Custom Dodger & Canvas Project
New dodger by Mobile Marine Canvas of South Harpswell, ME
When Cara & I purchased Hale Kai in December of 2001 we knew we would soon need to replace the canvas. The dodger on the boat was worn, very poorly built and extremely ugly looking.
One ugly old dodger
I contacted Mobile Marine Canvas of South Harpswell, ME to get some ideas on how to proceed. Seth Hetherington the owner of MMC spent a good deal of time with me. Looking at detailed pictures I had taken of the boat he gave me suggestions and design ideas to go home and think about.
Seth is perhaps the finest custom dodger builder North of Annapolis. He runs a two man shop and is usually booked solid. I met Seth about five years ago at the Maine Boat Builders Show and was impressed by his attention to detail and knowledge of various boats. It was not until later that summer when I actually saw my first MMC dodger on a Tartan 34. I couldn't believe my eyes. Finally a dodger that actually fit tightly with no sags or wrinkles and there were no creases in the windows. I motored over to the owner and asked who made his dodger. When he told me I didn't immediately remember my meeting with Seth at the boat show. A day or two later with the picture of that dodger in my mind I called Seth. We spoke on the phone for quite a while and set up a time when he could come and look at my boat. The day he came to estimate my boat in early May it was blowing about 45 knots out of the NW and Seth just ate it up as we motored out to the boat through 3 foot white caps. He took a look at the dodger on my boat, a Catalina 30, and said "yuh' we can just throw that one in the dumpster". I agreed! He was so busy at the time he scheduled me into the flow in late August. All I cared about was having a new dodger by the time we left for our annual Down East cruise during the last week in August. Seth called me on August 10th and told me his mooring was clear. I delivered my boat to his mooring the next day and he gave me a ride home. He spent 51 hours creating my first MMC dodger and we left on time for vacation!
To sum up Seth he is a true Maine craftsman with the eye of an artist. I've never met anyone in the marine industry, with the exception of some of the craftsman at Hinckley Yachts & Morris Yachts, with more attention to detail. His dodgers are expensive but you certainly get what you pay for. I should know he's made me two.
My first order of business for Hale Kai was to have Seth custom build a Sunbrella cover for my new pedestal set up.
Custom fitted pedestal cover
We were never crazy about the deep green color of the existing canvas so we chose toast as Hale Kai's new color. At the time I was building and assembling the new pedestal, guard & Nav Pod at home in my basement so I called Seth and arranged a time when he could pattern the pedestal. I loaded the guard, pedestal and wheel into my car and drove it to South Harpswell. When I got to the shop Seth and Paul were hard at work but they dropped what they were doing and within fifteen minutes had a half page of notes and a special plastic pattern specifically for my pedestal. I also had him construct a BBQ grill cover for my Magma gas grill. Seth then mentioned that I could wrap my stainless steel Edson destroyer wheel in marine grade suede leather and install a foam pad between the wheel and leather for added comfort and warmth. He asked if my hands got cold while sailing in the off season and what could I say no? Cha ching... he had me for another three hundred bucks!
When it came time to build the dodger I rented a slip at a marina near Seth's shop. It was much easier to complete the job with the boat located in a slip rather than on a mooring. Once again we were up against a deadline for our August cruise and Seth put in a 70 hour week working on this project. When he builds a dodger it's from scratch. He first measures for the stainless steel frame and returns to the shop to custom bend it to fit the specific boat. He's very conscious about making the dodger fit the boats lines. He spends considerable time making sure the crown of the dodger bows match the crown of the cabin top and the rake (the vertical sides of the dodger) match the angle of the cabin sides. The frame involved a bit of custom work beyond what you would normally pay for in a standard dodger. Seth and I decided to add a welded grab bar with a custom bent handle. The grab bar gives you a nice place to hold onto when your coming back in the cockpit from the side decks. I was amazed at how difficult adding a welded grab bar actually is.
Welded grab bar with custom handle bend and reinforcing strut
The frame is made of 1" marine grade polished stainless steel with stainless steel fittings. A reinforcing strut was added and designed to distribute any downward weigh from the grab bar to the cockpit coamings. The strut also keeps the canvas nice and tight with no wrinkles or sags.
After a test fit we had the frame mounted and ready for patterning. I stayed at the boat to help Seth layout the pattern. That evening was particularly windy and we were worried we might not be able to pattern at all.
Seth patterning my dodger at 10:45 P.M.
Somehow we managed to get the pattern done and headed home very tired. Seth began laying out and sewing my dodger the next morning at 7:00 a.m.. By the time he was done sewing it took a full 18 hours of intensive labor. Two days later we again went to the boat for the final installation. I'd specified a continuous grooved track with a piping style bead on the leading edge of the dodger to mount it to the cabin top (instead of using twist locks). Seth fired up his heat gun and heated the sections of track to match the contour of the cabin top. We then drilled, bedded and mounted the tracks with 3M 101 sealant. Next we installed the dodger and marked for the glove snaps on the cabin sides. We re-ran all the control lines and sheets and stood back to admire his work!
Side profile of new dodger
Rear profile of new dodger
Before leaving the boat Seth took some measurements for a removable bimini / rain fly we designed. He personally delivered the bimini to me at 6:00 p.m. the evening we were leaving on our trip Down East. I didn't even question if it would fit or not. It fit perfectly!
Removable bimini / rain fly
The bimini design allows it to be taken completely off and stowed in a cabinet down below. The canvas installs in about two minutes and allows more use of the cockpit in interesting weather situations.
If you keep your boat anywhere near Maine and you need canvas call Seth at Mobile Marine Canvas. He has a mooring available in Harpswell, ME for "in the water" canvas jobs. I suggest calling him early as he is usually booked solid by the time the Maine Boat Builders Show rolls around.
Fair Winds,
Rodd
Dodger / Canvas Specifications
1" Polished Stainless Steel Frame
Welded grab bar
Strataglass windows
Sunbrella Acrylic Canvas - Toast
Slot Track for Mounting the Dodger
Stamoid reinforced stress areas
Removable Center Front Window - Zips Out
Support Struts
Custom Bimini
Pedestal Cover
Winch covers
BBQ Cover
Total Canvas Package Price = $5875.00