Do you ever take your cockpit enclosure down?

Minchsailor said:
I fold down the spray hood most of the time.
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So do we, I feel it is unsafe to sail with it up as visibilty is significantly restricted, even with no rain/spray obscuring the "windows". I cannot see over it properly unless I stand on the lockers, and I am close on 6' tall so not vertically challenged. :D Trying to see around it is uncomfortable, and still very restricted visibilty. Very occasionally when conditions are really foul and we are motoring I do put it up at SWMBO's insistence, but am not happy.
 
Leighb said:
So do we, I feel it is unsafe to sail with it up as visibilty is significantly restricted, even with no rain/spray obscuring the "windows". I cannot see over it properly unless I stand on the lockers, and I am close on 6' tall so not vertically challenged. :D Trying to see around it is uncomfortable, and still very restricted visibilty. Very occasionally when conditions are really foul and we are motoring I do put it up at SWMBO's insistence, but am not happy.
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Most AWB skippers get over the lack of viz & non folding hoods by standing on the helm seat
 
Leighb said:
I cannot see over it properly unless I stand on the lockers, and I am close on 6' tall so not vertically challenged. :D
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Mine is about nose-height :). So a fairly common pose for me in cold or wet conditions, especially under power, is standing with my bum braced against the front of the binnacle with just my eyes showing over the top of the hood and the autopilot remote in one hand :)

(Since we have a proper glass windscreen below the hood, though, the view from inside is acceptable for lookout as well.)

Pete
 
Daydream believer said:
If I ever succumb to having a "tent" or sprayhood of any kind on my boat then that is the day i give up sailing & buy a caravan!!!!!
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I'm so happy for you. No doubt you'll then give some caravaning forum the benefit of your hooded views.

In the meantime, huge numbers of small yachts need sprayhoods to prevent the crew getting unnecessarily drenched every few seconds when sailing to windward in choppy waters. The rest of the time the sprayhood can stay down - although when moored in busy harbours it does afford a degree of privacy, and when swinging to anchor it usually keeps any rain well out of the saloon.
 
Daydream believer said:
If I ever succumb to having a "tent" or sprayhood of any kind on my boat then that is the day i give up sailing & buy a caravan!!!!!
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Which is a perfectly valid approach if you are a racing sailor or similar. I have no problem admitting that our boat is a floating caravan (or mobile home). The cockpit tent gives us an extra room - it is the place we have dinner parties, dry wet clothes and it is the overflow for the cabins. Well into the winter, we can use it as living space by turning on the Eberspacher and leaving the companionway open.
 
Our enclosure gets folded away before leaving the marina. I wouldn't like to contemplate marina handling without full visibility. Also the restricted ability to easily move from the deck into the cockpit with the enclosure up while underway would be a no no for us. Having said that, a few weeks ago we were motoring back to the marina during a flat calm evening and it started to rain heavily, it was the perfect opportunity to try out the enclosure while underway and it did provide welcome shelter but the sides had to stay rolled up so the crew could keep a watchful eye ahead as the view through the sprayhood was obscured slightly. It ended up getting dropped before entering the marina as I didn't feel like I had enough visibility to negotiate berthing.
 
Each to his or her own. Not having any shelter for my cockpit, I often feel envious of those who do. Just not quite envious enough to cough up the required cash to remedy the situation. I have serviceable wet weather gear, Still when the option is available I avoid sailing in the rain. when I have sailed other boats which had a dodger or spray hood, I appreciated the shelter it afforded and put up with the inconvenience. such as inability to use a winch handle on halliard winch, operate jam cleats or see where I am going without standing up, Never found I had to put it down,
helping to keep the interior dry seams to be one of the biggest advantages of a dodger.
Never have sailed with a full tent, I use an old tarp as a cockpit tent, it helps a bit
My wife has taken up Dylan's umbrella approach, something useful I learned from KTL.

I have motored with a fully enclosed wheel house, which is nice on a nasty day. Yet I much prefer to be out in the open on a nice day, Fully enclosed has its advantages, the tent is like a convertible. You can have the best of both worlds when it suits you.

Of course I used to drive an MG year round in the west of Scotland. Clearly I don't have much common sense.
 
Babylon said:
The rest of the time the sprayhood can stay down - although when moored in busy harbours it does afford a degree of privacy, and when swinging to anchor it usually keeps any rain well out of the saloon.
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It's pleasant to be able to keep the main hatch open when it's raining but not too cold and to be able to stand in the companionway without getting drenched. The sprayhood also provides great shelter from the wind for a lot of the time, although obviously not when tide rode with the wind up the stern.

But it is never, ever, up when the boat is moving. I couldn't put up with the restrictions on all round vision. Even looking through the windows is a problem when they are streaming with rain or spray. So that's what decent foul weather gear is for.

Never had a cockpit enclosure. We do have a light sun awning that occasionally sees the light of day when at anchor or alongside, but that's it.
 
Tuesday, 21 August 2012 19:58 - approaching Dartmouth entrance - you can just make out bits of Berry Head to starboard, and you can also see on the left side a bit of the flimsy canvas thing that kept me dry, warm and confident during ten hours of bashing into a head-sea across Lyme Bay:



I lowered the sprayhood once in the lee of the land (it took 3 seconds to do), so I could make out the entrance buoys and lights etc.

All boats are different, as are passages and sea conditions.
 
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Babylon said:
All boats are different, as are passages and sea conditions.
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Indeed so. Sadly, our sprayhood is great when anchored, but visibility isn't good enough to be confident about having it up when sailing. But long ago I used to sail in a 14 ton Hillyard with the characteristic hard top over the forward part of the small cockpit. What a revelation! Riding out a gale in the western approaches without even having to put on oilskins to go on watch. I would be happy to sail again in a cruising boat with such an arrangement. But we have had our beloved 40 year old tub for 40 years and we have no plans to get rid of her. That would be like selling your granny. :)
 
Grumpybear said:
That's barmy. We have had one for 12 years and almost always take the whole thing down before moving. On perhaps half a dozen occasions we have kept the Bimini bit up on scorching hot windless days, but always always take out the sides, roll up the back panel and open the centreline panel in the spray hood. In crowded waters as you describe we would certainly take the whole lot down. The enclosure is for use when anchored, moored or secured alongside: we have it mainly for the dog to kip in at night, although it is useful if the weather is carp and we can't go home!
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+1. Exactly as we do. On the other hand we do have a 'back' to the sprayhood which is great for keeping warm on night passages.
 
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