Roof over the Cockpit

[richardandtracy]

I'm toying with the idea of putting a roof over the cockpit a la Trawler Yacht. What are the pro's and cons? Has anybody got any experience of this - the use I mean, not the conversion?

My boat's already got a pilot house, and I normally drive [sorry, steer] from there. Basically, in the wet, I hate getting rained on. In the sun I burn in 10 mins flat. There seem to be few pro's for a totally open cockpit.

The sheets etc all come from one side of the pilothouse or aft and to alter the sail I don't need to leave the cockpit. No strings would be affected by the cockpit roof. I know the boat well enough to have got a feel of the sails as they are, and not being able to see the tell tails is normal due to the pilot house. I don't think stability would be an issue if it were made fairly light.

Any alteration to the vessel's look & resale value would be entirely irrelevant - it's mine & I ain't selling!

How would windage be affected? Are there any points I may have missed?

Regards


Richard


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[snowleopard]

been there, done that.

after our first long trip we were fed up of rain and spray in the face so decided to add a hard top. life is transformed.

we have roll-down canvas to protect from sun & rain and enjoy steering in any weather.

the hardest thing is preventing the boat looking like a blcok of 1960's flats. it's worth spending as long getting the design right as doing the work.

if it's any help, pm me and i'll send you a pic.

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[Gunfleet]

It's very common in France, esp in the west/south of Brittany. As if they would know anything about sailing boats!

(ps for those of a nervous or disputative disposition, this last was a joke)

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[Chris_Robb]

I wouldn't sail in a yacht with an open cockpit around the UK again - and the 3 days of sun - well you get burnt to a crisp if you cannot get out of the sun. I gather people with covered cockpits in the med sware by them as being much cooler.

You don't mention what size the boat is. I would think that if its under 35 foot it might be excessively high and thus the windage may be significant.

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[Birdseye]

Done it. The "pro"s are all the things you would imagine - protection from the elements, covertible to a deck cabin in port, more secure cockpit etc. The antis - none that are significant. OK its a bit slower to get to the side decks when mooring, and you find that friends always gather on your boat in bad weather.

Make sure that you have openable windows or it can get too hot in the middle of summer. They will also help with the dew problem on early morning starts.

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[Pelican]

Why not fit a bimini top with side curtains if necessary - easy to fold away when not on board - keeps the sun and rain off!
Pelican

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[richardandtracy]

It's a 36 ft Spray type boat with 13ft beam (but only 4ft draft), so could probably cope with the windage.

Regards

Richard


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[paulplatts]

On my Bavaria 37 I have the usual sprayhood, to which I had a rear extension added. This is a removeable canvas cover on removeable stainless steel hoops with roll up windows in the side & rear. This provides lots of protection, either fully enclosed or with the side or rear windows rolled up. I expect lots of sailmakers could do this - I used Quay Sails in Poole & they did a good job exactly to my requirements.

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[oldsaltoz]

G,day Richard & Tracy, (could this be Dick Tracy's forum name)?

Have built a couple these, Foam composite makes a light and strong hard top.

A few things to include when building are: curved is stronger than flat.
Cables for speakers to your 2-way radio and sound system, stern light and cockpit light.

Make sure it has a lip around the bottom for rainwater run off, take care in selecting the angle to ensure this water and due fall outside the cockpit, even if you have to add a very small rain on the topside.

Also consider some overhead storage, fixing points for side and rear roll down or clip on covers; you can also incorporate a folding crutch for the mainsail boom, and prevent any movement and wear at the gooseneck.

Get a picture of your yacht taken side on and draw the hard top on this to get an idea of what the end product will look like.

Hope this helps

Avagoodweekend. Old Salt Oz /forums/images/icons/cool.gif

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[richardandtracy]

Dick Tracy? Who he?

Thanks for the tips. A few ideas I'd not thought of. Have to say, though, I'd lay it out on CAD first rather than a picture.

I reckon that if I build it, I'll make it of steel as I can cope with that - it's what's the rest of the boat's out of too. 3mm thick with a few ribs & stringers will be lighter than the pilot house construction - and vastly cheaper than GRP, given that I haven't got any lying about.

To be quite frank, GRP scares me witless - nasty chemicals abound & it's very sensitive to manufacturing conditions. I have theoretical experience [office engineering] of various GRP matrixes at work (polyester, epoxy, phenolic & peek) - but to be honest, I don't want any for myself. They're too expensive and fragile. Who's heard of a GRP boat bit being nudged into another shape with a sledge hammer?

Oh well. I suppose, being a mechanical engineer, I should prefer steel anyway!

Regards

Richard


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[Chris_Robb]

Rene problem

My doghouse means I can't hear the crew either on the foredeck or bows - let alone comunicate with them. - I have bought this winter a couple of hand held cheap radios which I hope will solve the problem.

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