Sailboat : cruising sailing-yacht (ketch)
SHANNON C52
Shannon
- 16.03m 
52' 7"ft
(and virtually every other sailboat), with ugly and dangerous dodger/bimini/awning plastic and fabric "chicken coops" stuck over the cockpits for weather protection. It seems that every year these flimsy shelters become higher in profile, more elaborate, harder to set up and take down, and more expensive,
with endless zippers, hard-to-snap snaps, and multiple side curtains attached to side panels to bottom flaps, etc. Thanks to the Shannon owners who let me borrow their boats, I sail at least 1,000 miles a year offshore on my own designs, so I have been an unhappy occupant in these shelters in all sorts of weather. I think one reason we don't see the new generation of yacht designers focusing on solutions to this dodger/ bimini problem is they spend their leisure time playing golf and not on the water. Sure, even the ugliest dodger and bimini will protect the crew from the sun and rain. But aesthetics aside,
a bimini attached to a dodger blocks the breeze and a view of the sails. While mentioning the word "view", trying to see out of spray-spattered and salt-scratched plastic windows is like looking through the bad blurry lens during an optometrist exam. Finally, the heat that builds up inside a zippered-up dodger/bimini on a muggy hot rainy day is stifl.
52' 7"ft
(and virtually every other sailboat), with ugly and dangerous dodger/bimini/awning plastic and fabric "chicken coops" stuck over the cockpits for weather protection. It seems that every year these flimsy shelters become higher in profile, more elaborate, harder to set up and take down, and more expensive,
with endless zippers, hard-to-snap snaps, and multiple side curtains attached to side panels to bottom flaps, etc. Thanks to the Shannon owners who let me borrow their boats, I sail at least 1,000 miles a year offshore on my own designs, so I have been an unhappy occupant in these shelters in all sorts of weather. I think one reason we don't see the new generation of yacht designers focusing on solutions to this dodger/ bimini problem is they spend their leisure time playing golf and not on the water. Sure, even the ugliest dodger and bimini will protect the crew from the sun and rain. But aesthetics aside,
a bimini attached to a dodger blocks the breeze and a view of the sails. While mentioning the word "view", trying to see out of spray-spattered and salt-scratched plastic windows is like looking through the bad blurry lens during an optometrist exam. Finally, the heat that builds up inside a zippered-up dodger/bimini on a muggy hot rainy day is stifl.
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