It became evident on our last adventure to the island that, although we love the dodger and its huge windows, the afternoon sun tends to shine through and turn the area where Friday the boat dog likes to lay down, a bit hot.
The fix? First Mate decided that, although throwing the old torn blanket over the windows looked really classy, we really should have proper covers for the windows on the dodger, so she undertook the task of designing and sewing together new canvas covers for all the dodger windows.
She decided on navy blue, obviously because that is the new theme color for our sailboat. Just to make it that much nicer at night when we have the cockpit lights on, she lined the inside with white canvas. We decided on snaps to attach it and came up with a really neat snap kit sold by West Marine, and that can be found HERE. At $49.99 and good ratings, you cannot beat it!
Mind you, we don’t get anything out of linking to the West Marine site. We always link to products that are sold at a fair price and that work well. Supporting the boating community is very important because unfortunately there are many out there that will rip you off if they have the opportunity. Besides the fact that West Marine is brick and mortar, and you can actually get your hands on products before you buy, they have what appears to be an honest rating section on their site for every product. We have seen our share of one-star products, and they do not take down some of the scathing reviews that customers leave. This is a really good thing for everyone! West Marine can gauge what products do not please their customers, and customers can make better-informed decisions on buying. Win/win. It looks like they may even take down products that have low ratings.
Anyway, First Mate finished the first two covers and will be working on the remaining three this coming weekend. What a difference even the two that are completed have made! The cockpit stays much cooler, and Friday the boat dog spends more of her leisure time in her area under the dodger!