How we MADE a DODGER for our sailboat ⛵️⚓️

We got it done!! We made our own spray dodger for our boat!! I’ve been having sleepless nights about sewing our own dodger and cockpit enclosure (busy tackling the enclosure at the moment), but getting the dodger done has given us a lot more confidence going forward. I watched so many “how-to” video’s that I was starting to get more confused than ever, so figured I would design and sew the dodger in a way that best made sense to me, using the basic principles found in the video’s. We are really pleased with the final result. We decided to use Ripstop / Ripblock and marine grade, UV resistant Clear Polyvinyl for the window sections. Most would ask why we didn’t just go with Sunbrella Canvas, but here in South Africa, due to our exchange rate and import charges, Sunbrella comes with a crazy price tag. The Ripblock option came in at a more palatable price, and after asking around it seems it can be used, possibly won’t have the life span of Sunbrella but for now, that is a compromise that we are willing to make. This video shows how we put it together, making allowance for 3 opening sections so we will be able to control the amount of breeze coming through the cockpit when on anchor. We started putting it together at around 9am and the bug bit, we were on such a roll that we decided to just keep going until it was done…..which was just before midnight, but it was just such a relief to know that we had done it!!! Sewing Ripblock is a bit of a nightmare. Its really thick, slippery and just a real paint to handle and work with so I cant say I’m enjoying this project as much as many of our others but its been a pleasure sailing with a “windscreen” to keep the wind at bay and we know that when the cockpit enclosure is complete, we will have another all-weather area, which will be especially awesome when we leave African shores in around a months-time because the first 4-5 days after leaving, can throw some cold, horrible weather our way. After that we will be beyond the Benguela current and into the trade winds and life will be very different.