Cruising Sailors Forum Archive

Which is why I built my own....

The problem is that the ones you can buy are crap: either the instrument mounting is a very poor afterthought or they look so butt ugly that you really wouldn't want even to beat it with a stick. This was molded of epoxy/glass over a foam tool:

The foam tool was used to check size, squeeze-by, sight lines, etc. When I am standing at the helm, sight line is over the top of the dodger and clearly the pedestal is not a consideration. I will point out that many of the store bought solutions - like the one you show - also have the instruments tilted at and angle that cannot be used or seen, standing or sitting. When I am sitting, I am looking over the wheel and through the dodger windows. The humped cockpit cushion in the photo above is the helm seat cushion, and provides a level place to sit - to windward - at any reasonable angle of heel. The entire face of the thing is a piece of G10, so it can be easily replaced when you remodel the instruments. Compass is on top so it can be used for sighting.

And of course, you can always drop the dodger if you want really good visibility:

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