I should call it a dodger, but that’s just not possible for a diehard Giants fan. Anyway, the roof over the main companionway got started today. First up was the solid corner panels above the side windows.

The top panel is cored with 1″ foam board; decided to go with the forgiving/flexible Home Depot stuff ($10 a sheet) instead of fighting a $200 sheet of divinycell.

It’s held in place via holes, string and backing blocks until the outside layers of fiberglass set up tonight.
Using a layer of 12oz bidirectional and one heavy unidirectional. Will probably do the same on the underside and see how rigid the resulting structure turns out. Got a nice idea for an upturned lip around the aft edge, to give strength, a big hand hold, and deflect water out of the cockpit. Saw this in practice on Jim Milski’s beautiful Schoinning 44(?) catamaran he built in ’09.

Also went aboard Roger and Dianna’s Catalina 470 Di’s Dream in Catalina last weekend and saw all kinds of on deck improvements for boat handling. Here’s his solar panel mount on the hardtop:

And these ring-nuts used in many spots make great multipurpose anchors …

And I have to find these simple line snubbers / beer can cozies! Great for saving hands when releasing lines thru the clutches while the winch is occupied:

The anchor locker is an already vented place for dinghy gas, and that black tackle on the right provides slack relief from the windlass when he needs to work with the chain:

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And here's a really nice alternative to the big granny bars on a deck – do a mast-mount hand and line hold instead:

All the boat visiting occurred during the SoCal TaTa hosted by Latitude38. Jim brought Origami to the shop for a prep day then we towed to Santa Barbara for a fantastic weather Channel Islands week. Our little 27 footer was the fastest boat in the fleet, beam reaching faster than 60 footers!
Can’t even imagine what the big new tri will be like in those ideal conditions. Hopefully next summer will tell!