Sailing Umavideo
Building the Ultimate Hard Dodger (part 5) | Step 456
September 14, 2025 · 36 min · 179K views
Two men install window on white sailboat's dodger
What this video covers
Dan and Kika on the 36-foot sailboat Uma complete the window installation phase of a year-long hard dodger build, then begin fitting cockpit winches and line clutches. They chose tempered glass over acrylic for the dodger windows: tempered glass resists scratching and crazing, cleans easily, and shatters into small car-window-style fragments rather than large shards, keeping the boat watertight after a break.2:56 Flat panes dictated the dodger's straight-sided, expedition-style geometry and allow several windows to open for ventilation.4:09 The windows were custom-made by Top Windows, whose technicians visited Uma to install them using a proprietary plastic-extrusion frame system and bonding agent.4:25 With windows cured, Dan and Kika turn to sail-control hardware: Anderson clutches on the starboard side and, on the port side where headroom rules out a motor-below-deck unit, a Selden electric winch with the motor built into the drum.19:20 A conflict discovered during installation — a window dog-latch blocking the planned triple DC2 clutch arrangement — forces a redesign to a DC2 double plus a smaller triple, which also happens to improve tactile identification of lines in the dark.25:52 The crew remains undecided between single-line and twin slab reefing, which holds up final clutch selection.29:38 Discovering a hardware conflict after windows are fitted confirms the value of dry-fitting every component before committing to sealant or drilling.
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