work and pricing.
Bill T.
Richmond, VA

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Rachel
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Re: Dodger Costs?

Post by Rachel »

Sounds like a great experience, Bill. Any chance you could post photos of your new canvas? I'd especially like to see the dodger and how the bimini/frame are set up.

Thanks,
Rachel
ILikeRust
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Re: Dodger Costs?

Post by ILikeRust »

Funny - I don't have any pics myself, but visiting their website, I find this pic of my boat in their "gallery of recent work":

Image

As you can see, it's a three-bow bimini, to cover as much of the cockpit as possible, limited by the main sheet, which comes off the tail end of the boom to the traveler at the aft end of the cockpit. We set the height of the dodger so that I could look over it, rather than through it.

As you might notice, I need to get rid of the old blue items - the tiller cover and some lifeline cushions (which I'm not really sure why they're there in the first place anyhow).

One concern I have is how much this new setup will impede my ability to step out of the cockpit and go forward if needed (e.g, anchoring, docking, raising/lowering the main sail, etc.).

I will find out when I finally get her back in the water and give it a go. It does look like it will be a bit tighter to squeeze out in between the bimini and dodger to get up onto the side deck in front of the winch.

I am planning eventually to replace the coaming board and winch bases, so maybe I should move those winches back a bit, just behind the main bimini frame. I'll have to play with it and give it some thought.
Bill T.
Richmond, VA

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible." - T E Lawrence
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Re: Dodger Costs?

Post by J.P. »

bcooke wrote:Keep in mind that you are comparing the costs of a brand new dodger against a 50 year worn out old boat.
I found this west coast Dodger that perfectly fits both the size of my boat, and my budgetary constraints:
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