Hard Dodger (Sprayhood) Illustrated Guide - Examples, Tips

[groundtackle]

NFE cont.
First pic is last day in the shop and fully welded. I personally don't enjoy endless MIG welding, it's smokey, noisy, dirty and hard on the body when doing something like this. Sure was happy to do the fitting while Yan 'gave it' welding.
Welding is done hot and fast, jumping around following procedures and uniformity. Constantly checking with a straight edge, tape measure or eyes to monitor distortion. Heat can be your friend and it amazes me how much things will move yet come back when you weld the other side, or not.
Full penetration with no voids is a must and goes the same with any material really. You just can't butt two pieces of FRP together, lay some cloth over the seam then grind it all off.
Next..We moved to a friend garage (thanks Mike) and turned into grinding/ spray booth. With a 5" grinder and 36 grit soft premium disc with cutting/ wax every inch needs to be addressed. Ideally you sand blast then paint immediately, it's too awkward with so many places to trap debris that wasn't an option.
Then.. the Lewmar slider on top. At the beginning we sat at helm and looked at the masthead and imagined the sails. Stuck that hatch in the best possible spot to see things. Nick had a little unclear vinyl window on his canvas top, you had no idea what was going on outside. Going to be so nice for so many reasons.
Lastly.. outside to acid wash with scotchbrites. We used a local Cloverdale paint phosphoric generic off the shelf item. I know there is better product out there but this smells and acts the same as some very expensive stuff I have used in the past. All about clean and scratching. Inside was an awful job, this stuff rots your clothes, it's acid. Blow it all dry with good clean air and heat.
Then it goes inside to paint. We went with Alexseal process and couldn't be happier. I'll gather all the specs and show that next..

Cheers, Chris

[Snowpetrel]

^^ Nice, thanks for the detailed description of the aluminium welding and painting.

[groundtackle]

Thanks Snow,
Nice to see folks are watching and happy to share.
Chris

[Steadman Uhlich]

1982 O'Day 39

[double u]

Which profiles were used? Details pls!!!

[bcboomer]

Originally Posted by Steadman Uhlich

1982 O'Day 39

Any more info on this?

It looks really well integrated. I have dodger envy!

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by bcboomer

Any more info on this?

It looks really well integrated. I have dodger envy!

No, I don't have more info. Just saw this on a boat for sale.
I like the look. The added canvas seems nice too.

But also would consider a heavier build too, though for most boats and locations I don't think one has to build a heavy structure to support or work as a dodger
.
The Hallberg Rassy boats have similar glass windscreens, and a reputation for quality building. So I would try to find one local, examine closely or contact an owner, for details on specs and build ideas, if you like their style.

[ironvalleyfab]

Originally Posted by groundtackle

Ok, I'm back. Forced to take an unscheduled holiday.
Some great pics and very nice vessels.

ironvalleyfab, From your handle and comment I conclude you know what you're doing. It's not that I didn't consider it, just need to go thru all the options then pull the trigger on one. Yours is a good one and would have loved to fab/ weld those corners on the table on not upside down out of position. I had a short vessel access opportunity window so Nick still use his boat and high pressure weather. Building on the boat sure saves pattern labor and accuracy. I also don't own those big tools anymore so I'd need to rely on others to form, so time. The setup to form each one of those bends in that size panel, well that's time.
Other options; angle and fab corners/ form angle/ machine out large flatbar and form or fab corners/ machine out of one piece of plate.. it goes on and on. Always fighting time or material cost as you well know.
Couple of reasons why I'm showing this build is because I promised Nick and to show that with minimal tools and little skill many folks could pull this off themselves. Or maybe help a tradesman build what they want, even a non marine metal person.

I'll dig thru some more pics and show it's progress.
Chris

yup many ways to skin it, welding that long of a joint not to easy to keep straight on aluminum, and yes you are correct I have the tools to do it all. though the majority of my work is in the fruit and wine sector in alum and 304 s/s

if you haven't yet coated the dodger (I assume powdercoat?) go over it with a palm sander and 80 grit discs those swirl marks from your sanding disc/scotchbrite will show through the coating

just noticed your in Victoria. I am located in Kelowna, multi generational from the north island

[groundtackle]

ironvalleyfab, metal fabrication and booze are typically words I prefer not to use in the same sentence, still own all my fingers. I should have got into that industry as I enjoy them both.
I rough cut the window holes then tacked in the frames. Used the frames as guide for the router making short work to prep that outside corner weld. Welding on that outside neutral axis with the frames in place kept things pretty straight, didn't require much coaxing to get it all flat afterwards. Just some slight pushing/pulling against a strongback.
Powdercoating in my opinion has its place but down on the salt chuck it just explodes. It is just paint after all. We also needed to fill/ fair. Lots of paint went on this thing and earlier I mentioned sandblasting is better. Those deep 36 grit grinder marks are on purpose. One to give it tooth and secondly to fair the aluminum best I can, get those highs off. Choosing a product and following their paint specs to the letter is a must. If this blows its paint I'll be getting a call from Nick and then I call the paint manufacturer, if we missed a step I am eating it all.
So for this project we went with Alexseal and it was dreamy.

