Details, Details

As of Saturday evening the side curtains are fabricated and attached. I ended up using the pattern for the port side to create both side curtains to ensure that they'd be identical. I was in a hurry and didn't take any pictures of the construction. The process was much like the other panel construction.




Mom and dad were here for the weekend, so dad and I went over to the boat today to work out the attachment details for the front panel. I'd purchased some PVC channel material from Sailrite last week, so we determined the mounting locations. One section of track will mount to the aft end of the seahood, just under the traveler. The other will mount on the port deck just beneath the traveler. I brought the seahood home to over-drill, fill with epoxy, redrill and tap for final mounting. The holes in the deck will have to wait until I get an angle attachment for my drill or rotary tool that will allow me to get under the traveler - my current angle attachment is too big.

Sailrite's awning track:



Fastening the forward edge of the dodger to the deck with snaps or twist-locks is standard practice, but neither dad nor I like the idea of projections cluttering up the deck when the dodger's off the boat, hence the awning track idea. The track requires creating a boltrope along the edge of the dodger, but sewing as one continuous piece along the dodger would make it difficult to install or take down. Borrowing an idea from some dodger construction pictures floating around the internet, I decided to create zippered panels that attach to the boltrope on one end and the dodger on the other. Then, installing or removing the dodger is a matter of zipping the front panel in place. Much simpler - not to mention slicker.