Where the on-watch crew stays warm and dry
Issue 95 : Mar/Apr 2014
Our Maestro seat proved successful on all counts. From a beat to a beam reach, the watchkeeper remained sheltered, warm, and dry behind the dodger. Once the wind went aft of the beam, however, the shelter of the dodger disappeared and night watches once again became a rather cold experience. Returning to the bubble-turret concept, I came up with a nifty addition that I fashioned from Sunbrella scraps left over from our new sailcover and old plastic from the time Ellen redid our cockpit enclosure.
I dubbed my creation the Bubble of Comfort. It’s essentially a see-through curtain that zips onto the aft edge of the dodger and attaches to the sides of the dodger flaps with Velcro strips. The result looks like a giant turret. Inside the Bubble, the watch sits comfortably on the Maestro seat (see January 2014) and enjoys a 360-degree view, but is sheltered from wind, seas, and rain.
Part of our pre-departure preparation is to zip the Bubble onto the dodger and roll it up out of the way until we want it. When we need it, we drop it down, use two lines to secure it aft into the cockpit, and Velcro the sides into place. Everything we need to operate our Nor’Sea 27, Entr’acte, is accessible from inside the Bubble: engine controls, autopilot remote, VHF radio, and chart plotter. During long periods of rain, we have even led the Aries steering lines inside the Bubble. No need to go out into the bad weather unless you absolutely have to!
Besides keeping the night watch warm and dry in following winds, the Bubble also prevents cold damp wind and fog from entering the main cabin. Before we had the Bubble, sailing downwind in damp conditions proved to be just as cold and damp below as topside, but no longer. These days, the off watch and cabin also remain warm and dry.
Shelter and security
To exit the Bubble, a simple slice of the hand parts the Velcro and we have instant access to the cockpit. It’s an iron-clad rule that our safety harness tethers are snapped on before we exit the Bubble.
A word on the safety harness: between the Maestro seat and the Bubble of Comfort, the watch can become so comfortable that complacency sets in and it’s easy to forget where we are. If we must attend to some ship’s business in a hurry, it is best to be prepared.
Our harness system consists of two full-length Spectra jacklines, port and starboard, each with its own tether permanently attached. The harness ends of both tethers reside on hooks inside the main companionway. Our harness rule is simple: no one sits alone on the Maestro seat unless he or she is clipped to the windward tether. If we are both awake, we relax that rule a bit but, at night, or whenever one of us is asleep, the one sitting in the Maestro seat snaps on. Period! If we must leave that seat or exit the Bubble for any reason, we are already clipped on. We know we’re the most vulnerable at the moment when we exit the main hatchway, especially when we’re half-asleep and in a hurry. The old sages always caution us to “clip on before exiting the companionway.” Light conditions are more deadly than heavy weather. It is amazing what can happen in less than a second!
Materials
If you do much canvaswork, you might have some of the materials already. Sailrite can supply everything listed.
Sunbrella or similar fabric – The quantity of fabric will depend on your boat’s size. We used less than a yard of what would have been scraps.
Plastic window material – We used 2 yards. Lighter gauge is better for ease of stowage.
Velcro strips – We prefer a 2-inch width of the woolly or soft side on the dodger flaps. The Bubble uses one-inch widths of the sticky or hook side. This makes for easier attachment when the wind’s blowing.
Stainless-steel sailcover hooks – Two are needed for the lines going aft into the cockpit.
Zipper – A nylon separating zipper sized to the curve of the dodger.
Edging – The finished edges can be turned over and sewn or covered with edging for a better look.
Construction
The Bubble is constructed in three pieces. The center piece is a rectangle that is mostly clear plastic. Each side is roughly triangular in shape to give the finished Bubble a somewhat circular shape when zipped and Velcroed into place.
The center section has a small grommet on each side at the bottom with a small line attached. The lines attach to hooks set into the sides of the cockpit to pull the Bubble into its circular shape, stabilize it against wind and spray, and add to the amount of usable space inside.
Installation considerations
Entr’acte’s sun awning is independent of the dodger, so attaching the Bubble was as easy as adding a zipper to the flap on the aft edge of the dodger. If you have a sun awning that zips onto your dodger, you have two choices. You can unzip the sun top and stow it whenever you want to use the Bubble. (If you need the Bubble, you probably don’t need the sun awning.) However, this approach might become a nuisance. Another solution might be to install a small flap with its own zipper just below and inboard of the point where the sun awning attaches to the metal dodger frame.
Stowing the Bubble
Our normal stowage procedure is to roll up the Bubble and lay it on top of the dodger where it becomes sandwiched between the top of the dodger and the sun awning. If our sun awning has been rolled up, we flip the Bubble over the top of the dodger and tie the corners to the handholds until we need it.
Other storage options would be to add grommets to the flaps where the dodger zips onto its frame and install ties to these grommets. Alternatively, you could unzip the Bubble and stow it. The problem with this approach is that you won’t be ready when a sudden squall comes up.
Since we have begun using the Bubble offshore, we have been warm and dry when the wind is astern. The cold night air doesn’t bother us. It is indeed a Bubble of Comfort.
Ed Zacko is a Good Old Boat contributing editor. He and Ellen met while playing in the orchestra of a Broadway musical. They built their Nor’Sea 27, Entr’acte, from a bare hull and since 1980 have sailed thousands of miles on both sides of the Atlantic and in the Pacific. After shipping Entr’acte from Noumea to France, they are in Seville. Follow them at www.enezacko.com.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