Alexseal Yacht Coatings: Yacht Paint, Primers & Fillers for the Marine Environment | Alexseal Yacht Coatings

First pic is - Corespec 135. Two part epoxy chromate.
Second - Superbuild 302. This stuff goes on heavy and wet on wet. It sags if you push it. This is fantastic to sand and covers all the little uglys. We scratched it with 80 grit.
Third and forth - adding epoxy filler and fairing with 80 grit and long board. If its low then spray more Superbuild and / or epoxy filler.
So easy bust thru and expose raw aluminum. When that happens I need to get the painter back , Corespec again.
This would never have happened without my good friend Stephan Larson, Precision Yacht Services.

stephan@precisionyachtservices.com

This guy is a local fixture, a do everything guy like myself. Mechanic, electrician, looks after all these toys. He has had much experience pulling the trigger on a spray gun and has excellent work habits. He hasn't sprayed for awhile but didn't forget how. Thanks again Stephan, from Nick too.

Cheers,
Chris

[ironvalleyfab]

finished product looks great. I have zero experience with powder coat and salt so I imagine you are correct any boat work that I occasionally do is either for the lake or is below waterline and goes uncoated

what alloy? just 5052? or did you step it up to 5083/5086?

I am going to be putting something similar on my old catalina unless i can find a boat more worthy in the 30-34' range that i can still haul to the coast relatively easily

Originally Posted by groundtackle

ironvalleyfab, metal fabrication and booze are typically words I prefer not to use in the same sentence, still own all my fingers. I should have got into that industry as I enjoy them both.
I rough cut the window holes then tacked in the frames. Used the frames as guide for the router making short work to prep that outside corner weld. Welding on that outside neutral axis with the frames in place kept things pretty straight, didn't require much coaxing to get it all flat afterwards. Just some slight pushing/pulling against a strongback.
Powdercoating in my opinion has its place but down on the salt chuck it just explodes. It is just paint after all. We also needed to fill/ fair. Lots of paint went on this thing and earlier I mentioned sandblasting is better. Those deep 36 grit grinder marks are on purpose. One to give it tooth and secondly to fair the aluminum best I can, get those highs off. Choosing a product and following their paint specs to the letter is a must. If this blows its paint I'll be getting a call from Nick and then I call the paint manufacturer, if we missed a step I am eating it all.
So for this project we went with Alexseal and it was dreamy.

Alexseal Yacht Coatings: Yacht Paint, Primers & Fillers for the Marine Environment | Alexseal Yacht Coatings

First pic is - Corespec 135. Two part epoxy chromate.
Second - Superbuild 302. This stuff goes on heavy and wet on wet. It sags if you push it. This is fantastic to sand and covers all the little uglys. We scratched it with 80 grit.
Third and forth - adding epoxy filler and fairing with 80 grit and long board. If its low then spray more Superbuild and / or epoxy filler.
So easy bust thru and expose raw aluminum. When that happens I need to get the painter back , Corespec again.
This would never have happened without my good friend Stephan Larson, Precision Yacht Services.

stephan@precisionyachtservices.com

This guy is a local fixture, a do everything guy like myself. Mechanic, electrician, looks after all these toys. He has had much experience pulling the trigger on a spray gun and has excellent work habits. He hasn't sprayed for awhile but didn't forget how. Thanks again Stephan, from Nick too.

Cheers,
Chris

[groundtackle]

IVF, I started posting about Nick's enclosure at post #242. I found a sheet of 3/16" 5086 locally. Actually there was two of them. One was 10' x 20' and the other 10' x 19', I only needed the short one. Imagine some dude taking a saw and removing one foot? It was terrible un square hack of the sheet too. Those dimensions and alloy don't come cheap.
Chris

[DennisDW]

We built our Hard dodger a few years back. The boat is a Cambria 44 and drop dead gorgeous, in my opinion, so I didn't want to ugly it up. So I outsourced my design team: Cruiser's Forum. There's a thread under my name that covers the trials and iterations. When I finally got a round of hearty agreement, we started.

It was foam core built over a plywood mold in position on the boat though not glassed to the boat. Lots of work in the hot summer but the results are worth it both aesthetically and offshore.


Cheers,
Dennis

[ironvalleyfab]

tell me about it I have a 6'x20'x.5/8" sheet of 5083 coming in...

Originally Posted by groundtackle

IVF, I started posting about Nick's enclosure at post #242. I found a sheet of 3/16" 5086 locally. Actually there was two of them. One was 10' x 20' and the other 10' x 19', I only needed the short one. Imagine some dude taking a saw and removing one foot? It was terrible un square hack of the sheet too. Those dimensions and alloy don't come cheap.
Chris

[clockwork orange]

Originally Posted by Steadman Uhlich

1982 O'Day 39

Very nice, it almost looks like it could have been taken off a power boat which would be brilliant. I'm very much in favor repurposing.

[groundtackle]

clockwork o, funny you say that as I also feel the same way. This disposable world really bothers me. I've been carrying around some mental plans for years.. A cheap J24 or something. Cut off a Hourston or Double Eagle hardtop and wingnut the sucker down for the PNW. Wipers and all. Just need a slider on top to access the companionway or stand when its nice outside. Comes off in a 1/2 hr. Its going to be a great look. There was just a flybridge for sale locally, that would be cool and always leave the fenders down obviously.

So final topcoat as you can see. Not perfectly fair but you need to stop somewhere and there is solar going on top. Outside onboard it looks fantastic. Alexseal is revolutionary. If there is dust, runs or need a repair you just block sand with fine paper and polish it.
We haven't got around to bolting it down and the glass needs to show up. Nick is going to do his own canvas, that should be a novel in itself.
So that's it for now...
Chris