Cruising without a Sprayhood?

[ctl411]

Yes sprayhood covers the hatch at the front edge. Might be different names in other places.

Turtle) used for launching spinnaker is the term I know. Again locations??

[zeehag]

whatever you decide on, you WILL cruise more if you are comfortable.
my boat does not bring water over bow unless weather is beyond what i wanna sail in.
eventually i will have a hard dodger, err bimini..make that 2 biminis or an extended one--i have yet to design it, an d boom gallows for both masts combination thingie with solar panel mounts built into it or onto it.
until that time i will sail como beverly hillbillies with a makeshift cover for sun protection. thank gods fro mizzen boom..it is a multi use mechanism as a tool for sailing and under boom shade mount for now.
i just need an on bow rocking chair and a shotgun err, water cannon.

[CapRon]

Originally Posted by zeehag

whatever you decide on, you WILL cruise more if you are comfortable. my boat does not bring water over bow unless weather is beyond what i wanna sail in. eventually i will have a hard dodger, err bimini..make that 2 biminis or an extended one--i have yet to design it, an d boom gallows for both masts combination thingie with solar panel mounts built into it or onto it. until that time i will sail como beverly hillbillies with a makeshift cover for sun protection. thank gods fro mizzen boom..it is a multi use mechanism as a tool for sailing and under boom shade mount for now. i just need an on bow rocking chair and a shotgun err, water cannon.

What Zeehag said.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by wsulli

Isn't a dodger a dodger and a sprayhood a sealed cover the companionway hatch slides into making it water tight. I have not used the terms interchangeably.I may be wrong so let me have it.

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

I call that a sea hood. ( fiberglass or wood cover over fwd hatch to keep water out)

I agree with Ocean Girl. Dodger and sprayhood are synonyms. The cover over the companionway slide is a sea hood.

[Benz]

It depends on your boat design, perhaps. If your bows tend to scoop lots of water, you might be more comfortable with. Bear in mind that the Pardey's, who have logged more ocean miles than most of us, do not use one, and have sailed in many latitudes. I do not have one, nor do I desire toward one, even having just returned from sub-arctic Canada, and having sailed much in the tropics. I shudder to think of people hunched under their beloved dodgers in the forward corner of the cockpit, usually facing aft. What kind of watch-keeping is that? And if it's thick enough out that you want to do that, it's thick enough that a good look out is extra-essential. "But we have widows!" they claim. Be honest--can you really see well at night through salt-sprayed isenglass? I don't think so. If you abstain from motoring upwind in heavy chop (which is where dodgers really come into their own), you'll find you need it a lot less. Necessary? baloney. For me they're a complete drag.

[gonesail]

i also don't like looking thru plastic. obstructs and distorts vision. also in the south we need the breeze moving thru the cockpit to provide a bit of relief in the summer. i do like the idea of a bimini to protect against sun damage. a hard dodger with glass would be nice .. along with inside steering

[Surrymark]

A few years ago, on the capedory.org site, there was a fellow, Texas I believe, who railed against dodgers because they are unmanly, unsailorly, impure, and homely. I believe that the general reaction on the board was to wish him wet undies and full boots.

[engele]

With any choice I wouldn't sail without one. Critical gear for me is entirely different than some others, but I put a Dodger high on my cruising list:

Dodger

Auto pilot

Big anchor

Good quality simple water maker

A good dodger means that you are less fatigued when it's rough. If it is sloppy out, and it does get that way, three days in you wil be very glad to have your dodger. Anyone who says something like "just sail downwind" hasn't had to deal with the clockwork 3:00 afternoon squalls in Latin America. You can easily get soaked on a big boat going downhill when seas get confused. A dodger, while difficult to see through at night with salt spray is easier to see around than it is trying to look through spray (especially hours or days later).

Our dodger has at times been the only thing that made it possible to see at all. In more than one storm we were in the rain hurt enough to make operating the boat impossible except from behind the dodger. Squinting and trying to hold onto the boat in a blow isn't as safe, and a lot less comfortable. We added sides to our dodger and I think that addition was amazing! To not have a forward facing dodger would be tough at times. If you have the means, rig a dodger.

There is my two cents...

[Greggegner]

Sailing in the Lake Michigan it is required often just to sit in the cockpit.

[sartorst]

For those that are worried about how it looks! how do you look setting in the cockpit wet in your brightly colored foul weather gear? the colors dont go well at all with the accents on the hull!

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by sartorst

For those that are worried about how it looks! how do you look setting in the cockpit wet in your brightly colored foul weather gear? the colors dont go well at all with the accents on the hull!

Ha. Depends on the accents. My fowlies go quite well together with my hot pink cap rails....

[xxuxx]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Ha. Depends on the accents. My fowlies go quite well together with my hot pink cap rails....

I believe Overstock.com has some of the new Ralph Lauren designer Dodgers discounted for Black Friday. For those on a short budget, Walmart has some Martha Stewart spray hoods. The good news, they are autographed by Martha.
So the question is.......is your vessel designer or Walmarty.
Happy Holidays to all from the Great Xxuxx (Zooks).

[engele]

For a few years I used a "Universal Boat Windshield" from Cabelas. I think it was $200 and came with sunbrella and an aluminum frame. The entire bit was designed for a fishing boat rather than a sailboat, but it kept us dry until we got the stainless dodger.

[landonshaw]

Someone mentioned that they did not like the dodger partly due to it stopping a breeze into the cockpit. Ours did until we had a half mom zip window put in. We open and plenty of breeze. As they weather and surf permit, we zip up as necessary until it might be closed if too much watt coming over the bow. Hated the dodger due to heat until we put in the window

[Paul Elliott]

I really like our dodger. At anchor in the tropics it acts as a big exhaust hood over the companionway, sucking warm air out of the boat. With a rain hood / wind-scoop over the forward hatch we can get decent airflow down below.